Sean Lock remembered: 'He really, really cared about others'

Martin Stone, who runs the kitchen and founded the Next Meal website to help people in need find hot meals worldwide, told the Ham&High: "I always want to thank him for his wonderful support.

"He was so lovely, committed and engaging in supporting us. He was kind and a friend, more than just a volunteer, always supporting our community."

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Only last year, Sean, along with his friend Harry Hill, helped celebrate Next Meal's launch at an event at the House of Commons.

Sean, who was aged 58 when he died, is survived by his wife and three children.

Muswell Hill's Sean Lock, Naomie Harris and Lee Mack (Image: Archant)

Martin, who helped create the site with volunteers at the soup kitchen, added: "Sean was a help as a volunteer and when promoting Next Meal to his friends, and he really, really cared about the plight of homeless people. He really reflected, and he was a genuine and serious thinker.

"He was a friend and a neighbour and we will miss him such a lot. He really cared about humanity and other people's lives. There's not much more to say, we miss him and will continue to miss him for a long time to come."

Sean Lock has died from cancer at the age of 58 (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Sean's death – he had been suffering from cancer – has been met with tributes from those who knew him well, as well as those who crossed paths with him only briefly.

Morgan McGlynn, of the Cheeses of Muswell Hill shop, said Sean was an frequent customer.

"He used to make me laugh so much," she said. "He would try the cheeses in the shop and say 'it’s bloody awful and it stinks… I’ll have 100g'."

Others reflected on passing Sean in the supermarket or even swimming past him - while the showbiz world also paid tribute.

Close friend and fellow comedian Lee Mack said: "I’ve known this day was coming for some time, but it’s no less heartbreaking. A true original both in comedy and life. I will miss him so much.”

Hampstead-based Ricky Gervais said he was “one of the funniest, most influential comedians of a generation”.

He added: "“First professional comedian I knew. Met him when I booked him for a gig early '90s.

“Told him I wouldn’t mind being a comedian one day and I must have been over exited and trying to make him laugh coz he said ‘can I give you some advice then’, I said ‘yeah’. He said: ‘Tone it down.’”

Eddie Izzard said: “I think Sean Lock started in comedy at almost exactly the same time as me, so we were contemporaries.

“I do this weird, surreal stuff, but his stuff was beautifully surreal and I was kind of jealous of what Sean could do, because his mind jumped around.

“I don’t know if he wrote, but he must have sat down and written some stuff, but it would flash across and come up with such crazy imagery.

“He does beautiful, surreal imagery, but he also goes to a dark or impish place, which you wouldn’t expect or most audiences are not expecting."

David Baddiel, another north London comic, said: “I’m devastated to hear about the death of Sean Lock, one of the most naturally funny comics this country has ever produced.

“Myself and Rob Newman had spotted this in the early ’90s when we asked him to play the character of animal-hating naturalist Shenley Grange, and assorted other characters, on our BBC2 show, Newman And Baddiel In Pieces.

“He was a supremely talented comedian – and a friend I remember with great fondness.

Sean's death was announced on August 18 in a statement from his agents Off The Kerb Productions, which said: "It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Sean Lock.

“He died at home from cancer, surrounded by his family. Sean was one of Britain’s finest comedians, his boundless creativity, lightning wit and the absurdist brilliance of his work, marked him out as a unique voice in British comedy."