Sean Hughes

Audiences all over the U.K. and Ireland were deeply familiar with the sharp wit of comedian Sean Hughes. Born in London in 1965 to Irish parents, Hughes moved to Dublin at age six and soon learned that when classmates teased him for his British accent, he could deflect the blows with humor. By 1987, Hughes had honed his defense mechanism into a brilliant stagecraft, performing regularly at The Comedy Store in London. After his live comedy show "A One Night Stand with Sean Hughes" won the Perrier Comedy Award in 1990, Hughes was given the chance to take his ideas to the masses, starring in the outlandish comedy series "Sean's Show" (Channel 4, 1992-93). Though he would continue to tour-memorably marking his 30th birthday with the "Sean Hughes Is Thirty Somehow" comedy tour-Hughes signed on in 1996 to serve as a team captain on the music quiz show "Nevermind the Buzzcocks" (BBC, 1996-2015). He would stick with the show until 2002, even as he pursued additional interests, publishing the novels The Detainees in 1998 and It's What He Would Have Wanted in 2000. Hughes also enjoyed acting, making a memorable turn as the chronically unemployed Mod Lewis on the series "The Last Detective" (BBC, 2003-04) in 2003, and playing Eileen's love interest Pat on the long running series "Coronation Street" (ITV, 1960-) in 2007. Hughes continued to tour Europe and Australia and made frequent TV appearances up until his sudden death in October of 2017. He was 51 years old.