Curse of Have I Got News For You - from devastating illnesses to early deaths (2025)

Have I Got News For You has been a fan favourite on British TV for decades, and with huge names appearing on the show, it's always a popular comedy show. However, there have been a number of deaths over the years

Have I Got News for You may be one of the nation's favourite panel programmes, but it has also been blighted by tragedies. With the shocking deaths of beloved contestants shocking the country and the fans, we take a look at some of the most-loved panellists who have sadly passed away since.

The popular BBC comedy quiz show, which grills celebrity contestants on the week’s top stories and news, first aired in September 1990 and is still popular today. It's featured the likes of Ian Hislop, Paul Merton, Alexander Armstrong, and the late comedians Janey Godley and Tony Slattery. Here, we take a look at some of the stars' tragedies.

Janey Godley

The Scottish comedian died after receiving end-of-life care for her battle with terminal cancer on November 2 last year. Janey was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer, which had been treated but had returned with complications. Initially a Glaswegian landlady, Janey found viral fame in 2016 and went on to have a successful comedy career, based her stand-up jokes on adversity.

Often angry, she specialised in wringing laughs out of the most unlikely material, and as her fame grew, she became more of a household name and even became friends with Nicola Sturgeon, but her health was declining. She revealed in 2021, she had ovarian cancer. She documented her illness and treatments on social media and by touring and, for a while, was cleared of cancer.

But she came back in December 2022 and was told she could die within the year. She carried on working and made a BBC radio programme about her condition. She contributed to BBC programmes, including Have I Got News For You and Breaking the News. More recently, she made a BBC documentary called Janey following her 2023 tour.

Janey was also very vocal on social media about her condition, and would regularly post updates to her followers. The 63-year-old announced she would be getting palliative care and going into a hospice in a video she shared on social media and thanked the NHS and those who have cared for her as well as her family, friends and fans for their support. The Scottish comedian said in the video: “So I’m now in palliative care and I’m at end-of-life care now in the hospital.

"The chemo ran out of options and I just couldn’t take any more of it and the cancer has spread. So it looks like this will be getting to near the end of it and it’s really difficult to speak about this and say to people."

In the days before her death, the comedian was awarded an honorary degree and received the honour from the University of Glasgow while in her hospice bed. In a candid Instagram post, her daughter Ashley Storrie revealed how proud she was of her mum and shared photos of the heartfelt moment where she received the certificate.

She wrote: :Thank you @UofGlasgow for bestowing upon my mum the honorary degree of doctor of the University of Glasgow. This has brought her so much joy in the final beats of her life. Janey is so honoured and I am so immensely proud of her. I am always proud of her."

But then a few days later, Janey's management shared the sad news of her passing. "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our client, Doctor Janey Godley, on 2nd November," her agent said. "Janey died peacefully in the wonderful Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow, surrounded by her loved ones. She will be hugely missed by her family, friends and her many fans."

Tony Slattery

Comedian Tony Slattery passed away aged 65 from a heart attack in January 2025. He appeared on the Channel 4 comedy improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and comedy shows Just A Minute and Have I Got News For You. Known for his quick-witted improvisations, he had been on screen.

Before he embarked on a successful comedy career, a young Slattery won a scholarship to study medieval and modern languages at Cambridge University. From there, he entered the world of showbiz and met a young Sir Stephen, who invited him to join the Cambridge Footlights - the university's famous amateur dramatics club.

Just before his death, Slattery thanked fans of his new podcast in what would be his last ever message on Christmas Day - just weeks before his death from a heart attack. The star was last seen in an Instagram post he uploaded at Christmas, where he wore a tinsel and holly scarf and gratefully thanked supporters of Tony Slattery's Rambling Club.

Reacting to the clip, fans of the podcast remarked on how well he was looking. Proudly discussing the show, which he launched in October, Slattery said: "Hello everyone who's watching this. Tony Slattery here - president of the Rambling Club. We've had a wonderful year and it's thanks to you.

'The listeners, and also the patreon people who help us going. We're growing excrementally and we love doing it, and this is just to say thank you and a Merry Christmas."

News of his death was shared by his partner of more than three decades, Mark Michael Hutchinson. A statement released on behalf of Hutchinson read: "It is with great sadness we must announce actor and comedian Tony Slattery, aged 65, has passed away today, Tuesday morning, following a heart attack on Sunday evening."

Sean Lock

Sean Lock was a comedy panel show favourite and was most notably a team captain on the 8 Out of 10 Cats show hosted by Jimmy Carr. He also appeared on QI, The Last Leg, Have I Got News for You, and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. Sean died aged 58 from cancer in 2021, and the stand-up comedian was called "genuinely hilarious" by his management Off the Kerb Productions.

Lock left school in the early 1980s and began working on building sites but developed skin cancer, which he blamed on over-exposure to the sun. He recovered and decided to focus on a career in comedy.

John Sessions

John Sessions was a regular on TV, appearing on TV comedy shows such as Have I Got News For You, Whose Line is it Anyway? and QI, but the actor and comedian died aged 67 in his home in South London in 2020 after suffering a heart attack.

He was renowned for his celebrity impressions, one of which memorably included his friend Alan Rickman, and he starred in films such as Gangs of New York, Filth and Kray Twins film, Legend. He also appeared in TV shows Skins and Outnumbered. A frequent face on chat shows and panel game shows, he was known for his impressions and ever-flowing consciousness wit.