Sean Hughes death: Comic and actor dies at 51

Irish stand-up comedian and actor Sean Hughes has died aged 51, his management has confirmed.

Hughes's final tweet was shared on Sunday October 8, in which he said he was "in hospital".

The comic and actor has played various shows across the Black Country. and Staffordshire, including at Stafford's Gatehouse Theatre in 2015 and Wolverhampton's Civic Hall in 2013.

Funny man Sean Hughes on stage at Theatre Severn

Jason Manford led the tributes to Hughes on Twitter following the news of his death.

"Very sad to hear about Sean Hughes," Manford wrote.

"A brilliant comic and a lovely bloke. RIP."

Stand-up comic Al Murray, who recently received an honorary degree from the University of Wolverhampton, wrote: "Terribly sad news about Sean Hughes."

Comedian Richard Herring said: "Sean Hughes. What a punch in the soul that is."

Hughes was best known for being a panellist on long-running BBC Two panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks and for starring in his own sitcom Sean's Show in the early 1990s.

He also appeared on TV programmes including Coronation Street and The Last Detective.

In 2012, Express & Star features writer Mark Andrews interviewed the comedian ahead of his show called Life Becomes Noise which he was performing at Birmingham's Glee Club. In the play he appeared in a hospital bed and tackled the issues of ageing and death.

"There is this great taboo about death," he said at the time. "It happens to us all, and it should be like any situation. There's humour in everything."