Sean Lock(1963-2021)

He was one of the funniest guys in British television, much acclaimed for his dry wit and deadpan delivery, both on and off the set. Sean Lock was a genuine comedic original. His screen persona has been described as "studiedly obtuse". Either as host or panellist, he knew how to have audiences in stitches with his unique blend of darkly absurdist humour, his material ranging from the everyday commonplace to the wholly bizarre. Lock was perhaps best known for his frequent guest appearances on Stephen Fry's QI (2003), and, more so, as a regular team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats (2005) and its sequel 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (2012) (a collective tenure which spanned almost sixteen years). Between 2007 and 2010 he was voted in a public poll conducted by Channel 4, respectively, 55th and 19th in the all-time greatest ever list of stand-up comics.

The son of Sidney Lock, a worker in the construction business, and Mary (nee McCreesh), Sean grew up in Surrey. After leaving school, his father got him a job as a labourer. For seven years, he worked on high scaffolds, stripping concrete panels from buildings. Exposed to the sun and having unwisely eschewed sunscreens, he developed a malignant melanoma at 27 which was successfully treated. Lock then tried his hand at other short-term pursuits, including as a goat herder, toilet cleaner and social security office worker. He eventually undertook studies at the Drama Centre in London, hoping to become an actor. While this did not pan out, he discovered, through frequent visits to comedy clubs studying different techniques, that humour was more his forte. He has cited Dave Allen and Alexei Sayle, among others, as having been a "massive influence". In 1988, Lock had his first 20 minute gig at a pub in Stoke Newington in north-east London which resulted in a £15 paycheque and confirmed the future course of his career.

Lock began on television in 1991. By 1998, he had his own radio sitcom, 15 Minutes of Misery, in which he starred as a resident in a high-rise tower block, eavesdropping on neighbours via hidden microphones installed by his plumber "Hot Bob". This spawned a 12-part TV series, 15 Storeys High (2002), which he also primarily scripted. In 2000, Lock was voted Best Live Comic at the British Comedy Awards (that same year, Rob Brydon was voted Best Newcomer). As a writer, Lock also regularly contributed additional material to comedy shows featuring Bill Bailey, Lee Evans, Phill Jupitus and Alan Davies. Between 2006 and 2007, he hosted and produced a panel show, TV Heaven, Telly Hell (2006), in which celebs were asked to recount and discuss their likes and dislikes in television history. In 2012, he was nominated for a Perrier Award as Best Male Television Comic.

Sean Lock once said: "I go to my office nearly every day, and I'll sit there for six or seven hours and come up with ideas, and that's the only way I can justify turning up on stage" and "the thing about comedy, there's something utterly delightful and slightly pure about a really good joke, and to create one is a great pleasure". His untimely passing at the age of 58 in August 2021 is much to be lamented.