• [Daily Mirror Icon]
• 3am
• Celebrity News
• BBC1

Comedy legend Jimmy Cricket dies aged 80 after brief illness as tributes flood in

Comedian Jimmy Cricket, who became famous for wearing wellington boots on the wrong feet and was also known for his catchphrase 'And there's more!' has died at the age of 80

[Jimmy Cricket]

View 3 Images

Jimmy Cricket has died at the age of 80(Image: Daily Post Wales)

Jimmy Cricket has died at the age of 80. The comedian, whose real name was James Mulgrew, had enjoyed a career in entertainment spanning more than 50 years but passed away on Monday after a brief illness.

The Northern Irish-born star was perhaps best known for his catchphrase 'And there's more!', as well as wearing his wellington boots on the wrong feet as part of his act. He had been performing right up until March this year, and was due to undertake a tour across September and October but these dates were cancelled prior to his passing, with a note on his official website explaining that he was "undergoing treatment."

In a statement, his family said: "Our beloved Jimmy passed away this morning after a short illness. He spent his last few days surrounded by his family, love, laughter and songs.

[Jimmy Cricket]

View 3 Images

Jimmy's showbiz career had spanned more than 50 years (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

"Jimmy brought so much laughter and happiness to countless audiences in his career over the years. Whether on stage, screen or radio, or if you met him in person as well. But that was nothing to the happiness he gave to his family. A devoted husband to May for fifty two years.

A wonderful dad to his four children and very silly grandad indeed to his four grandchildren. He was our greatest champion and loved us all loudly. He also just loved people and he absolutely loved being a stand up comedian. What a life he lived.

Forever our clown, he was cracking jokes to the wonderful NHS staff and to us all, right until the end. His courage, dignity and positivity through all he endured was inspirational. A force for joy, we are just all very sad that the world is a far less sillier place today. We were going to end by using his famous catchphrase and say, Theres no More.

But Jimmy was a man of great faith and a Papal Knight of the Catholic Church. He believed that death is not the end and was looking forward to eternity, so reallyAnd theres more."

Jimmy was born in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and after leaving school, he spent two years working in a betting shop before starting his showbiz career as a Butlin's Redcoat before working at other holiday camps throughout the 1970s.

In the mid 1980s, Jimmy, who has toured with stars like The Osmonds, Brotherhood of Man, Gerry and the Pacemakers as well as fellow comedians like The Krankies, Cannon and Ball and Paul Daniels, landed his own sketch show.

[Cannon and Ball, The Krankies, Jimmy Cricket, Frank Carson and Paul Daniels]

View 3 Images

The star performed with other comedy legends like Cannon and Ball, The Krankies, Frank Carson and Paul Daniels over the years (Image: Corbis via Getty Images)

And There's More, named after his most famous catchphrase, ran on the BBC for four years an EastEnders star Brian Conley, who later became known as a TV host in his own right, made a guest appearances. Others such as Sherrie Hewson, who went on to star in Coronation Street and Benidorm, as well as fellow comedian Rory Bremner, appeared across the programme's long run.

Jimmy often appeared on the Royal Variety Show, and frequently held guest slots on The Good Old Days. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1987, and whilst his television appearances became more and more rare over the years, he continued to perform on stage regularly.

In 2015, he was awarded a papal knighthood (Order of St. Gregory the Great) by Pope Francis for the charity work he had carried out alongside his showbiz career.

Jimmy married singer May Marion in 1974 and they lived in Lancashire up until the time of his death. Together, they had four children, two of which followed in their father's footsteps and went into comedy. Katie Mulgrew, in using her own name, supported her father on tour and has made several appearances across BBC, ITV and CBBC over the years.

Frankie became known under the stage name of Frankie Doodle before becoming ordained as a priest and published the book Does God LOL? Meanwhile, Jimmy's other two children, Jamie and Dale, opted for careers away from the limelight.

Tributes flooded in across social media from the world of entertainment. Jim Whelan, who has appeared in Coronation Street and Emmerdale numerous times over the years, appeared in a production of Snow White with Jimmy over a decade ago was one of the first to speak out.

He wrote: "Awww, Jimmy Cricket has died. My last Panto was with him at the Charter Theatre Preston. A nicer man would be impossible to find, time for everyone. God bless Jimmy, RIP. x"

Comedian William Caulfield wrote on X: "Sad to hear that Jimmy Cricket has died. He was one of the most generous and lovely people to work with. I always enjoyed his company both on and off stage and remember all the shows we did together with fondness. Thinking of his wife Mrs Cricket and his family at this sad time."

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

[Daily Mirror Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.