David Baddiel reveals thoughts on funeral
The funeral of comedian Sean Hughes – who died last week aged 51 – was a “great tribute” to the star, David Baddiel has said.
David was among the mourners at the service, which took place on Monday at the Islington Crematorium in north London.
The comic wrote on Twitter: “Sean Hughes’ funeral was nearly as funny, moving, complex and musically-eclectic as the man himself. A great tribute.”
Asked by one of his followers if he danced at the memorial service, he replied: “I didn’t. I felt the day was upsetting enough xx.”
A number of stars from the comedy world attended the funeral along with Baddiel, including Jack Dee, Johnny Vegas, Bob Mortimer and Hughes’ former Never Mind The Buzzcocks co-star Phill Jupitus.
Phil shared a picture on his Twitter page of a page from Hughes’ book Sean’s Book ahead of the funeral.
He wrote: “Raise a glass this afternoon.”
The day before the funeral, Sean's brothers Alan and Martin posted on the late star’s Twitter page, sharing details of the service and asking for people to attend if they were a part of his life.
The social media message read: “If you were a significant part of Sean’s life, at any stage, please join us to celebrate him Monday. Thanks. – brothers Alan and Martin.”
Sean died on October 16th in north London’s Whittington Hospital, the same hospital where he was born, following a short illness.
According to reports, his death was caused by liver cirrhosis, a condition caused by long-term liver damage.
He died just over a week after he posted his final tweet on October 8th, in which he told his followers he was in hospital.
The service featured emotional and sometimes humorous eulogies from friends and family members, including his brothers.
Mourners also heard some of Hughes’ own poetry as well as pieces of his favourite music, including numbers from The Smiths and Lily Allen.
Following the service, mourners were invited to sign a book of condolence before the wake at a nearby pub.
In 1990, Sean was 24 when he became the youngest winner of the main prize at the Perrier Comedy Awards, now known as the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, for his stand-up show A One Night Stand With Sean Hughes.
He also appeared in TV programmes including Coronation Street and The Last Detective, and in Alan Parker’s film The Commitments in 1991.
He returned to Edinburgh in 2007 after a seven-year break with his show The Right Side Of Wrong.
In 2015, Sean joined the cast of the Olivier Award-winning production of The Railway Children.
Away from stage and screen, Hughes was also a writer and had penned two collections of prose and poetry, including Sean’s Book.
He wrote best-selling novels The Detainees and It’s What He Would Have Wanted.
