Sean Lock's best jokes as comedian passes away at 58

Comedian Sean Lock has died at the age of 58 after a battle with cancer.

Leading figures from TV and the comedy world have paid tribute to the panel show regular, who appeared regularly on programmes including on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Countdown, QI and Have I Got News For You.

Jimmy Carr, the host of many shows alongside Lock and often a foil to his jokes, tweeted: “Brutal news about Sean Lock today. I loved him. I’m watching clips of him right now – laughing & crying. I’ll miss him so much.”

A statement from Lock’s agent said: “It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Sean Lock. He died at home from cancer, surrounded by his family.

“Sean was one of Britain’s finest comedians, his boundless creativity, lightning wit and the absurdist brilliance of his work, marked him out as a unique voice in British comedy.

“Sean was also a cherished husband and father to three children. Sean will be sorely missed by all that knew him. We kindly request that the privacy of his family and children is respected at this difficult time.”

Jon Richardson, who often appeared with Lock on 8 Out of 10 Cats, tweeted: “I idolised Sean as a comic long before I became a comedian myself and 10 years working alongside him didn’t diminish that in the least. An incredible comic brain and a truly unique voice.”

Hundreds of people have been responding on Twitter to Sean’s first tweet in tribute and remembrance.

One of the best ways to remember and celebrate Sean is through his comedy. Luckily, there’s a huge body of work to draw on. Here are some of Sean Lock’s best jokes.

“I started doing panel shows, and I found that people liked me on them. They’re fun. They’re well paid. And you don’t have to spend six months writing them.”

“A bit of advice: never read a pop-up book about giraffes.”

“I drive a carnival float with a full steel band on the back. Reason I got it was because I keep getting my bloody stereo nicked.”

“If you permed a fox I think it’d look a bit like Mick Hucknall. I actually think it’d be kinder to perm them than hunt them. And they’d be too embarrassed to go out and bother the sheep”.

​​“The Daleks: devoid of all emotion except hate. They’re like Piers Morgan on wheels.”

Jimmy Carr: “Do you think British people judge others on their accent?”

Sean: “I judge people long before they’ve opened their mouths.”

“Interesting fact: a shark will only attack you if you’re wet.”

“I’m not sure what my biggest fear is. It’s either me saying yes to ‘Strictly’… or them saying no.”

Jimmy Carr: “If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?”

Sean Lock: “Well, obviously the front.”

Jon Richardson: “It’s stressful just going to a wedding. Every one I’ve been invited to, ‘cause I’m single, you get sat on the table with all the freakin’ single people.”

Sean: “They are not single people, Jon, they’re children.”

Jimmy Carr: “What’s a normal day like in the life of Sean Lock?”

Sean: “It’s just eight hours of sleep, six hours of hiding, two hours of regret and apologies, one hour of scratching… and then a bit of telly.”

“A thing a lot of people don’t know about me: I’m incredibly organised. For example, if I make a tea, I don’t make one cup of tea – I make a big batch of tea. I’ll have a cup of tea and then I’ll freeze the rest of it and then when I want to have a cup of tea, I’ll just break off a bit of frozen tea, put it in a pan and 25 minutes later I’ve got a cup of tea without all the hassle.

“I’m just organised – always put a bit of butter on the knife before I go to bed.”

“I like the bonfire thing. I had to take the RSPCA advice quite seriously because they said you should check under your bonfire for sleeping hedgehogs. I couldn’t find any, but luckily I had some in the freezer.”

“I don’t like the Queen. I think it’s absurd that we have a queen. Basically what we’re saying is that we’re no more sophisticated than bees.”

“Imagine what the spider Kama Sutra is like with all those legs.”

“They should rename X Factor ‘hunt for a c***’”.