John Bishop plays tribute to his mum, who has died at 80

The reason he pulled out of panto in Dublin this week

John Bishop has revealed that he had to pull out of the Mother Goose panto this week because of the 'heartbreaking' death of his mother,

In a touching tribute posted online, the comedian said Kathy, who passed away at 80, was the 'sunshine' of the family and that her death was a 'pain like no other'.

He was due to perform in Mother Goose in Dublin this week, opposite Sir Ian McKellan. Earlier in the week, the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, put out a statement sayimg he had pulled out on compassionate grounds, but gave no further details.

Now Bishop has opened up about his grief in a post on Instagram.

He wrote: 'Mum came to see me in Mother Goose in Liverpool and joined in the sing a long at the end as I knew she would.
This morning we said goodbye to her and we will never hear her sing again.

'As a family we are heartbroken. She was a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother and she loved us all. Next week she would have been married to my dad for 62 years and they had a love and a friendship that was beautiful to be around.

'Anyone who has lost a parent will understand when I say it is a pain like no other. I will never have another mother but I will be eternally grateful for being lucky enough to have had the one I did. Good night Mum, your were our sunshine.'

Bishop was replaced with his understudy Gabriel Fleary, who has previously worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Mother Goose panto tour - which follows a West End run at Christmas - will continue at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff next week, following ts final Dublin date tomorrow,