Barry's Beef

Will be sadly missed

I was really sorry, and shocked, to hear that Linda Smith has passed away due to ovarian cancer. Simply put, whenever I saw her on TV I always laughed. She was the most under-rated comedian in the UK. The argument continues as to why comedy is dominated by men, and still no-one cares; basically if someone is funny they're funny and Linda Smith was hilarious.
Various guest appearances on panel shows such as QI, Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week and Room 101 (the funniest episode I have ever seen). She was a regular on Radio 4 shows such as Just a Minute and the News Quiz, as well as her own series A Brief History Of Timewasting.
There will be a special tribute edition of the News Quiz this Friday at 6.30pm presented by Andy Hamilton. And Mark Steel will pay tribute to Linda on tonight's Front Row at 7.15pm on Radio 4.

Some quotes (and tell me you haven't thought the same about Tim Henman):

On Jesus: "We know he wasn't English, because he wore sandals - but never with socks."

When it was mooted the Duchess of York might be taken off the Civil List, she imagined her on a council estate: "I can't afford shoes for the kids: I've had to send Eugenie to school in skis."

On her hometown, Erith: "They had a competition to find a new name for the Erith Leisure Centre. The winning name was 'The Erith Leisure Centre'."

On WMD: "I sympathise with people trying to find them. I'm like that with scissors - I put them down, then search all over the house and never find them."

On the tennis player, Tim Henman: "He's the human equivalent of beige."