8 Out Of 10 Cats comedian Sean Lock left his family a lasting legacy before he tragically passed away after being diagnosed with cancer.

Tributes poured in for the popular comedian from fans and celebrity pals alike after it was announced he had died on Wednesday, aged 58.

Known for his surreal content and deadpan style, Lock was a team captain on Jimmy Carr’s Channel 4 comedy panel show 8 Out Of 10 Cats and spin-off 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

Lock died from skin cancer after first being diagnosed at the age of 27 in the 1990s.

Sean had spent his final days in a hospice and fellow comedian and friend Bill Bailey described how even in his final days he was “still having a laugh”.

He said: "Even in his last few days, we were still having a laugh, still joking, still coming up with ideas.

"We had great conversations. I brought in my guitar and sang him his favourite Johnny Cash songs."

A month before his death the TV star filed his annual accounts for his Sean Lock Ltd company, reports the Daily Star.

The accounts show the company had cash reserved of just over £1m and total assets of £2.8m.

He also filed earnings of more than £1 million in 2019 as he paid £201,367in corporation tax.

His wife Anoushka Nara Giltsoff, 48, is also a director of his firm.

The couple had three children, two daughters and a son, together.

Sean Lock’s career

South Wales Guardian: Katherine Jenkins and Sean Lock during the recording of the Graham Norton Show. (PA/BBC)Katherine Jenkins and Sean Lock during the recording of the Graham Norton Show. (PA/BBC)

Born in Woking, Surrey, the comedy star left school in the early 1980s and began working on building sites but developed skin cancer, which he blamed on over-exposure to the sun. He made a full recovery and focused on a career in comedy.

One of his first professional TV appearances was in 1993, starring alongside Rob Newman and David Baddiel on their signature TV show Newman And Baddiel In Pieces.

He script-edited the 1998 BBC Two series, Is It Bill Bailey? and had his own show on BBC Radio 4 called 15 Minutes Of Misery, which was later expanded into TV series 15 Storeys High.

The show was set in a tower block and centred on a pessimistic character called Vince (played by Lock) and his flatmate Errol, played by Benedict Wong.

In 2005 Lock became a regular team captain on the panel show 8 Out Of 10 Cats, a role he held for 18 series.

Between 2006 and 2007 he hosted Channel 4 series, TV Heaven, Telly Hell, in which he invited celebrities to share their own selection of TV’s triumphs and tragedies.

Lock also appeared on panel shows including Have I Got News for You, QI, and They Think It’s All Over.

In 2000 he won the gong for the best live stand-up at the British Comedy Awards.