Ricky Gervais, Stephen Fry, and more pay tribute to 'brilliant' comedian Sean Lock

Sean Lock, one of the "most influential comedians of a generation," has died at 58 after a battle with cancer.

Lock, the British comedian best known from panel shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats and Have I Got News For You, died from cancer "surrounded by his family," his agency, Off The Kerb Productions, confirmed

"Sean was one of Britain's finest comedians, his boundless creativity, lightning wit and the absurdist brilliance of his work, marked him out as a unique voice in British comedy," the agency said. "Sean was also a cherished husband and father to three children. Sean will be sorely missed by all that knew him."

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Lock in 2000 was named best live comic at the British Comedy Awards, and throughout his career, he also appeared on shows like QI and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. Ricky Gervais remembered Lock as "one of the funniest, most influential comedians of a generation" and a "lovely man," while Jimmy Carr, who worked with Lock on 8 Out of 10 Cats, wrote, "I loved him. I'm watching clips of him right now — laughing & crying. I'll miss him so much."

Comedian Kevin Bridges also said that Lock was a "brilliant comedian, obviously, but just a genuinely hilarious guy too and one of the soundest guys in comedy," while Stephen Fry reflected that it's "safe to say that the best episodes of QI that I was involved with were always the ones where Sean Lock was a guest," adding, "Such complete brilliance in every comic direction. What a loss."