Paul Ritter, Friday Night Dinner & Chernobyl star, passes away

[Strathclyder]

Well, this was a shock eariler to say the least.

From The Guardian:

The actor Paul Ritter has died of a brain tumour at the age of 54, his agent has told the Guardian. Ritter, who starred as the family patriarch Martin in Channel 4’s Friday Night Dinner alongside Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal, died on Monday.

In a statement, his agent said that the actor, who also appeared in numerous films including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Quantum of Solace, died at home with his family by his side.

Robert Popper, the creator of the sitcom for which Ritter is best known, shared his thoughts saying: “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.”

In 2019, Ritter displayed his range with a terrifying performance as Anatoly Dyatlov in the multi-award winning Chernobyl. Toby Whithouse, who wrote spy thriller The Game in which Ritter starred in 2014, said: “This is terrible devastating news. Paul was a stunning actor, a lovely lovely guy. How utterly dreadful.”

Paul Ritter: Friday Night Dinner star dies of brain tumour at 54

Ritter, who also appeared in films including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, died at home alongside is wife and two sons

www.theguardian.com

While most members here likely know him best from Friday Night Dinner, I discovered him and the rest of his work through his utterly terrifying performance in HBO/Sky's Chernobyl. I won't succumb to using the memes surrounding his Chernobyl performance. Instead, I will simply say: R.I.P. Taken from us all far too soon.

 

[Ianno87]

Watched Chernobyl recently, and it was a brilliant performance by him (and a great miniseries all round)

 

[yorksrob]

Yes, this was definitely a shock.

I've not seen Chernobyl, however he was hillarious in Friday Night Dinner.

Very sad news indeed.

 

[alex397]

Very sad news indeed, especially considering his age.
Me and my friends often use the catchphrases of his character from Friday Night Dinner in our conversations, so his legacy will live on! Of course, a great dramatic actor as well.

 

[Strathclyder]

Watched Chernobyl recently, and it was a brilliant performance by him (and a great miniseries all round)

Indeed. With a stellar supporting cast such as the one in Chernobyl, he was one of the standouts. Dunno what it is about comedic actors and their uncanny ability to give a gripping performance in a dramatic role when called upon. The contrast between his performance as Dyatlov and his real-life personality couldn't have been more stark; such a kind, gentle soul. A great loss to the acting world to say the least.

 

[tbtc]

I listened to a podcast with Robert Popper (the guy who wrote Friday Night Dinner, though I'm sure many/most of the people reading this will know that already) - he mentioned that there had been attempts at doing a version of the show in other countries but they'd never worked

He didn't go on to state that "because the whole show relies on Rutter's Martin Goodman in a way that few sitcoms are reliant upon the skills of a main character" but he could have - the entire show had to sink or swim on Rutter's shoulders - and he was brilliant.

A great character, one who so many people seem to have found so relatable (given the comments I've seen online today) - which is a heck of a role to fill - but a thousand times more like a dad than the typical sitcom ones (where the dad is the slightly dim bloke who ends up having to pay for everyone else and lets his smarter kids/wife run rings around him - probably gets laughed at for his dancing being a bit naff but is mostly harmless) - making more Friday Night Dinner without him would be like Fawlty Towers without Basil.

I saw him in Chernobyl and thought that it was a great bit of casting - so many people caught up in that disaster must have just been ordinary people trapped in the machinations of the Soviet regime - which is why that programme worked so well - it wasn't Evil Regime, it was "normal people dragged into situations they didn't really understand/ stuck without proper support" - but with one or two truly nasty people in the mix - much more nuanced than the news reports I remember from the 1980s!

I've seen Quantum of Solace and Half Blood Prince but didn't remember him from either - the (other) role I did enjoy him in was the Ch4 No Offence - a brilliant show that didn't seem to get anything like as much attention as it deserved (look how many Line Of Duty articles you have to wade through, in comparison) - well worth a watch if you want a bit of modern Police drama

Anyone for a nice bit of squirrel, with some Chrimbo Crumble for pudding?

 

[Geezertronic]

So sad, so young...

 

[scotrail158713]

Very sad news. I didn't see anything else he was in, but he was brilliant in Friday Night Dinner.

