Jane Lynch says Naya Rivera’s death has been "gut-wrenching and heart-breaking" to come to terms with.
The ‘Glee’ star was confirmed dead on July 13 at the age of 33 after her body was recovered at Lake Piru in California following a six-day search, and Jane – who starred alongside Naya in the popular musical series – has remembered her co-star as a "force of nature".
She said: "I think that one of the things that kind of got lost when we were doing the show was what a force she was because there were so many talented people. She was one of those people – she wasn’t in every scene, but when she was … she just blew everybody away.
"I had three-page monologues, so did she. It took me a week to get mine. She would do them right off the bat and they would be changing them and she had no problem with it."
Jane also says Naya was the kind of person who had her friends’ backs, and was a "great advocate" for the LGBT community, as her character in the show was a lesbian.
Speaking to ‘Today with Hoda and Jenna’, the 60-year-old actress added:"My niece Megan was very close with Naya. And Megan always said that, with Naya, you felt like somebody had your back. She was somebody who wasn’t going to let anybody mess with you. She was a great advocate and loved the fact that she and Heather Morris had the lesbian relationship on the show and how much that meant to so many young people.
"It’s just gut-wrenching and heart-breaking that she’s gone."
Jane previously lead tributes to Naya shortly after her body was found.
She wrote on social media at the time: "Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were. Love and peace to your family (sic)"