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Who is Polly Ritter? Paul Ritter's wife sat by his side as 'Friday Night Dinner' star died at 54

The actor was battling brain tumor and had his family with him as he breathed his last

Paul Ritter, the star of 'Friday Night Dinner', died at the age of 54 after battling with a brain tumor. His agent told the press, "It is with great sadness we can confirm that Paul Ritter passed away last night." The agent further added, "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 tumor."

The agent further stated “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.” Some of Ritter's popular roles were in films 'The Bill', 'Vera' and 'Chernobyl' and as Guy Haines in 007 movie 'Quantum Of Solace'.

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Who is Polly Ritter?

Paul Ritter was someone who kept his private life away from the spotlight and so not much is known about his wife or his two sons. However, it was Polly and their two sons Frank and Noah who had been by Ritter's side in his final moments. From the times that Ritter had spoken about family while speaking on working on 'Friday Night Dinner', it was clear that he appreciated the feeling of being a part of a family: "What I treasure is that it sort of feels like a family; there's a kernel of something real there. We are all cocooned together in a suburban location for weeks on end, so 'the family who plays together stay together'."

Paul Ritter on 'Friday Night Dinner'

Ritter will be appearing in a 10th anniversary retrospective of 'Friday Night Dinner' along with his onscreen family Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal. This is expected to air later in 2021 on Channel 4. 

The creator of the show shared his thoughts on Ritter's death and tweeted, "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.”

Condolences have since poured in

Toby Whithouse, the person who wrote the thriller called 'The Game' which also starred Ritter in 2014, said, “This is terrible devastating news. Paul was a stunning actor, a lovely lovely guy. How utterly dreadful.”

David Morrissey also wrote on Twitter, "So sad to hear this. Worked with him on Viva Blackpool and we had such a laugh. Such a lovely man and a wonderful actor. RIP." Charles Dale shared on Twitter, "There are no better words than, ”Shit on it !” I never met Paul, but when someone who brought such pleasure dies, it feels so appallingly sad somehow. Thank you Paul #RIPPaul." Shaun Dooley wrote, "Ah mate what a loss."

Fans have also tweeted and one of them wrote, "I just saw Awful, awful news.  RIP Captain Bosoms He was the same age as me." Another fan wrote, "Paul and Judy Parfitt in The Game were television gold."