Family pay tribute to ‘like a light’ Jimmy Cricket ahead of his funeral

Jimmy Cricket’s Funeral Draws Fans to Salford Cathedral for a Final Encore

Traveloasisspot.com – Friends, family, and devoted fans are expected to fill the nave of Salford Cathedral on Friday afternoon as they bid one last farewell to one of British television’s most recognisable comedy voices. The requiem mass, scheduled for 1:30 pm, will serve as both a Catholic funeral rite and a public celebration of a career that spanned more than four decades of stage, screen, and radio.

James Mulgrew — universally known by his stage name Jimmy Cricket — passed away on August 3, aged 80, after a brief illness. His family confirmed he was “surrounded by his family, love, laughter and songs” in his final hours, a detail that underscores the warmth with which he was remembered even in the most private moments of his life.

A Career Built on One Unforgettable Line

For generations of British viewers, Cricket’s identity was inseparable from two visual and verbal trademarks: a bowler’s hat perched atop his head and the exuberant declaration, “And there’s more,” which punctuated his routines like a musical refrain. That catchphrase became so embedded in the national lexicon that it transcended the comedy circuit entirely, turning up in advertising, schoolyard chatter, and political commentary long after his television appearances had ended.

His path to that ubiquity was neither quick nor guaranteed. Born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, in Northern Ireland, Cricket left formal education at sixteen. During his teenage summers he donned the bright uniform of a Butlins holiday-camp “Redcoat” host, guiding groups of children through games and activities on the English coast. Those years of performing for captive, often reluctant, audiences sharpened a comedic instinct he would later deploy in the comedy clubs of Manchester and London throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s.

The breakthrough came when he won LWT’s Search for a Star talent competition, a victory that opened the door to a dedicated ITV series bearing his signature phrase in its title: And There’s More. The programme ran for four seasons, establishing him as a household name. Subsequent engagements included a BBC Radio 2 show, appearances in pantomime across the country, and a slot at the Royal Variety Performance during the 1980s — an event reserved for the cream of British showbusiness and attended by the monarch.

He also featured in long-running comedy anthology programmes such as The Good Old Days, further cementing his status as a fixture of British light entertainment during the decade’s peak television era.

“Like a Light”: Family Tributes

Cricket’s youngest son, Frankie Mulgrew — himself a former comedian who later entered the priesthood and now serves as Father Frankie Mulgrew — offered a tribute that blended humour with tenderness. Recalling the moments before his father’s death, Frankie said the comedian requested the Catholic last rites on two separate occasions.

“Almost like he asked for an encore,” Frankie recalled, describing how his father treated even the final sacraments as another performance to be savoured.

The priest-son went on to characterise his father simply as being “like a light,” a man whose primary joy lay in making other people laugh. That description, stripped of theatrical flourish, captures the essential ethic of a performer who built his entire identity around the audience’s smile.

In a statement shared across social media platforms, the family called Cricket their “greatest champion” and insisted he “loved us all loudly.” They added:

“Jimmy brought so much laughter and happiness to countless audiences in his career over the years. Whether on stage, screen or radio, or if you met him in person as well. But that was nothing to the happiness he gave to his family.”

A Private Life of Devotion and Domesticity

Beyond the spotlight, Cricket was a devout Catholic and a devoted family man. He was married to his wife May for fifty-two years, a union that produced four children. To his four grandchildren he was, in the family’s own words, a “very silly grandad” — a role that extended his comedic instincts into the domestic sphere long after television cameras stopped rolling.

The invitation for fans to attend the funeral mass is itself a gesture consistent with the man’s public persona. Cricket never cultivated an aura of exclusivity; his comedy was deliberately broad, inclusive, and aimed at the widest possible audience. Opening the cathedral doors to those who simply enjoyed his work mirrors that same democratic impulse.

What Comes Next

The funeral service at Salford Cathedral will mark the formal close of a life that began in a small Northern Irish town and ended in a Greater Manchester parish. For those who grew up hearing “And there’s more” on a Saturday-night television set, the phrase now carries an additional, quieter resonance — a reminder that every encore eventually concludes, and that the audience’s role shifts from laughter to remembrance.