British comedian Freddie Starr found dead at home in Spain
- TV funny man was famous for eating a hamster, something he denied doing
English comedian Freddie Starr has died aged 76 at his home in Spain, according to reports.
Posts on social media pages claiming to belong to Starr appeared to confirm the news.
“This is Freddie’s manager. Just to confirm Freddie has passed away. R.i.p to our greatest comedian of all time,” a brief statement on Facebook said.
Merseyside-born Starr was the lead singer of the Merseybeat group the Midnighters during the 1960s and rose to national prominence in the early 1970s after appearing on Opportunity Knocks.
His body was reportedly discovered by a carer at his flat in Mijas on the Costa del Sol. A neighbour, who asked not to be named, told Daily Mirror: “His carer found him dead in his chair at around 3.30pm. Police arrived first and then later an ambulance arrived and he was taken away.
“His next door neighbour, who is a nurse, said he was definitely dead. She said she thinks he may have suffered a heart attack.”