"The world has lost one of its most hilarious and iconic people".

James Kavanagh has paid tribute to his close friend Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester terror attack that has claimed 22 lives so far. Taking to his Facebook page, James shared a heartfelt post accompanied by a snap of him and Martyn together. Martyn's partner Russell Hayward had launched a social media appeal to find him but after hours of waiting, Russell and Martyn's family received the tragic news that he didn't survive the atrocity.

Thanks for all your messages, as you can imagine my phone is going crazy. I'm trying my absolute best to keep it together. No news yet

— ?Russell (@RussellHayward) May 23, 2017

According to reports, Martin was a PR manager who had made numerous television appearances and won viewers over with his comic timing and good nature. To date, 22 people have been confirmed dead and several are still missing. The victims, who have been named thus far, are Nell Jones, Saffie Roussos, Alison Howe, Lisa Lees, Jane Tweddle-Taylor, Martyn Hett, Olivia Campbell, Kelly Brewster, John Atkinson, Georgina Callander and Marcin and Angelika Klis. A further 64 people are injured, 20 of whom are in a critical condition according to the BBC.