It’s been confirmed Chris Langham has died, aged 77.
The comedy writer and actor died of pancreatic cancer on 24th June, however the news has only been revealed today via an article in The Times.
Langham clocked up a number of notable British comedy roles on his CV between the 1970s and 2000s, however his career effectively ended in 2006 when he was charged with downloading indecent images of children.
The son of theatre director Michael Langham and actor Helen Burns, Christopher Langham began writing comedy and performing with Spike Milligan in the 1970s. He was soon signed up to work on The Muppet Show, the only British writer in the team.
In 1979, Langham became part of the original line-up for sketch show Not The Nine O’Clock News, cast alongside Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith and Pamela Stephenson, however creative differences saw him leave the format after the first series. He was replaced by Griff Rhys Jones.
Also in 1979, Langham took on the role of Arthur Dent in the first professional stage version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.
He continued to appear on TV, radio and in films across the 1980s and 1990s, including his own radio series The History Of Rock With Chris Langham. He also took on various stage roles, including Crazy For You, for which he received an Olivier nomination.
In 1998 he wrote and starred in BBC sitcom Kiss Me Kate, appearing alongside Caroline Quentin and Amanda Holden in three series on BBC One.
In 1999 he took on the lead role of Roy Mallard in People Like Us, the acclaimed series in which his character interviewed ‘ordinary’ people doing their everyday jobs.
2005 was a particularly notable year for Langham. He began the year being cast in two comedy series; Help with Paul Whitehouse, and Armando Iannucci‘s new political comedy, The Thick Of It.
His portrayal of weary and confused politician Hugh Abbot in The Thick Of It saw him named Best Comedy Actor in the British Comedy Awards and, later, pick up a Bafta for Best Comedy Performance.
On 29th November 2005, Langham was arrested in connection with Operation Ore, a British police investigation into credit-card customers paying to access indecent and abusive images of children on the internet. On 11th May 2006, he was charged with 15 counts of downloading indecent images of children and his case went to trial in July 2007.
Part of Langham’s defence focused on the claim that he was researching a “peeping tom” character for the next series of Help. Whilst Whitehouse confirmed to the court that they were developing a character called Pedro, he said they were not intending the character to be a paedophile and he was not aware of Langham obtaining such material for the development of the programme’s script.
On 2nd August 2007, Langham was convicted on charges of downloading child sexual abuse images and videos. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison.
The planned second series of Help was cancelled, and The Thick Of It returned for a third series with the character of Hugh Abbot written out.
Langham was released on 14th November 2007, after his sentence was reduced to six months on appeal. On his release, he stated, “My life has been ruined, but my conscience is clear” and complained that the media “completely ignored” the court’s “acceptance based upon all the evidence and expert opinion that I have no sexual interest in children”. Detective Superintendent Paul Fotheringham of Kent Police commented to journalists: “Langham doesn’t like the label, but I am satisfied that he is a paedophile”.
The conviction essentially ended Langham’s career, however there are two comedy credits on his CV since 2006; the 2011 film Black Pond and 2016 film The Darkest Universe.
Langham’s first marriage, to actor, singer and local politician Sue Jones-Davies, produced three children, but broke up, by his own admission, due to his alcoholism. Langham had two children by his second wife, director Christine Cartwright.
