Disgraced BBC star Chris Lanham dies at 77 after nearly two decades off-air following child pornography charges
Chris Langham, the actor and writer convicted of child sex offences whose career was destroyed by his 2007 criminal case, has died at the age of 77 from pancreatic cancer.
His death occurred on June 24 this year, but only came to light today after The Times published an obituary carrying the headline “Gifted BBC star who became a pariah.”
His family had chosen to keep his passing private for nearly three months. His diagnosis with pancreatic cancer had not been publicly known.
Langham’s second wife Chrissie, a theatre director, had remained at his side in the years following his conviction.
Chris Langham has died at the age of 77
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He is also survived by his children Emily and James from his marriage to Chrissie, as well as several children from his first marriage to actress Sue Jones-Davies.
Langham first rose to prominence through the BBC comedy sketch programme Not The Nine O’Clock News in 1979, going on to forge a lengthy career across both stage and screen over the following decades.
His most celebrated role came as the hapless Labour cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in Armando Iannucci’s political satire The Thick of It, where he starred opposite Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison and Rebecca Front. He both devised and co-wrote the series alongside Paul Whitehouse.
The performance earned him a BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance, and he also picked up a British Comedy Award for his work.
Chris Langham’s career was destroyed by his 2007 criminal case
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Yet just days after collecting his award, reports emerged that Langham had been arrested for downloading indecent images of children from the internet, bringing his three-decade television career to an abrupt end.
At his trial in 2007, Langham faced 15 charges relating to the downloading of indecent images of children.
The material included footage depicting the rape of a teenager and the sexual abuse of an eight-year-old.
He admitted to downloading the material but entered a not guilty plea, telling the court he had no sexual interest in children.
At his trial in 2007, Langham faced 15 charges relating to the downloading of indecent images of children
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His defence rested on the claim that he had accessed the images whilst researching a character called Pedro, a “peeping tom” figure he was developing for a forthcoming series of his BBC2 drama Help.
The court handed down a ten-month sentence, later reduced to six months, which he served at Elmley Prison in Kent. He was released after serving just three months.
Langham later spoke openly about his reasoning, telling a newspaper that the period before his trial had left him “quite unhinged.”
He insisted, however, that “nothing in my life has ever gone wrong,” adding: “It just happened differently to how I’d expected it to be.”
The court handed down a ten-month sentence, later reduced to six months, which he served at Elmley Prison in Kent. He was released after serving just three months
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He acknowledged the arrogance behind his actions: “I knew it was illegal. It was just hubristic and arrogant of me to think I’m above the law because I’m an artist.”
He also admitted to seeking validation through the project: “I thought if I pulled it off, everyone would admire me. And I’m a sl*t for approval.”
Accepting full responsibility, he said: “It wasn’t circumstances. I’m not blaming it on anything or anybody.”His convictions brought a permanent end to his entertainment career, with his film and television work pulled from the airwaves.
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