'I don't want to live forever. I can think of nothing worse': How comedian Sean Hughes – who has died from cirrhosis aged 51 - admitted 'pushing' his body to 'extreme hedonistic limits'

  • Comedian and former Never Mind the Buzzcocks team panelist Sean Hughes has died at the age of 51
  • Hughes was believed to have been suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and said he was in hospital last week
  • Irishman, who was not married and did not have children, became a vegetarian teetotaller later on in his life
  • But he admitted 'pushing' his body, once having to be rushed to hospital after amphetamines overdose
  • Last Leg host Adam Hills said Hughes revealed he would be leaving his property to charity when he died

Never Mind the Buzzcocks comedian Sean Hughes revealed how he 'didn't want to live forever' and pushed his body to 'extreme hedonistic limits' before his death from cirrhosis of the liver aged 51.

The Irish stand-up star, who was not married and did not have children, died today, a week after tweeting that he was 'in hospital'. 

Hughes was best known for his appearances on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, where he was a team captain between 1996 and 2002, and his own sitcom Sean's Show.

He was also the youngest ever winner of the Perrier award in 1990 for his show A One Night Stand With Sean Hughes, aged 24.  

Hughes was believed to have been suffering from cirrhosis of the liver - a condition caused by long-term liver damage - and was recently taken to north London's Whittington Hospital, where he died. 

Eight days ago, in a final social media post, he told his 50,000 Twitter followers he was 'in hospital'. Today, his friend and Australian comedian Adam Hills said Hughes intended to leave his house to charity when he died. 

Comedian Sean Hughes revealed how he wanted to have his ashes 'scattered in a bar' in a poignant poem from 1994 

Comedian Sean Hughes has died at the age of 51, his management has confirmed

Hughes, who was a team captain on Never Mind the Buzzcocks on BBC Two (pictured with Phill Jupitus and host Mark Lemarr)

Hughes, who was a team captain on Never Mind the Buzzcocks on BBC Two (pictured with Phill Jupitus and host Mark Lemarr)

Irish stand up comedian Hughes appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2013
Sean Hughes appeared in Coronation Street

Irish stand up comedian Hughes (left at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2013) also appeared in Coronation Street. He is pictured on the show (right) with Sue Cleaver who played Eileen Grimshaw

The comedian told his 50,000 Twitter followers that he was 'in hospital' in his final social media post last week 

The comedian told his 50,000 Twitter followers that he was 'in hospital' in his final social media post last week 

Before his death, the comedian described how his life of 'extreme' hedonism had taken its toll on his body and how he would hate to grow too old.

In a 2014 interview with the Irish Times, he said: 'The dream is that, one day, people will live forever.

'Well, I don't want to live forever. I can think of nothing worse. I'm aiming for 75 to 80. I don't want to be in a nursing home aged 120, and the nurse coming over and saying: "Are you enjoying your 120th birthday, Mr Hughes? Blink if you are".

'How many blinks for "turn off this machine? And who is Mr Hughes?"

He added: 'I have pushed my body to extreme hedonistic limits...I once overdosed on amphetamines: I was rushed to hospital and made to work the night shift.' 

He also wrote in The Irish Times about his relationship with alcohol, and that he once stopped drinking for a while because he was 'drinking too much', before starting again.

He wrote: 'The other night, pretty drunk at the end of the evening, my friend asked if I wanted to go for a "proper" drink.

'Thank God those days are over for me now. I quit drinking totally for a couple of years because I was having too many "proper" drinks. I knew I was drinking too much when I had to be put out at a party. I don't mean I was asked to leave. My jacket was on fire.'

He continued: 'When I started drinking again, I thought my friends would be concerned, but they welcomed my return with a "great to have you back" attitude.

'Apparently I'm tedious when sober. People were uncomfortable when I wasn't drinking. It made them question their own habits.'

Hughes made his name when he became the youngest person to win the coveted Perrier Award - now known as the Edinburgh Comedy Award - at the Edinburgh Festival, at the age of 24. 

Recalling that in a later interview he said: 'I was told that I had won the Perrier award as I walked off stage after another sweaty performance. The judging panel rushed on to the stage to congratulate me.

'If the panel had made it 10 minutes earlier, they would have seen two people walking out of my award-winning show.'

