Sean Lock's life and death – beloved family, £3m fortune and cancer tragedy

The late Sean Lock left an incredible £3million gift for his loved ones after tragically dying in August 2021, aged 58, after being diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2021.

While the 8 Out Of 10 Cats star had previously battled with skin conditions, fellow comic Bill Bailey revealed Lock was diagnosed with the disease in his lungs “a few years ago”.

The TV and stage star had always been deeply private about his family life, but had shared insight into the love and respect he had for his wife – who he praised for taking care of his family

So who was Sean Lock’s wife, and what was the truth behind his secret fortune and tragic death?

Here’s what you need to know.

Family life

Sean was married to businesswoman Anoushka Nara Giltsoff and although their children’s names are not known, the couple had a daughter in 2004, a second daughter in 2006 and a son in 2009.

Lock revealed that he’d been diagnosed with skin cancer in 1990 after a melenoma was spotted on his back by a woman with whom he was having a one-night stand.

In years later, his wife ensured their children were protected whenever they were outside – a protective move that Sean praised his wife for.

Sean said in a past interview: “My wife Anoushka is excellent about sun protection, and if it’s hot, she makes sure she puts SPF50 cream on the children before they step out of the house.”

In a 2010 interview with TimeOut, Sean described how he and his wife found the perfect work-life balance for themselves and their family when he came home from lengthy tours.

The comedian said: “Every time I come back me and the wife have arguments and I fall out with the kids.

“The problem is she doesn’t know anything about how hard my job is and likewise I’ve forgotten how hard her job is. That’s the hard bit, but you get over it.

“Recently my wife said, the best thing to do when you come back is just shut the f**k up. Don’t say anything. Don’t get involved. Know your position. You’re the lowest in the family; you’re right behind the baby on the list of important things. Stay there. And strangely, that worked.”

In the same year, the comedian revealed to The Times that work on his sitcom, 15 Storeys High, had put a strain on their relationship.

He said: “The amount of work that goes into a sitcom – seven days a week, 12 hours a day – drove my wife mental.”

The comic also revealed the couple had to put a stop to allowing their children to watch too much TV, which they used as a parenting tactic.

Sean said: “My wife and I have actually tried to cut it down because we were using it like some kind of gas to stun and quieten the children down.

“We’d sit them down in front of it for half an hour and then realise we’d left it on for two hours and they were stuck there like Easter Island heads.”

As for Anoushka’s public and social media presence, it seems as though the businesswoman prefers to stay out of the limelight.

However, she was described as “very supportive” towards Sean’s career.

£3m fortune

The Daily Star reported last year that the comedian had filed annual accounts for his Sean Lock Ltd company a month before his death and it had cash reserves of just over £1m and total assets – including property worth £350,000 – of £2.8m.

It was also reported that Sean earned more than £1m in 2019, bringing home around over £250,000 after taxes.

His wife Anoushka is also a director of his firm.

Tragic death

Sean previously opened up about how he’d battled skin cancer after working on a building site when he left school in the 1980s.

The comedian wasn’t diagnosed with the condition until the 1990s, but blamed it on over-exposure to the sun, admitting he never wore sunscreen while working on the site.

He was 27 when he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, which was first identified after a one night stand when the woman noticed an off spot on his back.

Sean said: “She noticed something about me that I hadn’t. She said there was something weird on my back.

“I asked her what it looked like and she said it was a patch of skin which was black, misshapen, with a crusty texture and about the size of a 10p piece. I had no idea how long it had been there.”

Sean said that the girl – named Tina – saved his life, suggesting that if he hadn’t been with her that night he could have died.

He went on to make a full recovery and has since worked with others to help raise awareness of the disease.

Sean tragically died from lung cancer after a private battle with the disease on August 16, 2021, close friend Bill Bailey confirmed.

Off the Kerb Productions said Sean “died at home from cancer, surrounded by his family”.

Fellow comedian Bailey told ITV that the 15 Storeys High star had been diagnosed with “advanced” lung cancer “a few years ago”.

“He had been diagnosed with lung cancer a few years ago and it was at the time quite a blow, particularly when it was quite advanced,” he said in an interview with ITV News.

“We’ve tried to make the most of the last few years. We spent a lot of time together and went on trips together. And he’s continued to work.

“He’s amazingly courageous and tough individual who was mentally strong throughout the whole time. I’m just grateful for the time we have had together.”

Tributes poured in for the much-loved comic and TV star, including fellow comic Jon Richardson, who tweeted: “Watching Sean’s last ep of Countdown I can see how upset I was knowing he was ill and how much that affected my performance, while Sean himself continued to be effortlessly hilarious.”

Lee Mack also paid tribute to Sean at the National Comedy Awards on March 5, who said: “There was one moment when I went to see him where he just said to me – and he didn’t say this in a ‘I want to make you feel better’ or ‘I’m trying to convince myself’ way; I just knew it was 100 percent true – he just said to me: ‘I’ve had a really good life, you know.’”

Mack continued: “It was so profound the way he said it, ‘cause I thought, ‘He really has,’ because he’s got this fantastic wife, three beautiful kids and he’s spent his life just making millions of people laugh. It’s hard to argue with.”

Other celebrities to pay tribute to Lock included Harry Hill, Liza Tarbuck and Rachel Riley.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk