The actor Chris Langham, best known for his role in The Thick of It, has died at the age of 77.
Langham died from complications related to pancreatic cancer in June 2026, but news of his death has only been made public today (Thursday, September 3).
His death was announced in an obituary in The Times.
The newspaper reported that the actor is survived by five children.
He was widely recognised for his portrayal of cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC political satire, as well as for his role as Roy Mallard in People Like Us on both radio and television.
Langham began his career performing comedy and writing for Spike Milligan.
One of his earliest breaks was as the sole British writer for The Muppet Show
He also appeared as the "special guest star" in the 19th episode of the final season, when the scheduled guest, Richard Pryor, was unable to make it to the recording
Langham also appeared in Not the Nine O'Clock News, Help, Kiss Me Kate, and Chelmsford 123.
In 2006, he won BAFTA awards for his work on The Thick of It and Help.
However, his career was overshadowed by a criminal conviction in 2007.
He was found guilty of 15 charges of downloading and possessing level five child pornography.
Langham was sentenced to 10 months in prison, later reduced to six months on appeal, and placed on the sex offenders' register.
He was also banned from working with children for 10 years.
Langham claimed he had downloaded the images as research for a role in the BBC comedy series Help, but his co-star Paul Whitehouse disputed this in court.
Following his conviction, he featured in a few projects, such as 2020’s Vengeance, but his career was never the same again, despite him claiming that the likes of John Cleese stood by him.
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