COMEDY legend Victoria Wood bravely laughed until the end — joking with
her children hours before she died early yesterday aged 62.
The TV favourite, who had kept her six-month cancer battle a secret, sat up in
bed chatting to son Henry, 23, and daughter Grace, 27, late on Tuesday.
A friend said: “She was joking at 11pm with her family around her.”
Wood’s close friend Julie Walters is leading tributes to the comedian,
describing her loss as “incalculable”.
Walters said in a statement: “Too heart sore to comment. The loss of her
is incalculable.”
Wood’s brother said his youngest sister’s death came as a great shock and has
left her two children “absolutely devastated “.
Chris Foote Wood, 75, said her death “has robbed us of one of the
brightest talents of our generation”.
In a statement, he said: “I feel that Victoria’s death has robbed us of
one of the brightest talents of our generation.
“It wasn’t just that Victoria was hugely talented in so many different
fields, she was also outstanding in her tremendous, single-minded drive and
determination to pursue her chosen career. Success did not come easily to
Victoria, and it was only after years of struggle that she achieved her
well-deserved national acclaim.
“I am hugely proud of what my sister has done so successfully in
different fields of entertainment. It has been a privilege to have her as a
sister, and particularly to have been able to observe at first hand how she
developed her career from the earliest beginnings.”
Wood leaves behind children Henry and Grace, who she had with ex-husband
Geoffrey Durham – known as magician the Great Soprendo.
Mr Wood added: “Victoria’s two children, my niece Grace and nephew Henry
(Durham) will be absolutely devastated to lose their mother at such a
relatively young age.
“Another reason I admire Victoria is that she was determined from the
start to give her two children as normal an upbringing as possible and to
shield them from unwanted media attention.
“In this she succeeded superbly, aided in every way by her then husband
Geoffrey Durham who has continued his close support for their children after
he and Victoria divorced in 2002.”
Wood was well known for her comedy series Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV, as
well as her role in sitcom Dinnerladies, where she starred alongside Maxine
Peak and Celia Imre and her TV special Victoria Wood With All The Trimmings.
In 2006, she won two Bafta awards for acting and writing for her drama
Housewife, 49, an adaptation of the diaries of Nella Last.
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In 1997, she was made an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and was then made
a CBE in 2008.
Most recently she appeared in Fungus the Bogeyman as Eve last year.
The comedy actor was born in Prestwich, Lancashire, in 1953 and attended Bury
Grammar School before going on to study drama at the University of
Birmingham.
She met her longterm collaborator Julie Walters in the early 1970s and the
pair went on to star together on stage and screen.
The pair first appeared on stage together in 1978 in a London production of In
At The Death and their celebrated comedy Wood And Walters followed in 1981.
Wood got her break in 1974 winning the TV talent contest “New Faces.”
As a woman from northwest of England she was an outsider in the world of
British comedy, but became a well-known standup, and got her own TV show in
the 1980s with “Victoria Wood as Seen on TV.”
It featured the spoof soap opera Acorn Antiques, which many consider a
classic.
The first was for Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV in 1986 and An Audience With
Victoria Wood in 1989.
Victoria Wood As Seen On TV also won the Bafta for best entertainment
programme in 1986, 1987 and 1988, while An Audience With Victoria Wood won
the same award in 1989.
She received a special Bafta tribute award in 2005.
Wood’s live comedy was often interspersed with her own compositions and she
frequently played the piano.
She also composed and performed the theme music for Dinnerladies.
The star married magician Geoffrey Durham in 1980 and the couple had their two
children, Grace and Henry, before separating in 2002.
Tributes from the world of entertainment immediately started to flood in after
the news was announced.
Comedian Ricky Gervais also paid tribute to the star tweeting: “RIP the
brilliant Victoria Wood. So innovative, funny and down to earth.
This has not been a good year.”
Derren Brown also wrote: “No! Not Victoria Wood. What on earth is going
on? A shy genius by all accounts. End of an era.”
EastEnders star Danny Dyer tweeted: “A world without Victoria Wood is a
sad sad thing. My first major crush. R.I.P beautiful. 2016…the year of
taking the greats”
Fellow comedian John Bishop tweeted: “A true comedy legend
#ripvictoriawood”
David Walliams took to social media to share his memories of star posting: “I
have such happy memories watching #VictoriaWood ‘s TV shows with my mum, dad &
sister. She was a humble genius.”
Jack Dee said he felt privilaged to have worked with Wood describing her as “unique
and truly brilliant”.
Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders called the comedian an “inspiration”.
The Prime Minister also joined the tributes writing: “Victoria Wood was a
national treasure loved by millions. My thoughts are with her family.”
Victoria Wood’s older brother paid tribute to his sister saying her death “has
robbed us of one of the brightest talents of our generation”.
The author, broadcaster and former local politician, who himself lost his wife
to cancer in 2013, added his youngest sister’s death came as a great shock.
Devastated 75-year-old Chris Foote Wood said: “I learned today that my
youngest sister Victoria has died after a short illness.
“It is a great shock, particularly as I am the eldest of the four
children of Stanley and Helen Wood, and Victoria the youngest, 13 years
younger than me.
“But more than that I feel that Victoria’s death has robbed us of one of
the brightest talents of our generation.
“It wasn’t just that Victoria was hugely talented in so many different
fields, she was also outstanding in her tremendous, single-minded drive and
determination to pursue her chosen career.
“Success did not come easily to Victoria, and it was only after years of
struggle that she achieved her well-deserved national acclaim.
“I am hugely proud of what my sister has done so successfully in
different fields of entertainment.
“It has been a privilege to have her as a sister, and particularly to
have been able to observe at first hand how she developed her career from
the earliest beginnings.
“Victoria’s two children, my niece Grace and nephew Henry will be
absolutely devastated to lose their mother at such a relatively young age.
“Another reason I admire Victoria is that she was determined from the
start to give her two children as normal an upbringing as possible and to
shield them from unwanted media attention.
“In this she succeeded superbly, aided in every way by her then husband
Geoffrey Durham who has continued his close support for their children after
he and Victoria divorced in 2002.”