Kinda surprised that no-one has posted this yet. I was gobsmacked to hear on Tuesday that Smith had died, three years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Voted 'Wittiest Living Person' by Radio 4 listeners, I think she lived up to the title. I only saw her act twice, over a decade ago and in the space of a few months. First time was at an anti-fascist demo/festival in London, mounted in protest at the election of a BNP councillor in Tower Hamlets. She totally rocked an acoustic tent with a routine including a riff about John Major's 'Sarf London' roots. The second time was at Glastonbury, early in the day on the main stage. It was the same routine basically, which is not unusual for comedians, but she didn't think she was going down too well ("Is it not working for you? It's not working for me either, really..." ), and ended her set early. Looking back, though, this was the time when Pilton had begun to change for the worse, though, and politically-edged humour was probably going to shoot right past a lot of festival goers. Linda went on to earn the fond appreciation of millions of listeners, and The News Quiz isn't going to be the same without her. We'll have to set up a preservation order for Andy Hamilton and Jeremy Hardy, now.

There will be a special tribute broadcast of The News Quiz this Friday, presented by Andy Hamilton.