Eddie Large's son Ryan has revealed that his father kept nurses "laughing and joking" right up until his death last week.

The comedian - one half of Little and Large - passed away at the age of 78 on Thursday after contracting the coronavirus disease.

Large had been in hospital for ongoing heart problems when he picked up the killer virus, which has claimed more than 65,600 lives worldwide to date.

"He was always laughing and joking with the nurses," Ryan told The Mirror. "He always showed them a photo of himself and Syd (Little) with Ant and Dec because you had all the young nurses thinking, 'who is this guy messing about telling me jokes?'

"He's meant to be on death's door and he's still messing about telling jokes! He was telling jokes literally until his last breath."

Little and Large were one of the biggest acts in the country in the 1970s and '80s, with their BBC series The Little and Large Show regularly drawing up to 15 million viewers.