A Felixstowe author has paid tribute to Paul Ritter, who has died aged 54 after suffering with a brain tumour.

Iain Maitland revealed Paul, who played Martin in Friday Night Dinner, had a little-known connection with Felixstowe, as he was adapting and set to take the lead in the TV series of Mr Todd's Reckoning by the local author Iain Maitland.

"I'd sent him a script for a stage play of my book, Dear Michael, Love Dad." Iain recalls. "His response was "I've spent more than 20 years doing stage plays and I don't want to learn 90 minutes of dialogue for a one-man show!" "But." He added. "It would make a wonderful TV drama."

"We started meeting regularly for lunches in London to work on a script and these often ran to three or four hours a time. He was incredibly kind and encouraging. At one meeting, I showed him a copy of my book, Mr Todd's Reckoning and gave it to him to read on the train home."

"I got a text at midnight a day or two later telling me he wanted to bring it to TV with AbbottVision. We agreed a nominal option fee of £500 which I'd use to pay for more lunches together."

"Paul had been ill for a while now and we had all been hoping he'd pull through. Today's news is devastating for his family, Polly, Frank and Noah.

"He was a beloved family man and a warm and generous person and, of course, a wonderful actor."

As well as becoming well known for playing Martin Goodman in the Channel 4 comedy series from 2011 to 2020, Paul Ritter was known for his roles in films including Quantum of Solace, Son of Rambow, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and The Eagle, as well as television programmes including The Hollow Crown and The Last Kingdom.

"It is with great sadness we can confirm that Paul Ritter passed away last night," said his agent.

"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."

Ritter is due to appear in the Friday Night Dinner 10th anniversary retrospective, which will air on Channel 4 later this year.

From 2005 to 2006, Ritter played Otis Gardiner in the original Royal National Theatre production of Helen Edmundson's Coram Boy, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award.