Tributes pour in for Susan Vale
Former stalwart of the Manchester comedy circuit dies from lung cancer
Tributes have been paid to Susan Vale, a stalwart of the Manchester comedy circuit of the late 1990s, following her death from lung cancer.
She was a finalist in the Hackney Empire New Act Of The Year in 1998 and wrote for TV and radio, with credits including The 11 O'Clock Show and the Radio 4 show The In Crowd, which starred Robin Ince, Helen Moon, Smug Roberts and Kate Ward.
On stage, Vale was known for often filthy lines such as ‘I like my men like I like my drugs : stuffed up my cunt in an airport toilet’ or the less crude: ‘My brother owns three brothels. He’s a bit of a fanny magnate.’
But Toby Hadoke, who runs Manchester’s XS Malarkey, said: ‘She was a one-off, a beautiful soul behind the filth. Really gentle and kind and very socially conscious. Everyone liked her.’
Many fellow comics took to social media after news of her death on Wednesday spread.
Peter Slater was in a short-lived spoof cabaret act with Vale called Steph and Stephanie, which he said was ‘a blast’
He posted on social media: ‘She was wonderfully weird and eccentric with zero vanity in her heart and soul. Perfect. We collaborated on various comedy projects over the years, many so leftfield that they fell off the field into a world of their own. Utter joyous madness. I will miss her dearly and still have a book that she leant me from two years ago. I still haven't read it.’
Jo Enright called her ‘a smart and beautiful woman’, Alfie Joey said she was a ‘lovely person’; and Ruth E Cockburn said: ‘She was great fun and so intelligent. An amazing human.’
On Instagram, Taskmaster’s Phil Ellis wrote: ‘We met early doors in my comedy career in Manchester and her warmth and incredibly unique personality gripped me immediately. I loved working with her so much and was always excited to see what she would come up with every time we put a show on together or if we were on the same bill at a gig.
‘Last time I saw her she was just as hilarious and a joy to be around. I’m just sorry that I didn’t get to see more of her this past year. It may sound like a cliche but time goes so fast and it’s so easy to assume that some people are going to be around forever. I’m so glad to hear that she was surrounded by such incredible friends and loved ones at the end. She’s a massive loss to so many people’s lives and to the Manchester comedy scene as a whole.’
Ince paid tribute with a video on Instagram, calling her a ‘really brilliant human being’ and recalling her love of The Fall – which she would showcase at gigs they did together, and which surpassed even that of superfan Stewart Lee.
‘She did Latitude Festival with me a few times and did an incredible routine where basically she had every single Fall album – and there's a lot, not as many albums as there are members of The Fall, but a huge pile of albums.
‘People could choose a number and that led to an album and she had a story that was inspired by every single Fall album.
‘She wrote some really amazing sketches when we did a Radio 4 sketch show called The In Crowd together and she was one of those people who was relentlessly underrated and I think too frequently dismissed
‘She had true funny bones and the most incredible mind and was someone worth celebrating.’
At one edition of Ince’s Book Club show reviewed by Chortle, Vale read from Cockney entertainer Arthur Mullard’s memoirs before tapdancing while simultaneously scoffing a Yule log.
Hadoke added on Facebook: ‘What a lovely, unassuming, socially conscious, witty and friendly woman. A gentle presence on the circuit who was always lovely to hang out with. Onstage though - fearless, filthy and daft as a brush, as comfortable with the dirtiest of puns as she was stripping down to a sequinned miniskirt and tap dancing her way to applause.
‘She played at @xsmalarkey at least once a year during its first couple of decades. I’d not seen her of late - time flies and we think people will always be around. A light’s gone out, a glittering, sequinned light that fluttered joyfully. RIP Sue xx’
Published: 23 Jan 2026
