The world of TV mourns as English actor, Paul Ritter, passed away on April 5 2021, after suffering from a brain tumour.
His agent has said that Paul died peacefully at home, with his wife and sons at his side.
He added: “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 had been a well-known actor and starred in numerous films and tv shows over the last thirty years.
In recent years Paul had been loved for his portrayal of the eccentric yet lovable Martin Goodman in the Channel 4 series, Friday Night Dinner.
Friday Night Dinner star Paul Ritter dies of brain tumour at 54 https://t.co/RzkdDUxejm
— The Guardian (@guardian) April 6, 2021
His catchphrases “lovely bit of squirrel” and “shit on it” were moments of comedy gold that made the show what it was, and fans continually repeat his infamous phrases.
Later this year, Channel 4 will air the Friday Night Dinner 10th-anniversary retrospective, where Paul will appear posthumously.
The creator of Friday Night Dinner, Robert Popper, told the BBC that Paul was “a deeply clever, funny, intelligent, kind man.”
Aside from the show, Paul also appeared in the Sky drama Chernobyl, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and he was even in a James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.
Paul was also supposed to be in Operation Mincemeat, a new film that is currently in post-production. It remains unclear how many scenes Paul was in, so we can only wait and see.
By Laycie Beck
Feature image: NME