Steptoe & Son and Hancock writer Ray Galton has died. He was 88. 

Alongside  Alan Simpson, who died in 2017, he was a pioneer in the development of the modern sitcom, most famously writing Hancock's Half Hour for Tony Hancock.

His family issued a statement that he died surrounded by his family after a "long and heartbreaking battle with dementia"

Tributes have been coming in from the entertainment industry. 

Buy The Galton & Simpson Playhouse here.