After making his name on the comedy scene, Hughes went on to make several appearances as an actor later, including playing comedian and writer Tony Hawk in his adaption of Round Ireland with a Fridge and ITV's The Last Detective.

He also had a minor role in the cult 1991 movie The Commitments - in which he played Dave, a talent scout for Eejit Records - and starred in Coronation Street as Pat Stanaway in 2007. 

He returned to Edinburgh in the same year after a seven-year break with his show the Right Side Of Wrong. 

From 1996 to 2002 he was a team captain on the BBC 2 comedy quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, alongside Phill Jupitus and Mark Lamarr (pictured with Michael Greco)

From 1996 to 2002 he was a team captain on the BBC 2 comedy quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, alongside Phill Jupitus and Mark Lamarr (pictured with Michael Greco)

Hughes pictured with Never Mind the Buzzcocks presenter Mark Lamarr and the other team captain Phill Jupitus 

Hughes pictured with Never Mind the Buzzcocks presenter Mark Lamarr and the other team captain Phill Jupitus 

In 2015, the London-born Irish star also played station master Mr Perks in the award-winning London play, The Railway Children. 

Away from the stage and screen, Hughes was also a writer and had penned two collections of prose and poetry, including Sean's Book.  He wrote best-selling novels The Detainees and It's What He Would Have Wanted.   

Hughes, the second of three brothers, was born in Archway but moved to Dublin when he was six. He described how he had a 'little cockney accident' during the height of the Troubles in Ireland.

He said: 'I got a lot of stick, like "shut up, you Brit" and I felt like an outsider from very early on.'

He later moved to Firhouse, a suburb on the edge of Dublin, before returning to England at the earliest opportunity. 

Hughes, who has died today at the age of 51, once spoke about how an amphetamine overdose nearly took his life
Hughes, who has died today at the age of 51, once spoke about how an amphetamine overdose nearly took his life

Hughes, who has died today at the age of 51, once spoke about how an amphetamine overdose nearly took his life

In a Guardian interview in 2012 he revealed how he 'harboured a lot of resentment' as a youngster. 

'I had no support when I was going into a creative career,' he said. 'I had a part-time job in a supermarket and my mum and dad would have been delighted if they'd given me a full-time job. That was their ambition for me. That hurts.

'They weren't being hurtful but it made me quite hard towards them, which was probably unfair.'

In the same interview Hughes, who was caught up in the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, spoke about his brush with death.

'I'm lucky to be alive,' he said. 'But it changes you for two days, then you're back watching Neighbours at lunchtime.'

Despite enjoying a party lifestyle for many years, Hughes, became a teetotaller for a couple of years.

At the time, he admitted he had 'matured very late in life' and 'was blocking things out with drink'.

Hughes (pictured at Cornbury Festival in Oxfordshire in 2011) was reportedly suffering from cirrhosis of the liver

Hughes (pictured at Cornbury Festival in Oxfordshire in 2011) was reportedly suffering from cirrhosis of the liver

Following the death of his father from leukaemia in 2010, he said: 'You realise that when you're dealing with a death you can't block it out. But you have to come to all these places on your own. Once you realise that, you become a more rounded person.'  

The comedian, who lived in London, lived on his own for most of life saying 'relationships haven't worked out'.

He said: 'Without wanting to sound too pretentious about it, I chose art over life. I decided to concentrate on my work. I don't think I am cut out to get married and have kids. I am quite selfish and like to do things my way.'   

Tributes began pouring in for the comedian after his death was announced today.   

In an emotional tribute, The Last Leg host Adam Hills  said the Irish comedian recently revealed he would be leaving his property to charity when he died. 

He wrote on Twitter: 'I'm heartbroken to hear of the death of my friend Sean Hughes. I spent a bit of time with him over the last few years and he seemed to me to be in good health and good spirits.

'Creatively and personally he appeared to have reached a 'zen' state of comedy - he loved doing it for the sake of doing it, and had found an easy, effortless way of bringing laughter to an audience.

'He recently told me that when he died, he was leaving his property to a couple of charities, so at least there is one ray of light today. I hope right now he is bringing joy to the angels. Rest In Peace old mate.' 

