Friday Night Dinner actor Paul Ritter has died aged 54 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, his agent told the JC on Tuesday. 

Mr Ritter, who was not Jewish, was perhaps best known for playing the hapless Jewish dad Martin Goodman in Channel 4’s long-running Jewish family sitcom filmed in Mill Hill. 

The show's Jewish creator Robert Popper said he was "devastated" by the news. 

"Paul was a lovely, wonderful human being. Kind, funny, super caring and the greatest actor I ever worked with," he tweeted on Tuesday.

Mr Ritter's agent told the JC: “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."