Leonard Rossiter

"It was hard not to stare at him all the time": inside the remarkable rise and shocking loss of Leonard Rossiter

Best known for sitcoms Rising Damp and The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin, the actor died 40 years ago during a performance of Loot, aged 57. Co-stars, colleagues and friends remember a brilliant, singular and demanding man.

Rising Damp was more than a sitcom

Writer Eric Chappell perfectly captured our all-too-human foibles, failures and frustrations.

How Reginald Perrin made middle-class monotony funny

David Nobbs's landmark 1970s sitcom was dark, melancholic and often profound. And its long absence from our screens has only made it better.

BritBox shows Rising Damp with racist language warning

Classic 70s comedy Rising Damp will be shown on the BritBox streaming service with a warning that it contains offensive racist language. The ITV series starred Leonard Rossiter as seedy landlord Rigsby, who displays his prejudiced ignorance through racist barbs aimed at a well-spoken black tenant.

The story of The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin

Rossiter may not have been writer's first choice but he rose to challenge.

Greatest sitcom ever: Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

Perrin was made in an age when the BBC did not feel the urge to use its drama and comedy programmes to proselytise about minority rights, prejudice, racism and homophobia. It took a problem common to the silent majority and explored it sensitively, but with brilliant humour. That was why Perrin was so popular in its day, and why if one watches the box set now, 40 years later, it transmits through wit something timelessly relevant.

My comedy hero: Andrew Lawrence on Leonard Rossiter

I think what resonates with me is his ability so often as a performer to take an utterly unpleasant character and make them somehow charming; so much comedy lies in that contradiction.

Leonard Rossiter sex abuse claims

Three staff tried to rape a TV extra as screen legend Leonard Rossiter performed a sex act, it was claimed last night.

My Comedy Hero: Milton Jones on Rowan Atkinson

Growing up I was inspired by people in sitcoms such as Ronnie Barker and Leonard Rossiter. But, the hero I'd pick would be Rowan Atkinson. I became aware of him when he used to do sketches on Not the Nine O'Clock News and it was clear that he was the star. Although he was doing different characters there was always a Rowan Atkinson angle on them and his was the line that the audience waited for. And as with all great people, even if his line wasn't always the punchline, he managed to make each one funny. He has very good verbal and physical timing and it's rare for that to come together.

Martin Clunes's affability and a smattering of good lines rescue this re-imagining of the Leonard Rossiter classic from complete pointlessness. I particularly enjoyed Reggie and his adored Jasmine's discussion about her lack of a boyfriend; Jasmine: "Men are damaged, gay, ugly or married." Reggie: "Snow White's less well-known friends." But Reggie is in trouble. Grot is doing thunderously well with its terrible products and his evil boardroom bosses want to slim down Groomtech ready to sell it to the highest bidder. When he breaks the news of imminent redundancy to his staff, there is much elaborate special pleading. Things aren't much better at home where Reggie's neglected wife Nicola (Fay Ripley) is jobless and moping, and finding it hard to fend off the attentions of her randy next-door neighbour (Alexander Armstrong).