QI panellist Alan Davies said: 'Very sad about Sean Hughes. A wry, funny man. Now I'll probably read all those Milan Kundera novels he was always so keen to chat about.'

Mentioning other comedians who have died, Davies added: 'Sean Hughes with Linda Smith, Felix Dexter, Caroline Ahearne, and Malcolm Hardee as compere. That is a fantastic bill we've lost too soon.'  

Nica Burns, director of the awards, remembered him as 'a huge talent' and 'a very good writer' who had 'instinctive timing from day one'. 

Fellow comedian Jason Manford paid tribute to him on social media, writing: 'Very sad to hear about Sean Hughes. A brilliant comic and a lovely bloke. RIP.'

Al Murray said: 'Terribly sad news about Sean Hughes...he won the Perrier the summer I decided to try being a comic. He was being daft, meta, ironic and Byronic all at once, after a decade when stand-up had reinvented itself.

SEAN HUGHES BEST JOKES 

'I thought when I was 41, I would be married with kids. Well, to be honest I thought I would be married with weekend access'

'I know that the English always say that Irish pubs are so friendly. Let me tell you something: we don't even know you're there.'

'You know city centre beat officers? Well, are they police who rap?'  

'I went to the hospital with my psoriasis. They gave me a DVD of The Singing Detective and said 'Good luck with your life''.

'I went into one of those cheesy bars the other day. Or a delicatessen as you'd call it.'

'Everyone grows out of their Morrissey phase. Except Morrissey.'

'He made stand-up look fun, glamorous and above all a creative place where you could play. It's terribly sad news to hear of his passing.' 

His former-promoter Richard Bucknall told Beyond the Joke: 'He was a pioneering, groundbreaking comedian who changed comedy with that live show.' 

Richard K Herring‏ said: 'What a punch in the soul that is.' 

Actress Meera Syal, who played his wife in the Channel Four comedy series Sean's show, paid tribute to the Irish comic.

She said: 'He was funny, acerbic and great fun to work with. This is very sad news.' 

Gail Porter tweeted: 'So so sad to hear about Sean Hughes. Worked with him many times and he was so incredibly funny.' 

Jack Dee said: 'Very sad to hear about Sean Hughes. Started on the circuit with him back in the day. RIP.'

Ross Noble said: 'Just awful news about Sean Hughes. He was very nice to me when I was starting out in comedy. A sad loss.'  

Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh said he was 'lucky to enjoy his company on a few occasions over the years' and said that Hughes was 'a witty, gracious, kind and gentle soul'.

X Factor presenter Dermot O'Leary said that Hughes was a 'genuinely lovely, clever man' and that he was 'great company and a brilliant beautiful mind'. 

Omid Djalili said: 'Deeply saddened to hear Sean Hughes died this morning aged 51. Very talented comic, loved & respected. Will miss you dearly my friend.'

Irish comedian Dara O Briain said: 'Ah, that is very sad news. That's no age. One of the Irish comedy trailblazers in the UK.'

Sean Hughes, the comedian who became the youngest to ever win the Perrier Award back in 1990, has died aged 51

Sean Hughes, the comedian who became the youngest to ever win the Perrier Award back in 1990, has died aged 51

Hughes (pictured in 2007 at the Gardner Arts Centre in Brighton) was the youngest person to win the coveted Perrier Award - now known as the Edinburgh Comedy award - in 1990

Hughes (pictured in 2007 at the Gardner Arts Centre in Brighton) was the youngest person to win the coveted Perrier Award - now known as the Edinburgh Comedy award - in 1990

Kate Phillips, the BBC's controller of entertainment commissioning, paid tribute to Hughes, who was previously a panellist on BBC Two's Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Phillips said in a statement: 'There is no doubt that Sean's unique wit, dry delivery and ability to engage and have fun with guests week in week out helped establish Never Mind The Buzzcocks as one of the most memorable panel shows of all time.

'I am a huge fan of his and am very sad to hear this news. All of our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.' 

Hughes is survived by his older brother, Alan and younger sibling, Martin. 

Hughes has died aged 51 just a week after telling Twitter followers he was 'in hospital'

Hughes has died aged 51 just a week after telling Twitter followers he was 'in hospital'

 

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