‘Chernobyl’ star Paul Ritter dies from brain tumour at 54

Paul Ritter, the British actor who starred as Anatoly Dyatlov in ‘Chernobyl’ and Martin Goodman in the popular comedy show ‘Friday Night Dinner’, has passed away at the age of 54.

Ritter died at home on Monday with family by his side after suffering from a brain tumour, a statement said.

“It is with great sadness we can confirm that Paul Ritter passed away last night,” Ritter’s agent said on Tuesday. “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,” the agent added, concluding, “We will miss him greatly.”

‘Friday Night Dinner’ writer Robert Popper praised Ritter as “a lovely, wonderful human being,” and “the greatest actor I ever worked with” in a tribute on Twitter.

Actor Stephen Mangan, who had co-starred with Ritter a number of times, also posted a tribute to Ritter on Twitter, saying talent “shone from him even as a teenager.”

In addition to his roles in ‘Chernobyl’ and ‘Friday Night Dinner’, Ritter had also starred in ‘Cold Feet’ as Benjamin Stevens, ‘No Offence’ as Randolph Miller, ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ as Eldred Worple, and 2020’s ‘Belgravia’ as Turton.

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