Eddie Large has died aged 78 from coronavirus, his son confirmed today.
The Little and Large comedian, who is best known for his partnership with Syd Little, had been in hospital with heart failure, before contracting the deadly Covid-19 virus.
Confirming the tragic news on Facebook, his son Ryan McGinnis, posted: ‘It is with great sadness that Mum and I need to announce that my dad passed away in the early hours of this morning.
‘He had been suffering with heart failure and unfortunately, whilst in hospital, contracted the coronavirus, which his heart was sadly not strong enough to fight.’
Eddie had an illustrious career in television, let’s take a look back at how it all began.
Opportunity Knocks
Eddie and Syd first went into partnership back in 1962 and after deciding to concentrate on comedy, they had their big break as Little and Large in 1971 when they appeared on ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks.
They went on to win the programme’s vote, which turned them into household names virtually overnight.
The Little And Large Show
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After storming the competition on Opportunity Knocks, Eddie and Sidlanded their own primetime show on ITV called The Little and Large Tellyshow, which piloted in 1976.
They soon decided to switch broadcasters and transferred their programme to BBC One and renamed it The Little And Large Show – it was perhaps their most notable work.
The sketch show aired on the Beeb from 1978 until 1991 for an incredible 11 series.
In that time, a total of 76 episodes were broadcast, including seven specials. At its peaks, the show was viewed by up to 15m viewers.
Eddie Large being pranked by a persistent fan on Noel Edmond’s Gotchas
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After The Little And Large Show came to an end, Eddie made an appearance on Noel Edmonds’ House Party.
The star somehow managed to keep his cool (for a little while) during a spot of lunch while a persistent fan continued to disturb his meal as part of an elaborate Gotcha prank.
As the cameras continued to roll, Eddie’s buttons were being pushed into overdrive and eventually it all got a little out of hand when super fan Bob spilled his glass of red wine over the comedian’s friend.
Luckily it all came to an end, when Bob surprised Eddie with a gorilla wheeling him out a birthday cake.
Noel was unveiled as the costumed animal and called out his iconic ‘gotcha’ phrase.
Incredible scenes.
Pointless and Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
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It’s said that Eddie and Sid didn’t speak for years, but the pair reconciled in their later years and appeared on Celebrity Pointless and Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway together.
In 2018, the duo joked about going head-to-head with Ant and Dec by launching a rival show on the BBC titled Little And Largest’s Saturday Night Food Delivery Service.
Last year, Eddie and Sid were celebrity guests on Pointless, alongside the likes of Andrea McLean and Melvin Odoom.
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