The daughter of Twickenham comedian Jennifer Saunders was devastated last night by the news a close friend died in Afghanistan.

Ella, 21, was a school pal of soldier Jack Sadler, 21, who was killed by a roadside bomb. The pair attended the £9,000 Exeter School in Devon.

Trooper Jack, of the Honourable Artillery Company, was killed while on patrol in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan.