When I switched on the TV news to find that Victoria Wood had died at 62, I was genuinely shocked.

Possessing her own distinctive style, she was a pioneer in a male-dominated world and no British comedienne who followed in her wake could emulate the quality of her work.

I loved her sketch shows, her sitcoms, her songs, her stand-up routines and her superbly-written TV plays and films, not all of which were comedies.

Victoria created an astonishing body of work in a relatively short lifetime.

Right from her early days in the business she realised that to hone your craft, you have to put the hours in – and it paid off.

We live in a time of ‘C’ list ‘celebrities’ famous for being famous – what an empty, pointless existence that must be!

They’ll be forgotten in a few years – I don’t even know 99% of them now.

But the multi-talented Victoria Wood will always be remembered as long as our world contains laughter, compassion . . . and custard creams.