It was truly shocking to hear that comedy executive Geofffrey Perkins had been killed in a road accident on Friday. Early reports suggest he collapsed in the road in Marylebone High Street and was hit by a truck. It was particularly disturbing as I'd heard about the accident on the lunchtime news and had not given it much thought before discovering the victim was this talented 55 -year-old via text during the evening.

I didn't know Geoffrey particularly well but our paths regularly crossed over the last fifteen years. Actually longer in a sense - he didn't know me back then but I was a fan of his when he appeared on spoof TV channel comedy KYTV in the late eighties with Angus Deayton. At the BBC and with independent production companies Tiger Aspect and Hat Trick he went on to become one of the biggest backroom movers and shakers in comedy, being involved with seemingly everyone from Harry Enfield to Father Ted, Ben Elton to Caroline Aherne.

What was most impressive about Perkins was the fact that he was clearly a true comedy fan. While other comedy bosses often become out of touch when they get big jobs – I recently met one who had never seen the brilliant Michael McIntyre – Perkins clearly had his finger on the pulse. I remember seeing him in the audience of Catherine Tate's early live sketch show at the Soho Theatre and, true enough, Perkins was behind Tate when she became one of the BBC's biggest stars a few years later.

He was a hands-on boss who knew when to be hands-off too. Eight years ago I was writing a feature on The Fast Show and went to visit them on location near Darlington. Perkins turned up to see how things were going but he was so quiet and unassuming one hardly noticed him. You can be sure, however, that had their production run into problems he would have been the first to step in and steady the ship.

As I have previously written, it has been a bad time for good wits lately, with Miles Kington and Alan Coren and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue quizmaster Humphrey Lyttelton passing away in quick succession. In Perkins another ISIHAC link is gone. He was reputed to have invented the show's absurdist – or should that be absurdest? – game, Mornington Crescent. Just another string to a man who had more bows that the British Olympic archery team.