21 February 2024 , 09:49
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Ricky Gervais has paid a touching tribute to his co-star Ewen MacIntosh after he died aged 50.
The actor starred as Keith in hit series The Office, which was written and created by Ricky. Ewen's death was announced on Wednesday by his friend Ed Scott. He paid tribute to his "very good friend" who was "so full of empathy, kindness, and integrity". Tributes soon flooded in for Ewen, including from co-star Ricky.
Taking to social media, Ricky said: "Extremely sad news. The very funny and very lovely Ewen Macintosh, known to many as 'Big Keith' from The Office, has passed away. An absolute original. RIP."
His management's company JustRight Management announced the news in a statement, which read: "With great sadness we announce the peaceful passing of our beloved comedy genius Ewen MacIntosh. His family thank all who supported him, especially Willow Green Care Home. There will be a private cremation for family & close friends soon & a celebratory memorial later in the year."
Scott paid tribute to Ewen, as he said: "I am completely devastated by the loss of my very good friend Ewen MacIntosh. He may have had a famous face known by millions as Keith from The Office but the person inside is what I will most remember. Ewen was so full of empathy, kindness, and integrity and above all a really good man. Sending love to his parents Sara and Ewen Sr, his brother Colin and his family, as well as his many friends and fans."
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Ricky and Ewen starred alongside each other in The Office (BBC)The actor and comedian is best known for his role as Keith Bishop in the BBC sitcom, however he also starred in Miranda and Little Britain. Ewen also took part in the charity music video for the Chris Rea song Driving Home for Christmas in 2009 and appeared in the West End show of Geek! A New Musical in 2013.
In 2020, Ewen starred in Celebrity Come Dine alongside Charlotte Crosby, Dawn Ward, Steven Arnold, and Jay Hutton. He presented various music programmes including Now 80s and Now 90s. Before his death, Ewen turned his hand to a new stream of income during lockdown.
He made video messages for fans, saying: "When lockdown happened this whole fad of like video messaging, like Cameo and CelebVM, really kind of took off. I'm doing that a lot. I would say all my requests bar none are for me to do Keith lines and Keith quotes for people's birthday messages, stag dos and weddings and so on."
Comedy TV channel Gold also wrote on X following the sad news: "We at GOLD are saddened to hear that Ewen MacIntosh has passed away at the age of 50. We loved him as Keith in The Office and were lucky enough to work with him over the years on the channel. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at such a difficult time."