Tributes have been paid to Nottingham-born comedian John Bird - described as "one of the greatest satirists" - who has died at the age of 86. Bird became known for sketches performed alongside John Fortune and Rory Bremner in Channel 4's satirical show Bremner, Bird And Fortune.
Paying tribute to him, Scottish impressionist Bremner, 61, wrote: "It's an irony that one of our greatest satirists, so brilliant at portraying ministers, civil servants or high-ranking officials who exuded self-satisfaction, was himself so modest and self-effacing. John Bird was, to the end, never pleased with himself, always feeling he should have done better, been less lazy, had a late period like Brahms, 'where everything was spare and abstract'.
"The reality was that he and his friend and collaborator John Fortune, together with Peter Cook, were pillars of the anti-establishment." A statement announcing Bird's death said he died "peacefully" at Pendean care home and that a family funeral will be followed by a celebration of his life in the new year.
