They had such a “wonderful partnership” that Whitehall cast Lyndhurst as the young version of Alfie in BBC3 sitcom Bad Education.
Paying tribute on Instagram, Whitehall wrote: “Archie Lyndhurst came in to my life nearly 10 years ago, playing the young me in a short film I’d written.
He reprised the role for Whitehall’s stand-up set at Tonight at the London Palladium as well as Jack Whitehall Gets Around.
Whitehall, 32, had worked closely with Lyndhurst ever since the teenager played his younger incarnation in a biographical short film released as part of series Little Crackers in 2011.