Victoria Wood's brother has paid an emotional tribute to the comedy "genius" following her shock death yesterday (20.04.16).
Victoria Wood
Chris Foote Wood believes he was one of the comic's biggest fans and is devastated the country has lost such a funny legend.
Speaking on 'Good Morning Britain' today (21.04.16), he said: "I count myself as Victoria's biggest fan... I was always bragging and boasting about her because I was so proud to have such a genius in the family. It's been my great honour - particularly from the earliest days when she struggled quite a lot to come across - because let's remember she didn't become famous overnight.
"She had quite a few years of struggle and difficulty, but it's a credit to her absolute determination to push through and win her career from sheer hard work. Of course she had the genius there right from the start but it was her character that pulled her through."
But the 75-year-old former politician is convinced Victoria's legacy will be remembered for years to come.
He explained: "It's quite obvious that Victoria is even more loved by the public than perhaps we thought she was because in all her years that she's been working in various endeavours the public have really taken her to their hearts and everything she's done in the last 30 years has been very popular.
"People remember Victoria and her performances and that's a wonderful thing. Although we've lost her at an early age, she's left all this wonderful work behind that we can enjoy again and again."
Victoria passed away at the age of 62 at her home in north London on Wednesday following a secret six-month battle with cancer.
Speaking about Victoria's decision to keep her cancer diagnosis private, Chris added: "She was very adamant that her private life was kept separate particularly in regards to bringing up her two children and I admire that. When it came to her final illness she was absolutely determined that it should not leak out, that it should be kept very private with her and her immediate family and obviously her wishes were complied with and that's why with some respects it was such a shock when we found that she'd died because very few people knew that she had a terminal illness."
The funnywoman - whose career spanned over four decades - leaves behind her daughter Grace, 27, and son Henry, 23.
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