My friend Christopher

Christopher Price: Loved by viewers of Liquid News

Robert Nisbet BBC entertainment correspondent

Over a vodka tonic, Christopher once told me of his plans for a sitcom about two ageing television news presenters who were beginning to confuse life in front of the camera with life off it.

Drawing on an ever-present cigarette, he outlined the opening scene which had the two characters squabbling in a restaurant, their ear pieces dangling, as they threw powder puffs at each other.

He was the funniest man I have ever met - a superb observational comedian

Robert Nisbet

He said he came up with the idea after he was in a pub and found himself looking over a drinking companion's shoulder for an autocue.

It says a lot about Christopher. He was so relaxed on the set of Liquid News that it became an extension of his personality.

The jokes, wordplay and innuendo were an integral part of the man: what you saw was what he was.

That's perhaps why many people have felt so moved by his death. His television persona wasn't a two dimensional construct; people who watched the show felt as though they knew him.

Insecurities

I knew him for eight years. We argued, made up, argued again, got drunk, danced, sipped lattes, sang to Kylie on the car stereo and holidayed together.

What we did most of all though is laugh. He was, quite simply, the funniest man I have ever met.

Caustic, yes, bitchy, frequently, but also a superb observational comedian. It's a shame he never wrote that sitcom: it would have been a Bafta winner.

Of course he had insecurities which he wore on his Armani sleeve: no-one who watched Liquid News could have failed to pick up on the self-deprecatory remarks about his weight.

Price "wore his heart on his sleeve" on air

He also found it difficult forming relationships, which was a terrible pity. He craved the love of a good man after a long term relationship ended three years ago. But he could never quite convert a date into a fully-fledged partnership.

Someone so prone to bouts of loneliness, would have been astonished to see the number of potential dates now writing their tributes on the BBC Choice messageboard.

I sit here at my computer, finding it difficult to comprehend that my mobile phone will no longer flash up "CHRISTOPHER" as it did when he called for a quick catch-up.

I can't quite believe he's gone - it's just too unbearable.

But there's one thing I know for certain: wherever his spirit has flown, it'll be cursing me for giving away the best sitcom idea he ever had.