Cork actress Eileen Walsh leads tributes to Paul Ritter who died aged 54 following brain tumour diagnosis

Paul Ritter and Amanda Root (Zak Hussein/PA)

Friday Night Dinner and Chernobyl actor Paul Ritter has died at the age of 54, his agent has said.

The TV star had been suffering from a brain tumour.

A 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.”

The actor was best known for his role as family patriarch Martin Goodman in Channel 4’s Friday Night Dinner, in which he starred alongside Tamsin Greig and Simon Bird.

Cork actress Eileen Walsh led tributes to the actor, saying "I did Troilus and Cressida with him... and would sneak down to side of stage each night to watch him from the wings. He delivered each and every line beautifully."

He also played Anatoly Dyatlov in the acclaimed drama Chernobyl and Eldred Worple in Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince.

Other notable roles were as Guy Haines in James Bond film Quantum Of Solace, in period drama Belgravia, as Billy Cartwright in Vera and Sir John Seymour in Wolf Hall.