Jimmy Cricket
Comedian Jimmy Cricket has died aged 80 after a short illness. Flickr/clark63

Comedy legend Jimmy Cricket has died aged 80 after a short illness, his family announced, revealing the And There's More star was still telling jokes to NHS staff in his final hours.

The Northern Irish comedian, born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, in 1945, became one of Britain's most recognisable family entertainers in the 1970s and 1980s through his clean stand-up, his ITV series And There's More and his unmistakable stage costume of battered bowler hat, tails, rolled-up trousers and wellington boots marked 'R' and 'L'.

He left school at 16, worked as a Butlins Redcoat from 1966, and spent years on the club circuit before a breakthrough on LWT's Search for a Star talent contest led to his own television and BBC Radio 2 shows.

In a statement, Cricket's family said he had spent his final days 'surrounded by his family, love, laughter and songs'. They described him as a devoted husband to his wife, May, of 52 years, 'a wonderful dad' to their four children and a 'very silly grandad indeed' to his four grandchildren.

'Jimmy brought so much laughter and happiness to countless audiences in his career over the years,' the statement said. 'But that was nothing to the happiness he gave to his family. He was our greatest champion and loved us all loudly.'

They added that, 'forever our clown, he was cracking jokes to the wonderful NHS staff and to us all, right until the end,' praising his 'courage, dignity and positivity through all he endured'.

How a Redcoat Became a Clean-Comedy Institution

Cricket's mainstream fame arrived in an era when variety shows still ruled British television. After his talent show win, he fronted And There's More, named after the line he would deliver as he piled punchline upon punchline, and went on to appear in Royal Variety Shows, The Good Old Days and The Krankies Klub, later enjoying a run on BBC Radio 2.

Colleagues often described him as one of the last national acts to stick to clean, family-friendly material as the wider industry increasingly rewarded shock value.

Fellow entertainer Ted Robbins called him 'one of the last great comics' with a 'unique style, never blue, just funny'.

His family also noted he was a Papal Knight of the Catholic Church and 'a man of great faith,' saying he 'believed that death is not the end and was looking forward to eternity, so really... And there's more'.

Tributes From Fellow Comics and Fans

Reaction to his death was swift. Comedian Tim Vine described him on X as a 'lovely, inspiring, funny man', recalling a visit to Cricket's home where he insisted on performing a new song, complete with dancing.

'I thought to myself, I hope I'm like this when I'm older,' Vine said. Robbins imagined a continuation of Cricket's running gag in the afterlife, joking that maybe the angels would be saying, come here Jimmy, there's more.

Fans posted condolences on his Facebook page, with one describing it as an honour to watch him 'be so funny for decades and decades,' calling him 'a trooper and a champ and a blessing to so many'.

The Joke Collection That May Yet Cheer Monday Mornings

Cricket had recently been working on a joke collection, 200 Monday Morning Jokes, drawing on previously unreleased material from across his career and intended, in his words, 'to cheer those on their first day back at work after the weekend break'.

The book had been planned for Christmas 2026, but he had taken a 'little sabbatical for health reasons,' according to a post on his website, while undergoing treatment and hoping to 'catch up' with audiences at shows later in the year. Whether the book is now completed will be for his family and publishers to decide.

Writer's pick