Comedian Sean Lock – best known for panel shows ‘8 Out Of 10 Cats’ and ‘8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown’ as well as sitcom ’15 Storeys High’ – has died from cancer at the age of 58.
He also appeared on QI, The Last Leg, Have I Got News for You, and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
A statement from his agent Off The Kerb Productions 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 first diagnosed with skin cancer in 1990 when he found a mark on his back, attributing the condition to overexposure to the sun while working as a builder in the early 1980s.
#Breaking Comedian Sean Lock, best known for panel shows 8 Out Of 10 Cats and 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, as well as sitcom 15 Storeys High, has died from cancer at the age of 58, his agent told the PA news agency pic.twitter.com/BB6hIa8atp
After seeing a GP, he was referred to a dermatologist at Guy’s Hospital, London. The piece of skin was removed and, after a biopsy, he found out he had malignant melanoma, more commonly referred to as skin cancer.
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“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.
“Sean was also a cherished husband and father to three children. Sean will be sorely missed by all that knew him. We kindly request that the privacy of his family and children is respected at this difficult time.”
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Sean often filmed 8 Out Of 10 Cats and 8 Out Of 10 Cars Does Countdown at MediaCity here in Greater Manchester and had a huge comedy following in the region, playing some of our best comedy venues.
He will be sadly missed.
UK News
A documentary about Manchester’s famous homeless charity run has just dropped on YouTube
Danny Jones
An award-winning, short, and completely free documentary about Manchester’s famous annual homeless charity run is now available to watch in its entirety on YouTube.
Following a number of short snippets and teasers shared on social media over the last few months, the mini-doc by local moviemaker Gigi Shum was finally released on the streaming platform this past June.
Documenting not only the backstory of the inspiring Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – now a much-loved annual tradition that has since spread to multiple other locations – it also gives a peek behind the curtain at those who organise it and the thousands of inspirational participants.
You can watch one of the most recent trailers here.
Capturing the sixth edition of the consecutive relay run, which spans the length of an entire day (which was another record-breaking year before being smashed in November 2025), Shum didn’t shy away from getting some laps done herself, but she also managed to shoot a truly important public access film.
A trail runner herself with a number of other works to her name already, including a well-supported Kickstarter revolving around neurodiversity, Gigi prides herself on “exploring the neglected truth in the world” through touching tales like The 24 Hour Run.
The adopted Manc and MetFilm School graduate’s roots may hail from Hong Kong, but she’s well and truly immersed and embedded herself in the Greater Manchester community through spotlighting local initiatives like this.
More importantly, this is much more than a student project: the bitesize 21:22 picture has been nominated and won at numerous festivals across the globe, including shortlists like the Florence Film Awards, a finalist in both the Independent Shorts and LEEDSflix competitions, among several others.
Aside from the obvious humanitarian and charitable angle of The 24 Hour Run‘s narrative, the talking heads with members of the team and numerous inspiring runners taking on incredible challenges on behalf of the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme make you proud to be from this part of the world.
You can watch it in full down below.
About the same run-time as most sitcom episodes – we’d argue this is a well more worthwhile watch.
Deeply moving stuff, we’re sure you’ll agree.
Speaking after a limited number of exclusive screenings, Gigi told The Manc: “What began as a question about why people run through the night transformed into an exploratory journey of human resilience, community, and active compassion on the streets of Manchester.”
It’s also worth mentioning that the young director and producer is doing lots more to contribute to the region, helping out as part of the Manchester Refugee Support Network (MRSN), supporting asylum seekers who may otherwise end up sleeping rough themselves.
They’ve raised hundreds of thousands for the likes of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity since the event’s inception back in 2019. Mayor Andy Burnham himself may be looking toward no.10 Downing Street moving forward, but fundraising on behalf of this organisation will always be a part of his legacy.
Better still, this dedicated crew of volunteers have also generated vital funds for similar causes in the likes of Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Hereford, and soon to be even more.
Set to debut in Liverpool later this year, another city renowned for backing themselves and looking after their own, we can’t wait to see how much more impact they make on the North West.
Featured Images — The MCR 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness (supplied)
UK News
Trains from Manchester ‘extremely limited’ amid record heatwave
Daisy Jackson
‘Extremely limited’ train services are running across the North West this week as the country melts in a record-breaking heatwave.
Northern has reached out to passengers to warn that a ‘significantly reduced’ number of trains are operating in and out of Manchester.
They’re urging people to avoid travelling at all unless your journey is ‘absolutely essential’.
And if you do have to travel, they’ve warned of ‘significantly longer waiting times, busy trains and short-notice cancellations’.
The disruption is set to continue all day today and into tomorrow, Friday 26 June, as temperatures up north are forecast to hit 34ºC and an Amber weather warning for extreme heat covers much of the country.
Northern has assured passengers that they ‘are doing everything we can to keep people moving as efficiently as possible’.
Passengers are encouraged to check their journey before setting off, carry water, and avoid peak times where possible.
If you chose not to take a planned journey, you can claim a full refund on your ticket, or travel on another day using Northern’s ticket easement.
Trains from Manchester ‘extremely limited’ amid record heatwave. Credit: Northern
You can see the full travel advice for Northern HERE.
Avanti has issued a similar message, reducing one train per hour on the London-Manchester route and offering refunds for tickets booked for Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24, Thursday 25 or Friday 26 June.
You can also use those tickets to travel flexibly any time up to and including Tuesday 30 June.
Northern said in a notice to passengers: “Due to the continued extreme heat, we have significantly reduced the number of trains running on routes in and out of Manchester, and services remain in high demand. This will now continue into Friday, 26 June.
“We strongly recommend customers consider whether their journey is necessary and if customers do choose to travel this week, they are advised to prepare for significantly longer waiting times, busy trains and short-notice cancellations.
“We would ask all customers to only travel if your journey is absolutely essential and to check your full journey before setting off.”
The Manc -
18th August 2021 