 

[trainophile]

I only just found out that he was the pathologist in Vera too, prior to the current one. My favourite programme, very sad news.

 

[Farang]

I remember him from Chernobyl but I couldn't watch more than the first episode - too many people throwing up because of radiation sickness. I'm squeamish.

 

[fgwrich]

I listened to a podcast with Robert Popper (the guy who wrote Friday Night Dinner, though I'm sure many/most of the people reading this will know that already) - he mentioned that there had been attempts at doing a version of the show in other countries but they'd never worked

He didn't go on to state that "because the whole show relies on Rutter's Martin Goodman in a way that few sitcoms are reliant upon the skills of a main character" but he could have - the entire show had to sink or swim on Rutter's shoulders - and he was brilliant.

A great character, one who so many people seem to have found so relatable (given the comments I've seen online today) - which is a heck of a role to fill - but a thousand times more like a dad than the typical sitcom ones (where the dad is the slightly dim bloke who ends up having to pay for everyone else and lets his smarter kids/wife run rings around him - probably gets laughed at for his dancing being a bit naff but is mostly harmless) - making more Friday Night Dinner without him would be like Fawlty Towers without Basil.

I saw him in Chernobyl and thought that it was a great bit of casting - so many people caught up in that disaster must have just been ordinary people trapped in the machinations of the Soviet regime - which is why that programme worked so well - it wasn't Evil Regime, it was "normal people dragged into situations they didn't really understand/ stuck without proper support" - but with one or two truly nasty people in the mix - much more nuanced than the news reports I remember from the 1980s!

I've seen Quantum of Solace and Half Blood Prince but didn't remember him from either - the (other) role I did enjoy him in was the Ch4 No Offence - a brilliant show that didn't seem to get anything like as much attention as it deserved (look how many Line Of Duty articles you have to wade through, in comparison) - well worth a watch if you want a bit of modern Police drama

Anyone for a nice bit of squirrel, with some Chrimbo Crumble for pudding?

I'm pleased someone else remembers Paul from the excellent No Offence! That was another of my favourite works from Paul Abbott, a brilliant cast with some incredibly gripping storylines - including some abhorrently grim subjects like Human Trafficking and FGM (don't look into that if your squeamish, it's truly awful).

I think I ended up saying this a few times over this week to a number of people. What made Paul Ritter so special as an actor was, exactly as you say, an actor that was so warming and charming, and instantly felt so relatable in whatever he was cast in - In many ways than one, Friday Night Dinner does feel like my family (I have a younger brother, and a dad who often seems to have equal heat related issues in our household "It's bloody boiling in here!"). A brief tribute from Tamsin Grieg yesterday says that she would only play the part of Jackie Goodman if Paul was cast in it as Martin Goodman, while a photo from Tom Rosethal had Him Paul and his dad with the caption of "Two loving dads". It's easy to see why he'll be missed!

A lot of comedies and dramas would not be the same without him. Rest in Peace Paul, you will be missed.

 

[peteb]

We'll be having a "nice bit of squirrel" for dinner tonight and raising a glass to a great actor.....

 

[Strat-tastic]

There's a bit of a tribute to Mr. Ritter, celebrating Friday Night Dinner tonight at 9 channel 4.

 

[peteb]

Quite a lot of a tribute as it turned out and how good to see those interviews and outtakes!

 

[D365]

Quite a lot of a tribute as it turned out and how good to see those interviews and outtakes!

Absolutely agree, though very sad to think these are his last ever interviews.

 

[westv]

It's also sad to think there probably won't be anymore new FND series but the last episode did seem to have a "final episode" feel about it anyway.

 

[Geezertronic]

I watched the FND special as well and the appearance by Paul Ritter upset me in that he was almost unrecognisable due to his illness at the time. Although thanks to the superb writing of Robert Popper based on his own family experiences, "**** on it" and "Lovely bit of squirrel" will forever be associated with Paul and his FND character Martin Goodman

My 50 year old cousin loves his "Lovely bit of squirrel" t-shirt whereas I have a home-made Jim Bell mug

 

[D365]

… whereas I have a home-made Jim Bell mug

… muggggggg?

Yes Jim, a mug.

 

[westv]

… muggggggg?

Yes Jim, a mug.