Friday Night Dinner has confirmed that the show's upcoming 10th anniversary special will be dedicated to late star Paul Ritter.
On Tuesday (April 6), Ritter's agent confirmed the sad news that the actor, who played Martin Goodman across its six seasons, had died of a brain tumour the evening before. He was just 54 years old.
A Channel 4 documentary celebrating the much-loved sitcom was scheduled to air in the spring, and Ritter had been due to appear in it.
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It's since been confirmed the special it will go ahead in tribute to Ritter, who has also featured in titles such as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chernobyl and Quantum of Solace.
"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," Big Talk Publications said in a statement.
"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 – https://www.oldvictheatre.com/support-us/donate."
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Titled You Look Nice: The True Story of Friday Night Dinner, the special will reportedly run for 90 minutes and feature never-before-seen outtakes, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with key cast members, including Tracy-Ann Oberman, who played Auntie Val and Tamsin Greig, who played Ritter's on-screen wife Jackie.
Friday Night Dinner creator Robert Popper has also paid tribute to Ritter, writing: "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.
"My heart goes out to Paul's wonderful family at this tragic time."
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