" The loss of Jeremy is a great loss to us all. He was a fantastic entertainer and a wonderful man.

I was at his side for many years, and I recall how he had an infinite capacity for wanting to generate laughter.

Even when he was at the peak of his fame, he would always break off and talk to ordinary people and members of the audience.

I have never seen anyone sign so many autographs.

I remember some bizarre moments with him - like being stuck together in a tiny hideout, no bigger than a cupboard, while we were waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting member of the public on Game For a Laugh.

My time on radio with him was a revelation. He was a natural, and it would be a shame if people forgot how good he was in that format.

But he was an incredibly intelligent man, as well.

Whenever I went to his house I was always amazed by how many books he had. Every idea you discussed would be impeccably researched by him.

The only word he didn't have in his vocabulary was no.

Every time you made a suggestion for a prank on the show, he would want to take it as far as it would go even if the rest of us thought it wouldn't work.

Beadle did so much for charity that he didn't ever want published.

He could have made sure that his name was attached to everything he did for good causes. But it was personal to him, it was private.