Tributes Pour In For Sean Lock As One Of His Final Cats Does Countdown Airs

Tributes have been pouring in for the late comedian Sean Lock after one of his final appearances in 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown aired on TV.

Lock tragically passed away in August 2021 at the age of 58 after being diagnosed with cancer, though he did not let his illness prevent him from appearing as a team captain on Cats Does Countdown, where he starred alongside Jimmy Carr and Jon Richardson.

The latest episodes of the show, filmed prior to Lock's passing, are currently being aired on Channel 4, with one of the star's final appearances released last night, February 11.

Many viewers were torn between feeling heartbroken and being unable to resist laughing at Lock's comedy during the episode, and after it began to air the comedian's name started trending on Twitter.

Lock's co-star Richardson was one of dozens of people to pay tribute to Lock with a post on Twitter, in which he acknowledged the unwavering performance Lock put on for the show.

He wrote, 'Watching Sean's last ep of Countdown I can see how upset I was knowing he was ill and how much that affected my performance, while Sean himself continued to be effortlessly hilarious. A true comic to the end. That's why he's trending on twitter and why he's so missed.'

Lock and Richardson were joined in the episode by panellists Harry Hill, Nick Mohammed and Rosie Jones, who acknowledged the airing of the episode as being 'bittersweet'.

Jones wrote, 'Ah. This is bittersweet. I’m on #CatsDoesCountdown tonight and it’s Sean’s last appearance on the show.'

Though both Richardson and Jones described the episode as Lock's 'last' episode of the series, a post from Channel 4 said it was 'one of his last appearances on the show'.

Viewers were also among those paying tribute to the comedian during the show last night, as one fan described 'the joy of watching Sean Lock on #8outof10catsdoescountdown versus the sadness that it was his final appearance'.

Another viewer wrote, 'How lovely to see Sean Lock, still makes we belly laugh. We miss ya mate.'

Other fans celebrated Lock for solving the 'Countdown Conundrum' faster than his opponents, with one writing, 'Go on Sean Lock getting the conundrum on what would be his last ever appearance on the show!! He will be always missed and for the comic genius he was!'

Upon announcing his death, Off the Kerb Productions assured the comedian was 'surrounded by his family' at the time of his passing.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.

Topics: Film and TV, Twitter

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.