Victoria Wood’s devastated brother Chris Foote Wood, 75, has paid tribute to his sister following her death at the age of 62.
The author, broadcaster and former local politician, who himself lost his wife to cancer in 2013, described her as of the “brightest talents of our generation.”
Mr Foote Wood, from Darlington, Co Durham, said: “I learned today that my youngest sister Victoria has died after a short illness.
“It is a great shock, particularly as I am the eldest of the four children of Stanley and Helen Wood, and Victoria the youngest, 13 years younger than me.
“But more than that I feel that Victoria‘s death has robbed us of one of the brightest talents of our generation.
“It wasn’t just that Victoria was hugely talented in so many different fields, she was also outstanding in her tremendous, single-minded drive and determination to pursue her chosen career.
“Success did not come easily to Victoria, and it was only after years of struggle that she achieved her well-deserved national acclaim.
“I am hugely proud of what my sister has done so successfully in different fields of entertainment.
“It has been a privilege to have her as a sister, and particularly to have been able to observe at first hand how she developed her career from the earliest beginnings.
“Victoria‘s two children, my niece Grace and nephew Henry will be absolutely devastated to lose their mother at such a relatively young age.
“Another reason I admire Victoria is that she was determined from the start to give her two children as normal an upbringing as possible and to shield them from unwanted media attention.
“In this she succeeded superbly, aided in every way by her then husband Geoffrey Durham who has continued his close support for their children after he and Victoria divorced in 2002.”
