Comedian Gary Little found dead in Scottish mountains

Scottish comedian Gary Little was found dead in mountains in the Highlands on Friday.

Little had been hillwalking on Five Sisters of Kintail in the Highlands when he failed to return home.

His body was later recovered by Kintail Mountain Rescue, assisted by Glenelg Mountain Rescue Team, Police Scotland and the Coastguard.

Police confirmed a body had been recovered and that the death was being treated as “unexplained, but not suspicious”.

A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal in due course.

The 61-year-old was a regular at comedy clubs in Scotland as well as the Edinburgh Fringe and Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Following the news of Little’s death, tributes poured in on social media from comedy clubs and comedians alike, highlighting his comedic skill and “joy he brought to the world”.

The Stand comedy club paid tribute in a post on Facebook, writing: “We here at The Stand are utterly devastated to hear the news of the passing of big Gary Little. An incredible comic, huge personality and friend to many.

“We are lost for words and he will be profoundly and sorely missed. Our thoughts go out to all his family and friends right now.

“There will be many a comic thinking about him tonight, telling stories and raising a glass. He would have liked that.”

The Glee Club Glasgow added: “Gary wasn’t just one of Scotland’s finest comedians, he was a true original. He had a huge heart, a razor sharp sense of humour, and a knack for making you feel like you’d known him forever.

“He could make an entire room feel like they were sitting with an old friend. He played our opening weekend, and was a permanent fixture at the venue ever since.

“It’s difficult to put into words how much we will miss his presence, his humour and his friendship. We are deeply grateful for the years of memories, the countless laughs, and the privilege of working with him. There really was nobody else like him. We’ll miss him more than we can say.”

Ronnie Black branded Little a “genuine legend of Scottish comedy”, adding: “I had the pleasure of watching Gary and Sean Locke on the opening weekend of Glee. I will never forget Gary spoke for 20 minutes about a frying pan. Never knew frying pans were so funny.”

Jo Caufield said: “What terribly sad news. Gary Little was a great comic and an amazing person to spend time with. We are all poorer for losing you Gary.

“I will truly miss seeing you backstage and never hearing that big mischievous laugh.”

Raymond Mearns said: “Big Gary was a colossal comedy talent who had that rare ability to alchemise pain, suffering and the difficulties of life into passages of great beauty.

“We will all miss him and take time to process what has happened but all of my memories of Gary will be hilarious and happy ones. He brought great joy into the world and shone brilliant bright light into the darkness.”

Mark Nelson added Little was “one of the greatest storytellers comedy has ever had”.