Chris Langham, a convicted pedophile from the TV series In the Thick of Things, has died

English actor and screenwriter Chris Langham, who gained fame for his role as Minister Hugh Abbott in the political satire The Thick of It, has died at the age of 77. This was reported by The Times newspaper.

According to the newspaper, the cause of death was pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife, Chrissy, and five children from two marriages.

Langham was the only British screenwriter on the Muppet Show to win an Emmy Award for his work. He also starred in a cameo role in the film "The Life of Brian" from the comic group Monty Python and participated in the sketch show Not the Nine O'CLOCK News. In 2006, Langham was awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Comedic Performance in the series "In the Thick of Things."

In 2005, Langham was arrested on charges of distributing child sexual abuse materials. In 2007, a court sentenced him to ten months in prison for downloading and storing 15 episodes of child abuse images and videos. Later, the term was reduced to six months.

Langham himself claimed that he studied these materials in preparation for the role of a pedophile in the comedy series Help, which he wrote with colleague Paul Whitehouse. The court did not accept this version, but dropped the charges of having sex with an underage fan from the artist. After his release from prison, the actor practically stopped acting.