Chris Langham, the actor and writer best known for playing hapless government minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC political satire The Thick of It, has died of pancreatic cancer aged 77. His career was defined by both notable comic achievement and disgrace: after early success he was jailed in 2007 for downloading child pornography, an offence he denied at trial, claiming he was researching material for his sitcom Help and processing childhood sexual abuse.

Langham's career began in television comedy in the late 1970s, but alcoholism and cocaine addiction saw him sacked from Not the Nine O'Clock News in 1979. After rehab, he rebuilt his career writing for Alas Smith & Jones and later co-created acclaimed shows including Look at the State We're In!, People Like Us and Kiss Me Kate. His work culminated in The Thick of It and Help, which won him best comedy performance and best comedy programme at the 2006 Baftas. However, he had already been arrested in 2005 on charges of downloading images and videos of child abuse; in 2007 he was convicted on all 15 counts, though acquitted of separately having sex with an under-age girl.