Will Paul Ritter be in the Friday Night Dinner anniversary special?

Last month, it was announced that Paul Ritter had died at the age of 54 from a brain tumour, shortly before the release of the Friday Night Dinner special for the show’s 10th anniversary.

In a statement, the late actor’s rep said that Paul ‘died peacefully at home with his wife Polly and sons Frank and Noah by his side’.

Paul first starred in Friday Night Dinner when it premiered on Channel 4 in 2011, playing Martin Goodman opposite Tamsin Greig’s Jackie Goodman.

In the introduction for the documentary, Tamsin expressed her sadness over his death, saying ‘very recently we lost our dear and cherished friend Paul Ritter’, praising him as ‘an incredible actor, a true friend and a lovely human being’.

Is Paul Ritter in the Friday Night Dinner anniversary special?

Paul is in the Friday Night Dinner special, having filmed his interview for the documentary prior to his death.

He also features in clips from the show, as he and his co-stars reminisced on some of the most entertaining and memorable moments from the programme.

In the introduction shown at the start of the Friday Night Dinner special, Tamsin explained that she tried to persuade Paul not to take part as he was unwell at the time their interviews were filmed.

However, he insisted that he be a part of the production, Tamsin said.

‘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,’ she recalled.

‘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.’

In one part of the documentary, Paul shared his favourite scene from the show, a ‘moving’ moment when Wilson, the dog owned by the Goodman family’s eccentric neighbour Jim Bell (Mark Heap), dies.

‘My favourite bit of Friday Night Dinner has to be the death of Wilson,’ he said.

‘It was very clever by Robert because Wilson was the character who died, but it actually unlocked all our feelings about Jim.’

Who else is in the Friday Night Dinner cast?

In addition to Paul, Tamsin and Mark, the other stars of Friday Night Dinner include Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal as the Goodmans’ sons, Adam Goodman and Jonny Goodman respectively.

Tracy Ann Oberman played Auntie Val, Jackie’s best friend, while the late Frances Cuka portrayed Jackie’s mother, Grandma, and the Rosalind Knight starred as Martin’s mother, known as Horrible Grandma.

Where can you watch the Friday Night Dinner anniversary special?

Friday Night Dinner: 10 Years And a Lovely Bit of Squirrel airs on Channel 4 on Friday May 28 at 9pm.

All six series of Friday Night Dinner are available to stream on All 4.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : Friday Night Dinner creator confirms series 6 is the last following death of Paul Ritter

MORE : Paul Ritter nominated for a posthumous Bafta TV Award just weeks after death