Jack Whitehall has shared a heartbreaking tribute to Archie Lyndhurst, 19, after he was found dead at his family home in West London following a short illness.
Taking to social media on Thursday night, Jack said he was ‘utterly devastated’ and that ‘kind’ Archie had looked after his parents – Michael, 80, and Hilary – during lockdown when they were unable to leave the house.
Sharing two throwback pictures of himself with Archie, the comedian, 32, revealed that the late actor had played a young version of him in his 2011 series Little Crackers.
Heartbreaking: Jack Whitehall has shared a heartbreaking tribute to Archie Lyndhurst, 19, after he was found dead at his family home in West London following a short illness
Jack added that Archie had reprised the role for his arena tour and special, also playing a young Alfie Wickers in Bad Education.
Calling the late teenager ‘passionate’ and ‘talented’, the comedian said he was ‘loved by everyone on set’.
Jack penned: ‘I write this with an extremely heavy heart. Archie Lyndhurst came In to my life nearly ten years ago, playing the young me in a short film I’d written. He was brilliant, so talented and funny. An utter joy to work with.
‘So much so that it proved to be the start of a wonderful partnership, we did a skit at the London Palladium, he played me again in a sketch for my arena tour and special.
‘Utterly devastated’: Taking to social media on Thursday night, Jack said he was ‘utterly devastated’ and that ‘kind’ Archie had looked after his parents – Michael, 80, and Hilary – during lockdown when they were unable to leave the house
‘Talented’: Sharing two throwback pictures of himself with Archie, the comedian, 32, revealed that the late actor had played a young version of him in his 2011 series Little Crackers
‘And when we needed to find an actor to play the young Alfie Wickers in Bad Education it was the easiest piece of casting we ever had to do.
‘Every time I worked with Archie he was the same – passionate, generous and pitch perfect, he was loved by everyone on set.
‘I have no doubt he would have had a long and illustrious career and would have continued lighting up the lives of all those who encountered him.’
Jack added that ‘kind’ and ‘wonderful’ Archie had looked after his parents during the coronavirus lockdown, bringing them shopping and groceries.
Family: Jack pictured with his father Michael, 80, who he has a Netflix series with called Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father, in 2019
‘The enthusiastic and talented boy I met all those years ago had grown into an equally charming young man, during lockdown he would take shopping and groceries to my parents house for them when they couldn’t leave the house, it’s testament to what a wonderful and kind person he was,’ he continued.
Jack ended his tribute by saying he was ‘utterly devastated’, he added: ‘The world has been robbed of a truly special soul. He will never be forgotten, I feel utterly devastated that he is gone but I also feel so blessed to have met him. Goodbye Archie.’
On Thursday, Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst said he was ‘utterly grief-stricken’ after his son Archie, 19, was found dead at the family home in West London after a short illness.
The teenager, who had been acting since the age of 11, starred in the hit CBBC show So Awkward as Ollie Coulton and was dating co-star Nethra Tilakumara.
In a statement given on Thursday, Mr Lyndhurst said: ‘Lucy and I are utterly grief stricken and respectfully request privacy’.
Archie, from Fulham, also appeared as a young Jack Whitehall in TV’s Bad Education in 2014 and voiced a character in the video game Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward.
Archie, who also once played a young Michael Gambon, had been with Tilakumara for a year in April and they posted photographs on holidays in Amsterdam and Paris.
His father Nicholas famously played Rodney Trotter alongside Sir David Jason as his brother ‘Del Boy’ in the long-running BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.
A BBC spokesman confirmed on Thursday that Archie had ‘very sadly died after a short illness’ and Scotland Yard said his death was ‘unexplained but not suspicious’.
Series six of So Awkward, a sitcom about a group of schoolchildren, is currently airing on CBBC with a new episode scheduled to be broadcast at 5pm today.
Lyndhurst, 59, and his wife Lucy Lyndhurst celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary a month ago and also have a house in Chichester, West Sussex.
Mrs Lyndhurst, who declined to comment at the family home in Fulham on Thursday, replied to an Instagram post about Archie’s death by Game of Thrones star Samuel Small, writing: ‘He will love you and watch over you forever.’
Only Fools and Horses star John Challis, who played Aubrey ‘Boycie’ Boyce in the show, tweeted: ‘The saddest news of all today. The death of Archie Lyndhurst, just starting out on his chosen career in acting. My heart aches for Nick and Lucy. They could not have loved him more.’
Statement: On Thursday, Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst said he was ‘utterly grief-stricken’ after his son Archie, 19, was found dead at the family home in West London after a short illness (pictured with wife Lucy and son Archie in 2017)
Sue Holderness, who played Boycie’s wife Marlene in the sitcom, said: ‘It is too sad to hear that Archie Lyndhurst has died. My heart goes out to his mum and dad and to all who knew him.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘We’re so sorry to have to tell you that Archie Lyndhurst, who so brilliantly played Ollie in So Awkward on CBBC, has very sadly died after a short illness.
‘Archie will be hugely missed by all who worked with him, and by all the fans who laughed along with Ollie in the show.’
Police officers and paramedics were called to his family home in Fulham on September 22 following reports of a ‘concern for welfare’.
Girlfriend: Archie and his girlfriend Nethra Tilakumara, wearing Batman and Robin costumes – just like his father did playing Rodney alongside Sir David Jason as Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses
Archie, who had a brief role in Casualty in 2018, was declared dead at the scene in an ‘unexplained but not suspicious’ death which is not being investigated by police, who have passed a file to the coroner.
Archie, who had a clothing label called Fated to Pretend inspired by his skating hobby, said in an interview in March with TresA magazine: ‘I knew I wanted to be an actor when I was eight.
‘At the time, I didn’t know my dad was an actor, and he kept trying to say to me that I shouldn’t start acting. I then found out that he was an actor and said that if he can do it, I can do it as well.
Acting: Archie followed in the acting footsteps of his father Nicholas (together)
‘That didn’t change anything though as he still wouldn’t let me do it. He eventually asked me why I wanted to be an actor, and I said it’s because I wanted to make people laugh.
‘He then sent me to drama school, I got my first agent, I started getting work, and now I’m here. I’m incredibly grateful for everything I’ve been given.’
Speaking about Jack Whitehall, Archie added: ‘Jack’s funny. He saw my audition tape when I was 11 and him and his mum emailed me a picture of Jack when he was eleven and we looked so similar.
‘I knew that if I didn’t get this job, I didn’t know what was going on. I ended up getting it and me and Jack got on really well, and we still do. Since then, he just keeps asking me to do things – I don’t know why.’
In an interview with August 2015, Lyndhurst said: ‘I became a different person overnight when I had my son – terrified.
Following Archie’s first TV appearance in December 2011 in Jack Whitehall’s show Little Cracker, Whitehall tweeted that Archie was a ‘star of the future’.
A spokesman for the Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society said: ‘We would like to express our heartfelt sadness and warm wishes to the family of Nicholas and Lucy Lyndhurst on the tragic news on the loss of their beloved son Archie.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘Police were called at approximately 9.41am on Tuesday, September 22 to a report of a concern for welfare.
‘Officers and London Ambulance Service attended. At the scene a man was found unresponsive. He was declared dead at the scene.
‘His next of kin are aware. At this stage the death is treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A post-mortem will take place in due course.’
Career: Nicholas Lyndhurst (centre) starred in the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses alongside Buster Merryfield as Uncle Albert (left) and Sir David Jason as Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter (right)