Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber has confirmed that his eldest son, Nicholas, has died aged 43, after a battle with gastric cancer.
The 75-year-old Oscar-winning composer shared the news on Twitter on Saturday, writing: “I am heartbroken to announce that my beloved eldest son Nick died a few hours ago at Basingstoke Hospital.
His entire family is reunited and we are all totally bereft. -ALW’
It comes after Lord Lloyd-Webber recently revealed that Nicholas, who was also a composer, had been transferred to a hospice where he was “fighting” gastric cancer.
The star shared a heartbreaking update on her son’s condition earlier this week, saying he had been moved to hospice due to a bout of pneumonia.
Sad: Andrew has revealed that Nicholas (left), whom he shared with ex-wife Sarah Hugill, has died after suffering from the disease for the past 18 months
Tragically, Andrew explained in a video that Nick was “over the worst” regarding this first fight and shared his hopes for his son’s recovery.
There has been an outpouring of support for the songwriter since he revealed his son had passed away on Twitter tonight.
Stars from the musical theater world, politicians, celebrities and close family friends paid tribute to Nicholas when the sad news broke.
Nicholas followed in his father’s footsteps and was a successful songwriter in his own right, having written Fat Friends The Musical.
He was married to musician Polly Wiltshire, who appeared on the soundtrack of his father’s 2019 film Cats.
During his career, Nicholas also composed the music for an adaptation of The Little Prince, as well as composing numerous television and film scores.
He was nominated for a Grammy for Musical Theater Album with his father, Greg Wells and David Zippel for Lord Lloyd-Webber’s Cinderella.
The news follows a video posted to Lord Lloyd-Webber’s Instagram account on Thursday, in which the composer says his son has “grown over the worst of this first bout of pneumonia” which he contracted as a result of his “ghastly” cancer. .
Lord Lloyd-Webber, who wrote the music for hit shows like Cats, The Phantom Of The Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar, said in a video on Instagram: “We’re all here and the family here came together and it was the I think it’s the place suitable for all of us.
Andrew Lloyd-Webber revealed his son’s illness recently, saying: “I am absolutely devastated to say that my eldest son Nick is seriously ill” (Nick pictured in 2010 with ex-wife Charlotte Windmill)
In the video, he also thanked the people of the Ukraine who sent him a Cats T-shirt following the announcement that his son was “gravely ill.”
He said: ‘I know they’ve been doing Cats there in a bunker, an impromptu production.
“It’s incredibly touching…everything they’re going through has been incredibly thoughtful of dear Nick.
“I’m going to see Nick in a minute and I’m going to pass on all the fantastic wishes I’ve had for him from all over the world.”
Lord Lloyd-Webber also sent his best wishes ‘to the other families I have around the world in the theatre’ on the opening night of his new Bad Cinderella show in New York.
He said: “I’m absolutely heartbroken that I can’t be there, but my place is really here in England at the moment.”
The Broadway show is a revamped version of London’s West End Cinderella, which takes its name from a key song from the show and has new songs, lead and title.
Lord Lloyd-Webber’s first wife, Sarah Hugill, is the mother of Nicholas. They also share a daughter, Imogen, who is 44 years old.
The acclaimed composer is also the father of Isabella, 26, Alastair, 30, and William, 29.
