Tributes after death of ‘comedy great’ Mel Smith

The comic, actor and director Mel Smith was hailed as one of the comedy greats of the modern era after his death from a heart attack at the age of 60.

Smith, who is understood to have been ill for some time, was at the home he shared with wife Pam in London when he died on Friday.

His sidekick Griff Rhys Jones, with whom he starred in sketch show Alas Smith and Jones for more than a decade, said his friend and colleague was a force for life and he was deeply saddened by the death.