Jane Lynch is still in shock over the death of ‘loyal’ friend and Glee co-star Naya Rivera

TV musical comedy Glee tragically lost its third cast member in July: Naya Rivera.

And on Wednesday, actress Jane Lynch remembered her ‘loyal’ friend and late co-star, who died at the age of 33 by drowning in Lake Piru, California.

Jane, 60, told Today Extra that Naya was ‘one of the most loyal people’ she’d ever met, adding: ‘I’m still in [shock]. I can’t believe it happened.’

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Naya starred in Glee for the entirety of its run from 2009 to 2015 as Santana Lopez, a feisty high school cheerleader who came out as lesbian and married her best friend Brittany Pierce (actress Heather Morris).

Jane also starred on Glee for its full run as Sue Sylvester, the quick-witted tyrannical cheerleading coach, intent on bringing down the titular glee club.

The comedic role landed Jane two Golden Globes and two Emmys. 

‘[Naya] was one of the most loyal people you have ever met. She was a big personality. She had big emotions. She had big love. She had big joy. She had big anger. She had all of it,’ Jane recalled.

‘And my niece [Megan Doyle] was a very good friend of hers and she said if you were a friend of Naya Rivera, you knew it. You felt it. And you were a very lucky person.’

Jane’s niece Megan, who was an assistant on the Glee tour in 2009, shared a tribute to the late actress on Instagram, after the news broke in July.

She wrote: ‘She took me under her wing. Brought me into her crew. It didn’t matter that I was a lowly assistant at the time. When I think of my first four years in Los Angeles, I think of Naya.’ 

Naya’s body was discovered July 13 in Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, five days after she went missing during a swim with her son Josey, five.  

Naya was 33 years old at the time of her death, leaving behind her young son with his father Ryan Dorsey, 37, to whom she was married from 2014 to 2018.

The cause of death was ruled to be a drowning, and it was recently determined that the manner of death was accidental. 

After a difficult year for many, Jane is hoping one of her latest projects, Meet the Chimps, will help make fans smile.

The five-time Emmy Award winner has narrated a six-part Disney Plus series on chimpanzee families in one of the largest rescue sanctuaries in the world.

‘It’s very uplifting and the characters, each of them, has just such a particular personality. And they are all unique. It’s really a joy to watch,’ Jane said.

Meet The Chumps launched on Disney Plus in Australia in October