What happened to Paul Ritter? 'Chernobyl' & 'Friday Night Dinner' actor passes away at 54

English actor Paul Ritter recently passed away after a brain tumour at the age of 54. The late actor played the character of Martin Goodman in the popular comedy sitcom Friday Night Dinner. He also starred in Chernobyl and in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. His other TV credits included Vera, Belgravia, Cold Feet and more. The sitcom Friday Night Dinner also starred Tamsin Grieg, Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal and Mark Heap. Paul played the character of Martin, who was loosely based on Friday Night creator Robert Popper's father, who often walked around the house with his shirt off.

According to BBC news, Big Talk, the producers of Friday Night Dinner, in a statement said, "He was a brilliant, kind and talented man much loved by everyone who was lucky enough to know and work with him, and Paul will forever be part of both the Big Talk and Friday Night Dinner families. Our thoughts are with his own family at this time and following their wishes we will be making a donation to the Old Vic Impact Fund". 

What happened to Paul Ritter? 

According to a statement by Paul Ritter's agent, what happened to Paul Ritter was that he was suffering from a brain tumour that ultimately took his life. The actor spent his last moments at home, surrounded by his wife and two sons. The statement said, "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". 

More about Paul Ritter's characters

Paul Ritter was also credited for a role in the Harry Potter film series. However, Paul Ritter in Harry Potter played a minor role simply wanting to be a part of the legendary franchise like many other British actors who made cameo appearances. This gives rise to the question, what was Paul Ritter's Harry Potter character? Paul Ritter in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince played the minor character of Eldred Worple who appears during the Christmas party thrown by Professor Slughorn. Paul Ritter also played Anatoly Dyatlov, the deputy chief engineer at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in HBO's tv show Chernobyl. 

Image source - paulritterfans Instagram (fan account)