John Bishop

DAWN French and Jason Manford have paid a heartbreaking tribute to the “quietly magnificent” publicist Neil Reading.

The entertainment industry heavyweight died aged 56 following a short illness.

Mr Reading, one of Britain’s best-known showbiz publicists, represented a glittering roll call of stars including French, John Cleese and the late Victoria Wood.

His sudden death has prompted an outpouring of grief from the celebrities and friends whose careers he helped champion.

The founder of Neil Reading PR was behind a string of West End hits, including High Society, Only Fools And Horses and Fawlty Towers – The Play.

But for French, Mr Reading was far more than the man handling her publicity.

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She said: “Neil Reading was a one-off, such a kind, decent, intelligent man, a proper gentleman in the old-fashioned way, quietly magnificent.

“Our work relationship became a very real and trusting friendship.

“He has been my ally and fierce protector through so much and for so long. I don’t quite know how I’ll manage without him. Sleep tight darlin’ heart.”

Comedian Jason Manford also revealed the devastating depth of their nearly two-decade friendship.

He said: “Describing Neil as my PR manager does not come close to describing what he meant to me.

“He was a trusted friend of almost 20 years, a confidant and one of the most loyal, noble and brilliant men I have ever known.”

Mr Reading’s star-studded client list also included John Bishop, Sir Lenny Henry and Paul McKenna.

Bishop said: “Neil was a true gentleman. He was too humble to realise how much he meant to people and I know he will be greatly missed.”

McKenna said: “Neil was one of the finest people I’ve ever known.”

Businessman Nick Candy, who was a close friend of Mr Reading, said the publicist’s impact stretched far beyond the spotlight.

He said: “Neil wasn’t just a brilliant publicist – he was a true friend and one of the kindest, most generous people I have ever known.”

Mr Reading launched his agency in 1992, building it into a formidable entertainment, consumer and lifestyle PR operation.

The company later expanded into business, property and fashion, while forging links with agencies across Europe and the United States.

Through decades at the heart of showbiz, Mr Reading became a trusted figure behind some of Britain’s biggest names and productions.

He is survived by his wife Claire and daughter Rosa.

Mr Reading’s career was built on a knack for turning famous names into headline-makers, long before social media transformed the publicity game.

He struck out on his own in 1992 at just 22, quickly building an agency around personal publicity and an increasingly glittering roster of household names.

By 1997, he was representing stars including Jonathan Ross, Michael Flatley, Jack Dee, Lee Evans and Ben Elton, while also working with clients outside showbiz.

His agency went on to become a formidable force behind some of Britain’s biggest entertainment launches.

In his 1997 Independent interview, he described personal PR as his “first love”.

JOHN Bishop has revealed that he and wife Mel have secretly renewed their wedding vows after “tough times’ in his marriage.

The comedian, 59, admitted that his marriage had “failed” and “everything had gone s***” before he found a particular musician that helped him heal the problems in his relationship.

John, who has been married to Mel for 33 years, said he really connected to artist David Gray’s music during his lowest times.

Speaking on stage at Silver Clef on Thursday, John said: “Tonight I could never imagined that I’d get the opportunity to say thank you to this artist.

“My marriage had failed, everything had gone s*** and like most men I had no-one to talk to, and the magic of songs is that you listen to them and you hear what that artist is feeling and you hear what that artist thinks of the world.”

John said he was introduced to the singer’s 1998 album White Ladder, which is David’s fourth studio album.

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The stand-up comic said that the Babylon singer became a “constant part of his life” and pulled him through some difficult times.

John continued: “Somebody gave me White Ladder and I listened to it and I realised sometimes there’s an artist that sings songs that tells you what you are thinking and feeling of the world, so when I was at my lowest I was introduced to David Gray and he’s been a constant part of my life ever since.

“I would say 90 per cent of the gigs that I do afterwards I get in the car, I put my headphones on and I listen to David Gray.”

John then dropped the news that he secretly renewed his wedding vows with Mel and even played one of the artist’s biggest tracks, Sail Away

“He [David] was there at the lowest point of my life but then when me and my wife reconciled and then went on to renew our wedding vows we played Sail Away as we walked down the aisle,” John added.

“He’s been there at the highest point of my life.”

John married Melanie in 1993 and they had three boys — Joe, now 29, Luke, 27 and Daniel, 25. But the stresses of life led the couple to split up for 18 months — and they almost signed their divorce papers in 2000.

While performing at an open night, John made a gag about missing his soon-to-be former wife so much that he kept her “severed head in the fridge”.

But unbeknown to the Liverpool-born comedian, she was right there in the audience.

The remarkable tale of John’s stand-up career and marriage inspired a movie directed by Hollywood star Bradley Cooper, which was released in January.

John said about his marriage: “There was no huge fight or a revelation about someone else. We just grew apart.

“Maybe it had something to do with having three kids so quickly.

“For six years there was always someone in the house in nappies. Our marriage just faded.”

Feeling “depressed”, he went to the Frog And Bucket Comedy Club in Manchester, which has helped launch the careers of acts including Peter Kay and Jack Whitehall.

He did not want to pay the £4 entrance fee, so put himself down on the list of comedians for the open mic night.

John recalled: “I clambered up on stage, picked up the microphone and thought, what on Earth am I doing here? I had no jokes, and ­absolutely no material. I just talked about life.”

The audience laughed as he riffed on his marriage woes, so John was invited back to perform again.

One of the routines would make the audience go, “Aww!” — when he spoke about splitting up from his wife. He would then tell them: “Don’t worry, we haven’t divorced — I’ve just killed her.

“But I knew I would miss her so I’ve kept her head in the fridge for three months.”

Melanie turned up with ­workmates for one of those gigs in 2000, and when John saw her ­afterwards he started to apologise for his jokes.

To his surprise, she said: “The man I saw on stage was the man I married. Where did he go?”

The couple went for marriage counselling at Relate and are still together today, 25 years later.

John said: “The pain we had in our relationship, it sounds cliched but it made us stronger.”

It then took John another six years to give up his job in pharmaceutical sales in order to become a comedian full-time at the age of 40.

The decision was the right one because he is now one of the nation’s most popular funnymen.