The Two Doors Down creator Simon Carlyle has been hailed as “brilliant, funny, mercurial and magnificent human being” after his death at the age of 48.
His manager, Amanda Davis, said Carlyle, from Ayr, was a “major comedic talent” known for being supportive and collaborative with other creators.
“I am immensely sorry to confirm that Simon Carlyle has died at the age of 48,” Davis said in a statement shared with PA Media. “Simon was a wonderful person and a major comedic talent. He was much respected across the industry both for the quality of his writing and for being a kind, funny, supportive and nurturing collaborator. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go to his family, friends and colleagues.”
Carlyle said the Scottish sitcom Two Doors Down was about “crazy neighbours. We’ve all got them. They seem OK, but when you scratch the surface they’re a bit nuts”. It was first commissioned as a one-off Hogmanay special broadcast on BBC One in 2013.
Co-created and written with Gregor Sharp, the show was based around the residents of Latimer Crescent and starred Arabella Weir, Kieran Hodgson, Alex Norton, Doon Mackichan and Jonathan Watson. The show was recommissioned for a seventh series in February and will to move to BBC One for the next six episodes of the new series.
In a 2019 interview with the Scottish Sun, Carlyle revealed he had applied for a job as a passenger greeter at Glasgow airport and wanted to quit television before the show became a hit. He also spoke about how the comedy drew from his own life experience, with Weir’s character, Beth, inspired by his own mother, Dorothy. He said Beth’s son Ian – played by Jamie Quinn – touched on his own experience of coming out while growing up in Ayr.
Carlyle also wrote for Changing Ends, an ITV comedy series about Alan Carr growing up in the 1980s, and the BBC LGBT+ show Boy Meets Girl. He was “a wonderful comedy talent”, said Jon Petrie, the director of comedy commissioning at the BBC.
“His warm comic voice shone through these characters, garnering huge audience affection, and firmly establishing it as a long-lasting sitcom favourite,” he said.
BBC Studios Comedy Production, which produces Two Doors Down, said: “Simon was a brilliant, funny, mercurial and magnificent human being. He had a microscopic fascination with what makes funny things funnier and we were so lucky to have known him. He was at the centre of all the work we made together and his loss will be felt profoundly by all of us.”
Louise Thornton, the head of commissioning at BBC Scotland, said: “Simon was a major writing talent, loved for his work on Two Doors Down and many other series. Our thoughts are with Simon’s family and friends, and the cast and crew on Two Doors Down.”
The comedian Jack Whitehall paid tribute to Carlyle, saying: “So sad to wake up to this news. Simon was such a talented and gracious human being. He was my first ever script editor and I learned so much from him. He was so funny and charming and always such a joy to spend time with.”