Comedian Eddie Large has died. He was 78.

His son Ryan McGinnis has revealed that the comedian, real name Edward Hugh McGinnis, who was famous for his comedy partnership with Syd Little, had been in hospital with heart failure and had contracted the Covid-19 virus.

Metro reports that McGinnis posted on Facebook: "It is with great sadness that Mum and I need to announce that my dad passed away in the early hours of this morning. ‘He had been suffering with heart failure and unfortunately, whilst in hospital, contracted the coronavirus, which his heart was sadly not strong enough to fight." 

Little and Large (pictured) made their name after appearing on talent show Opportunity Knocks and had numerous TV series in the 1970s and 1980s as well as appearing on the impressions show Who Do You Do?

At the peak of its 13-year run in the 70s and 80s, BBC1’s Little and Large sketch show, starring Syd Little and Eddie Large, commanded audiences of up to 15 million a week before the partnership ended. The duo later reconciled. They appeared on Pointless and reunited in January 2019 for an appearance at the Bristol Slapstick Festival.

Inside No. 9's Reece Shearsmith paid tribute to Large on Twitter and linked to Large being Gotcha'd by Noel Edmonds. Watch the clip below which also features Rebecca Front. It's a bit long but gets good towards the end.

And here Richard Herring talks about being a fan and then he and Stewart Lee (nearly)writing for them.