Bill Bailey has talked about how his experiences of grief following the sad death of his friend and fellow comedian Sean Lock to cancer a few years ago still have a powerful effect on him.

The comedian shared that he still has to cope with profound emotions since his close friend died. 

Sharing heartfelt words at a charity event raising funds to support bereaved children and young people, Bill commented “My friend Sean Lock died a few years ago. The nature of grief means that there are those moments that just they keep happening. Those triggers - you never know when they're going to arrive, and you know never know from what source they'll come or what the catalyst will be. 

“They can sometimes just ambush. It's happened to me on a few occasions with Sean and it can be anything. Sometimes, I see something and think ‘Oh I should tell Sean’ and I go to text him. I see something funny and think that he’d like that. There’s a location, a piece of music, even a taste and it takes me back.

“Sean thought a great deal of his own situation and he was brilliant. Through him I learned that the only thing we can control is how we feel about something, our own emotions and how we deal with it. 

“Sean would read the stoics; he introduced me to the concept. You know you can't control what happens to you, life just happens, sometimes just like a random curve ball will come out of nowhere. What the stoics taught him, and through him I learned that we can only control our emotions. In a way I found tremendous comfort in that. 

“Sean and I used to walk a lot - long walks. I'd take the tea in the thermos, and he would take the picnic. He was very, very specific about what he wanted, a certain kind of bread certain kind of cheese and the other day I was with somebody who was doing exactly that, we were getting some cheese and bread out so and suddenly I’m transported to a field somewhere in Hertfordshire where Sean and I had sat for a picnic. Those moments are always with us, you don’t attribute them to a particular artifact, it’s the act of walking, laughing, those memories inhabit that space.”

Bill expressed how he found relief in writing following his bereavement. He says, “There's a complex relationship with the creative process because if you go through some traumatic event whether it's grief or anything else that could have a cauterizing effect on your emotions.

“Something I’ve noticed in myself is that when I had any experience of grief, I found that writing about it is a hugely beneficial way to access those feelings in a way that perhaps talking sometimes doesn’t give.

“I suppose even humour comes from hardship, doesn’t it? I've often had letters from people who say that they've been going through a tough time, and they come to a comedy show and they just feel like they’re getting out of themselves. Sometimes it's good to just have a laugh about something.”

Bill shared his experiences as part of a charity event where the comedy legend certainly had his audience in stiches whilst raising nearly £46K for childhood bereavement charity Winston’s Wish. You can watch Bill’s full interview with one of the charity’s Youth Ambassador’s here.

If you know of a young person who is coping with the death of a significant individual, Winston’s Wish supports youths and their families and is open to chat online, email or call for free to speak to a bereavement support worker by calling 08088 020 021, emailing [email protected] or using the live chat at winstonswish.org. 

Watch Bill Bailey's Interview below

Picture © Thousand Word Media