Chris Langham has died from pancreatic cancer aged 77, with news of the former BBC comedy star’s death emerging almost three months after he died.
The actor and comedian had previously won a BAFTA for The Thick of It before his successful stage and screen career came to an end following convictions for downloading indecent images and clips of children.
He served a prison sentence following his convictions.
Chris Langham dies age 77 for secret cancer battle
News of Chris’ death emerged after The Times published an obituary for the actor. His pancreatic cancer diagnosis had not been widely known.
The obituary carried the headline ‘Gifted BBC star who became a pariah’.
Chris’ family had kept his death private. His second wife, theatre director Chrissie, stayed by his side in the years following his conviction.
Chris also leaves behind his children Emily and James, who he had with Chrissie. The star also had several children with his first wife, actress Sue Jones-Davies.
Chris’ breakout role came on Not The Nine O’Clock News in 1979, before he went on to build a career across stage and screen.
Chris Langham’s 2007 conviction and sentence
Chris was convicted in 2007 on 15 counts of downloading indecent images of children. He was initially sentenced to ten months in prison.
A later decision reduced the sentence to six months. Chris admitted downloading the images during his trial, despite pleading not guilty.
His admission related to downloading the material itself. He explained that he had accessed it while researching a character named Pedro.
Chris described Pedro as a “peeping tom” character for the next series of Help.
He also told the court that he had no sexual interest in children. The actor continued to maintain his explanation about the research after the proceedings.
Chris later accepted responsibility for his decision, saying it had “completely [bleep-ed] up my own life”.
He added: “It wasn’t circumstances. I’m not blaming it on anything or anybody.”
The convictions led to imprisonment and brought his successful entertainment career to an end.
Chris Langham’s BAFTA-winning television career
Before the criminal case, Chris had established himself as a successful performer across television and theatre.
He appeared in the BBC comedy sketch show Not the Nine O’Clock News before later finding wider success in The Thick of It.
His performance in the political satire earned him a BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance.
Not the Nine O’Clock News and The Thick of It represented different stages of Chris’ television career. His sketch show appearance came before his later success in The Thick of It.
The BAFTA recognised his work on the latter programme, while Help became part of the explanation Chris gave during his trial.
Read more: This Morning viewers shocked as Miriam Margolyes makes comments about Andi Peters’ skin colour