The creator of BBC One comedy series Two Doors Down, Simon Carlyle, has died aged 48, his manager has confirmed.
The Scottish sitcom has starred Arabella Weir, Kieran Hodgson, Alex Norton and others, and was also created and written by Gregor Sharp. Carlyle from Ayr wrote the show as a one-off special in 2013 before it was commissioned in 2016. Louise Thornton, head of commissioning at BBC Scotland, said staff were “deeply saddened” to hear the news.
She added: “Simon was a major writing talent, loved for his work on Two Doors Down and many other series.
“Our thoughts are with Simon's family and friends, and the cast and crew on Two Doors Down.” Carlyle's manager, Amanda Davis, said he had been known for being a “supportive and nurturing collaborator”.
“I am immensely sorry to confirm that Simon Carlyle has died at the age of 48,” she said.
“Simon was a wonderful person and a major comedic talent. He was much respected across the industry both for the quality of his writing and for being a kind, funny, supportive and nurturing collaborator.”
Jon Petrie, director of comedy commissioning at the BBC, said Carlyle had been a wonderful comedy talent.
“His warm comic voice shone through these characters, garnering huge audience affection, and firmly establishing it as a long-lasting sitcom favourite,” he said. Speaking to BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, TV critic Siobhan Synnot said it was a “sad loss”.
She said: “Simon and his writing partner Gregor sharp reached incredible successes with Two Doors Down.
“He talked about himself growing up gay in Ayr and feeling a little bit different, and I think that comes through in a lot of the work.”
Set around the residents of Latimer Crescent, Two Doors Down was recommissioned for a seventh series in February. It is set to move to BBC One for the next six episodes of the new series.
The sitcom's production team said: “We are deeply saddened by this terrible news. Simon was a brilliant, funny, mercurial and magnificent human being.
“He was at the centre of all the work we made together and his loss will be felt profoundly by all of us.”
Carlyle also wrote for Changing Ends, an ITV comedy series about Alan Carr growing up in the 1980s, and BBC LGBT+ show Boy Meets Girl.
— CutC by bbc.com
