Comedian Gareth Richards dies after car crash

Comedian Gareth Richards has died following a car accident.

The former co-host of the Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio died on Friday after being involved in a crash on 27 March.

In a statement, his wife Laura said he had suffered severe brain injuries and had to be taken off life support.

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Paying tribute to the "wonderfully inventive" comedian, fellow comic Jason Manford said he was devastated at the news of the 41-year-old's death.

Gareth Richards' wife said their sons were "bearing up well" and thanked people for their support and kindness.

"There will be details of the funeral and other ways to remember Gareth to follow, as I know that he was well loved. At the moment the grief is a lot to cope with," she added.

Gareth Richards had been a stand-up comedian since 2004, featuring at the Edinburgh Fringe 10 times and on a variety of BBC TV and radio comedy programmes.

He co-hosted on Absolute Radio with Skinner and Emily Dean for two years.

Last week, Skinner broke down live on air talking about Richards, telling listeners that the show's team did not want to go on air without mentioning his friend.

Describing Richards as a "fantastic bloke", Skinner said he had been booked following an initial "rubbish" pilot for the programme 14 years ago.

"We couldn't do it, and we got a guest on the next one, who was Gareth Richards - who was brilliant on here and we asked him to do the show, so for the first few years it was me, Em and Gareth."

Since his death, tributes to Richards have come in from friends and admirers in the comedy industry.

His former co-host on Skinner's show Emily Dean said: "God I will miss you Gareth Richards - my hilarious, unfailingly kind, gentle, beautiful friend. So grateful to have known you."

Jason Manford said Richards was a "kind and thoughtful" man, while Rhys James described him as a "giant of joke writing".

Elis James wrote in tribute: "We started comedy at the same time and I was totally in awe of his talent, but more importantly I was always struck by how kind and gentle a man he was. Just a complete delight to be around."

Adam Kay said he was "indescribably sad" at his death, adding it was an "almost unique eulogy for a comedian that every single person they met says what a kind, sweet person they were".

The Frank Skinner Show tweeted that they were "heartbroken" and would miss Richards "greatly".

"Tomorrow we will be releasing a podcast of some of his best bits on our show," they said.