Image caption Comic Felix Dexter appeared in shows including The Real McCoy, The Fast Show and Absolutely Fabulous

Stars including Simon Pegg and Matt Lucas have expressed their sorrow at the death of comic and actor Felix Dexter, who died on Friday of cancer.

The St Kitts-born Londoner, 52, had suffered from myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer.

Star Trek and Shaun of the Dead star Pegg tweeted: "Very sad to hear news of his passing. Very funny man."

Little Britain's Lucas added that the Real McCoy star was: "A brilliant performer and ...a very nice man."

Comedian and QI panellist Alan Davis added his voice to the tributes, saying that his memories of Dexter went back a long way.

He tweeted: "Sad and shocked to hear about Felix Dexter passing away. So many gigs with him back in the olden days. Always a pleasure. RIP Felix."

Image caption He played Saffy's boyfriend in Absolutely Fabulous

Fellow comic and presenter Dara O Briain linked on Twitter to a clip of Dexter performing as "the accountant" in 90s flagship black comedy The Real McCoy, adding he was "so sad" to hear the news.

Comedian and star of The Infidel Omid Djalili described Dexter as "one of the very few who made me howl", while actor David Schneider tweeted: "Lovely, lovely guy. And I think nothing on TV has ever made me laugh more than his Real McCoy Nigerian character", referencing the Real McCoy clip linked to by O Briain.

Actor David Morrissey, who has starred in TV series The Walking Dead and State of Play, said he worked with Dexter a while ago, describing him as a "funny, talented and generous man".

Comedian Jenny Eclair added: "Terribly sad news about a very nice man who did a lot of fabulous work."

Former Brookside star Louis Emerick said Dexter was a "very funny, talented man, gentleman!" tweeting: "Gone too soon."

Dexter moved to the UK when he was aged seven and came to prominence in The Real McCoy and later performed for a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Paul Whitehouse: "We're all reeling - we're all also trying to be positive and remember Felix as a warm, positive, hilarious bloke"

More recently, he played three of the main roles in BBC Two's sketch show Bellamy's People and is currently appearing in Citizen Khan.

The Fast Show's Paul Whitehouse acted with Dexter in Bellamy's People.

Whitehouse told BBC Radio 5 live he was privileged to be close to the comedian and actor.

"He was a very modest, a very private man," he said. "It was an honour to be close to him.

"He stuck in people's minds, Felix. There's been such an outpouring of warmth and affection for him."