Tributes paid to sitcom giant

Eric Chappell, who wrote Rising Damp and a string of other classic sitcoms, has reportedly died at the age of 88.

He followed up his most famous series – which aired on ITV from 1974 to 1978 – with other comedies including Only When I Laugh, The Bounder, Duty Free, and Home to Roost.

Born in Lincolnshire, he worked as an auditor for the East Midlands Electricity Board for 22 years, while writing several novels, all of which were rejected by publishers.

He decided to become a playwright, finding success with  The Banana Box, first performed as a stage reading in 1970 before transferring to the West End in 1973. It introduced the character of seedy landlord Rooksby, later to become Rigsby, and the tenants of his grimy rented flat.

Reece Dinsdale, who starred alongside John Thaw in Home To Roost, broke the news of Chappell’s death on Twitter, writing: ‘Just heard that Eric Chappell, the writer of #HomeToRoost, #RisingDamp & many other shows died on Thursday. Thank you for everything you did for me, Sir… your scripts were a complete joy to play. Great times! My love & deepest sympathies to his friends & family  RIP Eric.’

Further tributes were paid on social media.

Broadcaster Danny Kelly said: ‘RIP Eric Chappell, writer of one of THE great sitcoms, Rising Damp. The four main characters were each fleshed out with laser insight into human minds, and intense understanding of the inherent drama and comedy of conversational language. Thank you, Eric, thank you so much.’

Car Share writer Tim Reid addd: ‘ One of the greatest sitcom writers. Worthy of a place amongst the greats for creating Rupert Rigsby alone. But Only When I Laugh, often under-rated in my view, is not a bad follow up to Rising Damp. Hats off, sir.’

And Morris Bright, the chairman of Elstree Studios added: ‘For the curmudgeonly leering landlord Rigsby in Rising Damp alone, Eric Chappell deserves our thanks. But with a whole canon of classics cleverly crafted & wittily pointed, he was without doubt the best comedy writer the ITV channels ever had. He leaves a huge legacy of laughter.’

Published: 24 Apr 2022