Comedy star turned serious actor

Robbie Coltrane the comedian turned actor has died at 72.

He was best known for playing Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, and for playing criminal psychologist Dr. Eddie 'Fitz' Fitzgerald in the  ITV series Cracker.

But he started his career in comedy appearing alongside Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, and Emma Thompson in the 1983 sketch series Alfresco and in several of the Comic Strip Presents films.

Other early sketch credits include  A Kick Up The Eighties  with  Tracey Ullman, Miriam Margolyes, andRik Mayall, and Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee, alongside  John Sessions and Elaine C Smith – and he even had his own one-off sketch show in 1989.

 In 1987, he starred in the BBC miniseries Tutti Frutti alongside Thompson, for which he received his first Bafta nomination, and bringing him to national promnence – a stardom that was cemebted in Cracker, which ran from  1993 to 1996 and was revived for a one-off special in 2006.

Coltrane made a memorable guest appearance as dictionary compiler Samuel Johnson in Blackadder The Third.

And he also appeared in Jack Dee's semi-autoibiographical sitcom Lead Balloon as a prisoner doing a comedy course:

Coltrane was also nominated for a Bafta for the  2016  Channel 4 miniseries National Treasure (pictured above) alongside Julie Walters, about a loved comedian's fall from grace amid a historic sexual abuse scandal.

His film credits include and the James Bond films Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough, Mona Lisa with Bob Hoskins, Nuns on the Run with Eric Idle, Ocean's Twelve and the 2012 Dickens film adaptation Great Expectations.

Coltrane's agent Belinda Wright said he died in hospital near Falkirk in Scotland, adding in a statement: 'Robbie will probably be best remembered for decades to come as Hagrid... a role which brought joy to children and adults alike, prompting a stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years.

'For me personally I shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client. As well as being a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent, brilliantly witty and after 40 years of being proud to be called his agent, I shall miss him.'

Others paying tribute today was Stephen Fry who tweeted: "Such depth, power and talent: funny enough to cause helpless hiccups and honking as we made our first TV show Alfresco. Farewell, old fellow, you'll b so dreadfully missed.'

Sanjeev Kohli added: 'I’ve LOVED Robbie Coltrane ever since A Kick Up The Eighties. I’ve loved everything he’s done since. And I was privileged to work with him once on Still Game. A comedy giant, a gentle giant. Rest in peace big man.'

Colttrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alice and their mother Rhona Gemmell. 

Published: 14 Oct 2022