Piers Morgan and Ant and Dec share heartbreaking tributes following the death of Britain's Got Talent co-star

Britain's Got Talent

Piers Morgan, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donelly have all paid tribute to a former Britain's Got Talent cast member following his death.

Comedian Ian Royce worked on the ITV talent show alongside the likes of Piers, Simon Cowell, Ant and Dec and Amanda Holden as an audience warm up act.

It was confirmed today that he had passed away at the age of 51.

During this morning's episode of Good Morning Britain, Piers took a few moments to pay tribute to Ian, explaining he worked alongside him for around 14 years on both Britain's Got Talent and his own chat show, Life Stories.

"Ian was the most famous person you may not have heard of, he was famous to the industry," Piers said on air.

"He was the best, funniest, warm up guy, no disrespect to the others. He was the best I ever worked with.

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"We had so many laughs. [He was a] rather complex guy in many ways. He had a lot of demons, but he had a zest for life. He was a hilariously funny guy, and he also had a great love for his daughter, Roxanne, who let me know yesterday, and my thoughts are with her in particular.

"Always made me laugh, he'll be greatly missed by everybody in this business. I'll greatly miss him, love to all his family and friends and Royce, thanks for the laughs mate and we'll miss you," Piers added finally

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Meanwhile, Britain's Got Talent double act hosts Ant and Dec took to social media to pen a loving message in light of the sad loss.

'It is with our greatest regret that we have to tell you all that Ian has passed away today from severe pneumonia and multiple organ failure. He was in no pain and was surrounded by friends and family. He put up a good fight but is in a better place now,' the pair wrote on their shared Twitter account.

Lots of celebs and showbiz stars also shared their feelings in light of the loss of Ian.

'This is so incredibly sad,' wrote reality star Vicky Pattison.

'Very sad news ❤️🙏🏻,' added Lizzie Cundy.

Britain's Got Talent 2022 returns on 16th April on ITV.

Caitlin Elliott
Junior News Editor

Caitlin is a Junior News Editor for Goodto.com, covering all things royal, celeb, lifestyle, food, and family. Having set her sights on becoming a magazine journalist when she was a child, Caitlin took on work experience stints at local papers and titles such as Cosmopolitan, Now, Reveal and Take a Break while studying for her Multimedia Journalism degree and has interviews with celebs, reality stars and the Archbishop of Canterbury under her belt (of course, she couldn't resist asking him about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry).