Mark Thornton, the animator, designer and television director known for his work on the Netflix animated hits Total Drama and Grojband has died following “a short and private battle against cancer", just two months before his 56th birthday on April 30. His family extended their gratitude to his personal care team at Lakeridge Health in Oshawa and his home care team for providing him with wonderful care and support throughout his battle.

His wife Laura confirmed the news in an emotional post on his Instagram page. "Today I share the hardest thing I will ever have to do. It is with great sadness and a broken heart I let you all know the love of my life and soulmate Mark passed away on Wednesday, April 30th. He was surrounded by so much love as he left us. Mark was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in October and chose to keep his diagnosis private so he could focus on fighting with all his might and having all his precious time with his family. He was our hero being so brave and strong even when the disease just kept progressing."

Tributes flooded in for the Canadian star as news broke with devastated fans taking to social media to pay their respects. "Goodbye to Mark Thornton. He won’t be forgotten.#goodbyes #Grojband #totaldrama #rip #MarkThornton #totaldramaisland #ripmarkthornton #farewell #tribute #goodbye," on wrote on X.

Over on Facebook another wrote: "Oh no! This one hurts deep. I loved Total Drama Island and Sidekick growing up. Thanks for the memories, his talent will always be remembered."

A third chimed in: " This one hurts deep. May he rest in peace." "Total Drama was a favorite growing up, through all its ups and downs. Thank you, Mark, for helping bring that and so many other shows to us. You will be missed. R.I.P." a fourth penned.

"Nooo, those were some good shows. Thanks for helping these creations shine Mr Thornton," a fifth wrote. Meanwhile a sixth observed: "Mark was a fantastic, friendly and talented man who will be sorely missed. I met and hung out with Mark and Todd of Neptoons at the Ottawa Animation Fest the entire weekend in 2007. We will miss you, Mark!"

Early in his career the worked on much loved movies such as Call of the Wild, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, Space Jam, Anastasia, Titan AE and Osmosis Jones.

On televsion he was a designer for animation, props and characters on series such as Jacob Two-Two, 6Teen, Middlemost Post and MTV's original Clone High.

He is survived by Laura his wife of 29 years; their two children, Emma and Michael; his parents Maureen and Rick; sister Karen Baird as well as her husband Will and their children; and many more family and friends.

His family have announced a celebration of life will take place on August 2.