LATE Bury comedy icon Victoria Wood has been honoured as part of the National Portrait Gallery’s Women’s History Month celebrations.

Wood, who wrote and starred in television programmes such as Victoria Wood: As seen on TV, and Dinnerladies, was selected by comedian Rosie Jones.

She died in April 2016 after suffering with cancer.

In a short film produced by the gallery, Jones discussed why the Prestwich-born comedian inspires her.

She said: “Victoria Wood has been my hero and inspiration for as long as I can remember.

“She was the first woman that I saw on telly that properly made me laugh until I cried, and growing up and having such a strong passion for comedy I just grew to love her even more.

“And I mean, I wouldn’t be here, doing what I am doing if it wasn’t for Victoria Wood.”

A portrait of Victoria Wood by photographer Trevor Leighton appears among the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

Discussing the picture, Jones added: “I just look at her portrait and I smile, it’s a lot of emotions.

"I initially smile and then I feel sad because she’s not here gracing us with her perfect musicality and perfect words.

“Even through she’s not here, she’s still inspiring us and her legacy lives on.”

Jones, who has cerebral palsy, often discusses her disability in her routines, but did not consider her gender until she began her career in stand-up.

Jones said: “Before I started stand-up, I worked a lot to write jokes about my disability because I though comedy would be hard having cerebral palsy.

“Being a woman never really came into my head until I went into that world, and I was so shocked to find that even in 2017 I would be on a bill with 10 other comedians, nine of which were men.

“It’s getting better, and let’s face it, women are funny.”

The National Gallery’s Women’s History Month celebrations aim to explore the inspirational women whose portraits appear in it’s collection.

Alongside Wood, writer Bernardine Evaristo and interior designer and suffragist, Agnes Garrett are also praised.