Paul Ritter, Star Of Friday Night Dinner, Has Died Aged 54

Friday Night Dinner star Paul Ritter has died at the age of 54.

Paul – best known for playing patriarch Martin Goodman in the hit British comedy – died on Monday night, after suffering from a brain tumour.

His agent told The Guardian: “It is with great sadness we can confirm that Paul Ritter passed away last night. He died peacefully at home with his wife Polly and sons Frank and Noah by his side. He was 54 and had been suffering from a brain tumour.

“Paul was an exceptionally talented actor playing an enormous variety of roles on stage and screen with extraordinary skill. He was fiercely intelligent, kind and very funny. We will miss him greatly.”

Paul has appeared in all six series of Friday Night Dinner since its debut on Channel 4 in 2011.

The show’s creator Robert Popper wrote on Twitter: “Devastated at this terribly sad news. Paul was a lovely, wonderful human being. Kind, funny, super caring and the greatest actor I ever worked with.”

According to Metro, Paul and the rest of the Friday Night Dinner cast recently completed filming on a retrospective special, in honour of the show’s 10th anniversary, which will air on Channel 4 later this year.

As well as Friday Night Dinner, Paul has a number of big-screen acting credits to his name, including the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, the James Bond outing Quantum Of Solace and Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, in which he played Eldred Worple.

More recently, he’s also appeared in the award-winning TV drama Chernobyl and the six-part series The Trial Of Christine Keener.

He also appeared alongside his Friday Night Dinner co-star Tamsin Greig in the 2020 period drama Belgravia.

In addition to his work on screen, Paul was a celebrated theatre actor, earning an Olivier nomination for his performance in Coram Boy.

He was subsequently nominated for a Tony, following his leading performance in Norman Conquests on Broadway.