The “Two Doors Down” stars are devastated after the show legend’s sudden death
The cast of hit BBC sitcom Two Doors Down was left in shock after the sudden death of the show’s co-creator.
Stars of the hit series including Elaine C Smith, Alex Norton and wrestler Grado broke down in tears at the death of Simon Carlyle.
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There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
The 47-year-old from Ayr co-wrote ‘Two Doors Down’ with fellow writer Gregor Sharp, 52, in 2013 as a one-off special before it was commissioned for the BBC channel in 2016.
A source said: “Simon has been incredibly popular with the entire cast and crew – they absolutely disagree about it.
“Simon was always on set. Everyone loved him and loved his writing. Nobody can quite believe it. They are all devastated.”
Filming on a seventh series about the neighbors of the fictional Latimer Crescent wrapped in late July, with the entire cast performing a closing dance for a video posted to Twitter.
But in an interview with The Scottish Sun in 2018, the single Simon opened up about his struggles to break through as a comedy writer and that he had worked as a passenger greeter at Glasgow Airport to make ends meet
He said: “You basically don’t make any money from writing in the first 20 years.
“I have friends from school who have become plumbers and make a lot of money with a big house and a car, and it makes you wonder why you keep trying to write.”
The show proved so popular that BBC bosses moved it from BBC Two to a prime time slot on BBC1 last year.
The series stars Elaine C. Smith as the rude neighbor Christine, co-starring with Alex Norton as the long-suffering Eric Baird, Arabella Weir as his wife Beth, Doon Mackichan as his drunken friend Cathy, and Jonathan Watson as her slippery husband Colin and Grado as Diamond in the Rough Alan.
Simon, who also once modeled dishwashers on the STV series Wheel Of Fortune, said: “The whole show is based on reality.
“Most people have a drunk aunt, just like Cathy.”
Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy Commissioning, said: “We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of our friend and colleague Simon Carlyle.
“Simon was a wonderful comedy talent who co-created and wrote the multi-award-winning series Two Doors Down, among many other credits.
“His warm, comical voice shone through these characters, eliciting great affection from audiences and making them an enduring sitcom favorite.”
“Our condolences go out to his family and friends at this difficult time.”
And Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning at BBC Scotland, hailed the news, saying: “All of us at BBC Scotland are deeply saddened to hear this news.”
“Simon was a great writing talent, popular for his work on Two Doors Down and many other series.
“Our thoughts are with Simon’s family and friends, as well as the cast and crew of Two Doors Down.”
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