Ali Condon
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Andrew Lloyd Webber has been left 'shattered' following the death of his eldest son Nicholas.
Nicholas Lloyd Webber, 43, was a composer like his father and had been receiving treatment for gastric cancer.
Announcing the shocking news on Saturday (25 March) from his official twitter account, Andrew, 75, shared that the family had been left 'totally bereft' by the loss.
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"I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago in Basingstoke Hospital," read the Grammy-winning composer's statement.
"His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft."
The news came shortly after the Phantom of the Opera creator revealed that Nicholas had been recovering from 'this first bout of pneumonia' as a result of his 'ghastly' cancer.
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"We're all here... it was the right place for us all to be, I think," said Lord Lloyd Webber in a video posted to Twitter just days ago.
"I'm going to go and see Nick in a minute and I'm going to pass on all of the fantastic wishes that I've had for him from everywhere all around the world."
Nicholas's sudden illness saw Andrew miss the opening night of his show Bad Cinderella in the Imperial Theatre in New York.
The show is a rebuild of Lloyd Webber's original Cinderella musical that had played in London's West End last year.
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Nicholas Lloyd Webber, following in his father's footsteps, had been nominated for a Grammy for musical theatre for his contribution to Cinderella.
He also scored the music for hit BBC One drama Love, Lies and Records, and the theatrical adaption of The Little Prince in 2009, which premiered at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.
Nicholas also worked on the 2017 stage show Fat Friends The Musical, based on the ITV series.
Stars from the industry took to social media to pay tribute to Nicholas following the devastating news.
Actor Eva Pope wrote: "This devastating parental earthquake cannot be softened by anything anyone can say. But our thoughts, prayers, visualisations, wishes and empathy may be some sort of support for you and his beautiful spirit."
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Hannah Waddingham, who is set to host this year's Olivier Awards, penned: "I’m speechless in the face of your loss my friend. I pray for your strength to find you and send you all of mine."
And Carolee Carmello, who is currently playing the Stepmother in Bad Cinderella added: "Devastating news. We are heartbroken here at The Imperial Theater and we are sending all our love to you and your family."
Lloyd Webber shared Nicholas with his first wife Sarah Hugill. The former couple also share daughter Imogen, 44.
The composer also has three children with his third wife Madeleine Gurdon: Alaistair Adam Lloyd Webber, 31, William Richard Lloyd Webber, 29, and Isabella Aurora Lloyd Webber, 26.