Australian comedian Cal Wilson died at age 53 after a battle with cancer.
Wilson was surrounded by friends on Wednesday when she passed away at Sydney‘s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
The comedian was in Sydney filming The Great Australian Bake Off when she was admitted to hospital after being treated for lower back pain.
Doctors are believed to have diagnosed the New Zealand-born star with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. She was in hospital for two weeks prior to her death.
Entertainment reporter Peter Ford revealed the comedian collapsed on the set of The Great Australian Bake Off a few weeks ago.
Australian comedian Cal Wilson died after a battle with cancer, it has emerged
He appeared to suggest that her illness had something to do with her lungs.
Her management team at Token Artists said in a statement on Wednesday that she battled with a ‘short illness’.
Just five days before her death, Wilson had appeared in promotional images for the Melbourne Fringe Festival act, The 50 Year Show.
She is survived by her husband Chris and her son Digby.
Wilson was born in New Zealand and moved to Melbourne in 2003, where she met her future husband at a bar in the hip suburb of Northcote.
‘I was getting over a bad relationship at the time and we met at a mutual friend’s gig. I thought, “He could be a great fling.” Twenty years later we are still together with a 14-year-old son,’ she told The Sydney Morning Herald in July.
The pair married in 2008 and welcomed their son the following year.
Doctors are believed to have diagnosed the New Zealand-born star with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, The Daily Telegraph reported
Woods works in the education sector and appears to be an extremely private person as he was rarely seen at events with his wife.
‘Chris is kind and a man of his word,’ Wilson explained earlier this year.
‘When he couldn’t stay at a gig one night, he told me he had to leave as he wanted to see one of his students run a cross-country. I thought, “Wow, here is a man who has chosen to be a teacher not for the money but because he genuinely loves it”,’ she added.
Wilson’s hit some speedbumps on her road to love and admitted that she had ‘terrible taste in men’ in her 20s.
‘I was attracted to the bad boys and finally realised they are a***holes,’ she said.
She met her first boyfriend aged 15. He was 19 at the time and her parents would not let them spend time together alone.
Peter Ford also revealed on John Stanley’s 2GB radio show on Wednesday night, the comedian collapsed on the set of The Great Australian Bake Off just weeks ago
‘He would visit me at my family home but my parents wouldn’t let me leave the front gate, so I could only talk to him from the yard,’ she said.
‘It was very pure and innocent and didn’t last long.’
Melbourne photographer Alan Moyle shared a loved-up photo to Instagram of Chris and Cal getting married in 2003 and captioned it with some heartbreaking words.
‘We had so many memories, both for work and for fun, from the first time we did a shoot back in 2003 through to her and Chris’s brilliantly colourful wedding,’ he wrote.
‘I’m going to miss her and devastated for Chris, Digby, the cats and the whole extended family.’
The Christchurch native had performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival 14 times and most recently co-hosted Foxtel’s The Great Australian Bake Off and she also featured in her own Netflix stand-up special.
The comedian was in Sydney filming the Bake Off when she was admitted to hospital after being treated for lower back pain
In the hours after her death was announced, Darren Purchase – who is a judge on the baking show – issued a heartfelt tribute on Instagram.
‘Cal was a light and such a joyful good person, funny and the kindest,’ he wrote.
‘This is so unfair and I will never forget my precious time with Cal.’
He also spoke candidly about the last time he saw Wilson.
‘I am sorry this has happened to such a good person and I cannot get out of my head the last time I saw her when she was very sick,’ he wrote.
‘I wish I could give her a hug and tell her how much she means to me and so many people.’
Tributes for the comedian flooded social media on Wednesday afternoon.
Aussie actress Rebel Wilson said: ‘This is so tragic and my heart goes out to Cal’s family.’
‘I was very very lucky to work with Cal on multiple projects especially over the last few years where she wrote brilliant material for me. She was amazingly talented and amazingly kind.’
Adam Miller, who was a finalist on The Great Australian Bake Off this year, also shared a tribute and recalled the moment Wilson comforted him on set.
‘I can’t stop thinking of the time Cal saw me alone in the corner of the Bake Off shed noticing I was rather overwhelmed by it all, and offered me the warmest, most comforting hug,’ he wrote.
‘I burst into tears at the moment, and she just stood there with me sharing wise and hilarious words to get me through that moment.’
She is survived by her husband Chris (pictured on their wedding day) and her son Digby
Wilson had also worked as a radio and television presenter, actress and author. She starred on TV shows Spicks and Specks, Would I Lie To You and Good News Week.
Radio host Myf Warhurst, who frequently appeared with Wilson on ABC’s Spicks and Specks, wrote: ‘Oh Cal, what utterly devastating news. What a joy it was to be in her magnificent orbit over the years. My love to all who love her x’
The show’s host Adam Hills shared his own tribute.
‘The news of Cal’s death has broken me slightly but the outpouring of love for her has been so heartwarming,’ he wrote.
‘She was one of life’s best people and she made everyone happy. Everyone. Off stage and on. That’s how you live a life. May her spirit live on. Love ya Calbo.’
Comedian and TV host Julia Zemiro said: ‘Most generous. Most excellent. A huge hole in the Arts community and in my heart.’
The 53-year-old had performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival 14 times and most recently co-hosted The Great Australian Bake Off
