Actor Chris Langham Dies at 77 After Pancreatic Cancer Battle

BAFTA-winning British actor and writer Chris Langham has died at the age of 77. He died of pancreatic cancer on June 24, according to an obituary published Thursday by The Times of London.

Langham was best known for playing Hugh Abbot MP in the BBC political satire The Thick of It. He won a BAFTA TV Award for comedy performance in 2006.

His career was severely affected the following year when he was convicted of 15 counts of making an indecent photograph of a child. He was sentenced to six months in prison. He was acquitted of a separate charge involving an underage female fan.

Langham maintained that he was innocent and said he had downloaded the images while researching a role for the BBC comedy Help. His co-star Paul Whitehouse disputed that explanation during the trial.

Before his conviction, Langham had a long career in British comedy. He was the only British writer on The Muppet Show and won an Emmy during his five years on the series. He also appeared in Monty Python’s Life of Brian and the BBC sketch show Not the Nine O’Clock News.

Langham later took occasional acting roles, including in the 2020 film Vengeance, but his career never returned to its previous level.

He is survived by five children.