Friday Night Dinner fans heartbroken by final Paul Ritter interview
The late Martin Goodman actor made his last appearance on the 10th-anniversary documentary.
Last night Channel 4 aired Friday Night Dinner: 10 Years And a Lovely Bit of Squirrel, a documentary that marked the 10th anniversary of the hit sitcom.
As well as celebrating the legacy of the popular show, the programme also served as something of a tribute to late star Paul Ritter, who tragically passed away aged 54 earlier this year.
The one-hour special included Ritter's last ever screen appearance – in which he called the role of Martin Goodman a "great career gift" – and fans flooded social media to share their heartbreak at seeing his final interview.
One fan wrote on Twitter, "Heartbreaking to think we’ll never get to see the brilliance of Paul Ritter on our screens again. Honestly sat sobbing hearing him talking about how much he loved Friday Night Dinner."
Another tweeted, "Words can’t describe how I feel watching the anniversary special of #FridayNightDinner. Breaks my heart that Paul Ritter isn’t here to see it being broadcast."
A third fan added, "I'm sat here crying watching the Friday Night Dinner documentary, Paul Ritter was a fantastic actor, may he rest in peace" while another simply wrote, "The world is a better place for his genius. The incomparable Paul Ritter."
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The programme began with an emotional tribute from Tamsin Greig, who played Ritter's on-screen wife on the sitcom.
She said, "I’m sure you know that very recently we lost our dear and most cherished friend Paul Ritter who plays Martin Goodman in Friday Night Dinner. We all miss him terribly – an incredible actor, a true friend and a lovely human being.
"Sadly at the time of making the documentary, Paul was pretty unwell and to be honest – and don’t tell the producers this – but I did try and persuade him not to do the interview.
"But it is testament to Paul’s courage and generosity and dignity and complete lack of vanity that he wanted to participate in the documentary, to do an interview, and to really celebrate this little world that he’s been a part of and that he’s enjoyed so much over the years.
"So I know that Paul would want us all to sit back and laugh and enjoy this celebration of the FND universe and say, as we do, in his memory, shalom!"
Ritter appeared in all six series and 37 episodes of Friday Night Dinner and was a firm fan favourite among fans of the show.
He passed away in April 2021 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, and his death was met with a huge array of tributes both from those that had worked with him and those who had admired his talents.
Friday Night Dinner creator Robert Popper: ‘Paul Ritter was the greatest actor I’ve ever met’
Friday Night Dinner is available to stream on All4 – visit our full TV Guide for more
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
