Star of Butterflies, Reggie Perrin and As Time Goes By

Sitcom star Geoffrey Palmer, whose credits include  Butterflies, As Time Goes By and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, has died aged 93.

His agent reported that he died peacefully at home.

It was his role as Reggie’s hapless brother-in-law Jimmy Anderson,  that first propelled him to mainstream consciousness in 1976 with his catchphrase: ‘Bit of a cock up on the (whatever) front’

Writer David Nobbs went on to create the 1980s Channel 4 comedy series Fairly Secret Army, with Palmer playing the lead, Harry, who was pretty much the same character.

By that time, Palmer was even better known thanks to his role as the stoic, lugubrious Ben Parkinson in Carla Lane's Butterflies, alongside Wendy Craig.

Palmer also starred opposite Judi Dench for 13 years in the BBC sitcom As Time Goes By from 1992,  and the pair renewed their partnership in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and Mrs. Brown, in which Dench played Queen Victoria. 

He also played Doctor Price in the Fawlty Towers episode The Kipper and the Corpse, determined to get breakfast amid the chaos caused by the death of a guest, and played Earl Haig in Blackadder.

Despite making lugubrious, world-weary roles his own, Palmer always insisted that didn't reflect his real personality, saying: ‘I’m not grumpy. I just look this way.’

Voiceover work was also a speciality, including the Audi commercials in which he popularised the phrase 'Vorsprung durch Technik' and the BBC series Grumpy Old Men.

London-born Palmer had made an early break on stage, but said that he found a London run of J. B. Priestley's Eden End, which was directed by Laurence Olivier,  so boring, that it put him off a stage career for good.

Among those playing tribute today was comedian Toby Hadoke, who tweeted: 'RIP Geoffrey Palmer: an exemplar of a certain kind of deadpan, lugubrious humour, he made disappointment & pessimism somehow loveable & stoic. He had a fantastic, droll delivery & brilliant face: like a phlegmatic bulldog. Undeniably great at comedy but a fine straight actor too.

Film-maker Edgar Wright called him 'brilliantly funny' and comic Angela Barnes said: 'Ah such a beautiful actor. So many great things, but I particularly loved him in [Katherine Jakeway's]  radio comedy North By Northamptonshire. A funny and moving portrayal of Norman, especially his touching relationship with Penelope Wilton’s Mary. RIP.'

Gyles Brandreth added: 'RIP Geoffrey Palmer - such a wonderful actor, such a lovely guy. Brilliant at his craft & just the best company: wickedly funny ... he did everything he did so well. Thanks for all the happy memories Geoffrey: we’ll cherish them as time goes by.'

Palmer was made an OBE in 2004 for services to drama. He is survived by his wife Sally with whom he had a daughter, Harriet, and a son, Charles, a television director who was previously married to Outnumbered actress Claire Skinner.

Published: 6 Nov 2020