'We've lost a really great guy': Glee's Sue Sylvester Jane Lynch tells Jay Leno of 'real giver' Cory Monteith

Monteith was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room last Saturday

Jane Lynch on the Jay Leno Show (NBC)

Glee's Jane Lynch has spoken of "bright light" of her co-star Cory Monteith, who died last week.

Best known as cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester in the hit musical show Glee - of which Monteith was a star - Lynch acted alongside the 31-year-old from 2009 until his untimely death.

Monteith was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room last Saturday. The local coroner has since found that an overdose of heroin and alcohol killed him.

And speaking on the Jay Leno show, Lynch said: "Cory's one of the biggest hearts, was a real bright light and he was one of those guys that... he knew he was breathing rarefied air, the gifts that this show - this wonderful show - gave us.

"He was always aware that it was a gift and he was quite generous and one of those adventurous types of people. I always admired how he'd get up and he'd go to Mexico, he'd throw parties for his friends. I don't think he left one day unlived.

Clearly affected by emotion, she added: "He was a really bright light in our family, we've lost a really great guy."

Asked how she would like her friend to be remembered, she said: "He once flew across the country on his own nickel to meet with a sick kid, whose last wish was to meet him. That's the kind of guy he was.

"He was just a real giver."

The show will return for its fifth season in September.