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Rising Damp and Home to Roost creator dies aged 88: Tributes to Eric Chappell who penned sitcom classics
- Eric Chappell, creator of Rising Damp and Home to Roost, has died aged 88
- The sitcom writer, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, began his writing career in 1970
- Rising Damp, which ran from 1974 to 1978 on ITV, won a Bafta for best sitcom
- After his success with Rising Damp, Mr Chappell went on to pen Home to Roost
- Actor Reece Dinsdale, who starred in Home to Roost, paid tribute to the writer
Eric Chappell, creator of the sitcoms Rising Damp and Home to Roost, has died at the age of 88.
Mr Chappell, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, began his writing career with a play called The Banana Box, which debuted at the Hampstead Theatre Club in 1970 before making its way to the West End in 1973.
That West End play was later adapted into Rising Damp, the popular ITV sitcom which ran for four series from 1974 to 1978 and starred Leonard Rossiter, Frances de la Tour, Richard Beckinsale and Don Warrington.
Rising Damp tells the story of miserly landlord, called Rupert Rigsby, who rents out a seedy Victorian townhouse to a motley crew of tenants.
After winning a Bafta for best situation comedy in 1978, Rising Damp was adapted into a film released in 1980.
Eric Chappell, creator of the sitcoms Rising Damp and Home to Roost, has died at the age of 88
Rising Damp tells the story of miserly landlord, called Rupert Rigsby, who rents out a seedy Victorian townhouse to a motley crew of tenants. Pictured: Rising Damp characters Rupert Rigsby, played by Leonard Rossiter; and Miss Ruth Jones, played by Frances de la Tour
Rising Damp characters, left to right: Alan Moore (played by Richard Beckinsale), Rupert Rigsby (Leonard Rossiter), Miss Ruth Jones (Frances de la Tour) and Philip Smith (Don Warrington)
Following the success of Rising Damp, Mr Chappell went on to write Home to Roost, which aired from 1985 to 1990 and starred John Thaw, who played a divorcee whose life is upturned after his teenaged son, played by Reece Dinsdale, moves into his bachelor pad.
Mr Dinsdale, 62, announced Mr Chappell’s death in a tweet yesterday.
He wrote on the social media platform: ‘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.’
Home to Roost stars, from left to right: Henry Willows (played by John Thaw), his teenaged son Matthew (Reece Dinsdale) and his daughter Julie (Rebecca Lacey)
After the success of Rising Damp (1974 to 1978), Eric Chappell went on to pen Home to Roost, about a divorcee whose life is upturned after his teenaged son, played by Reece Dinsdale, moves into his bachelor pad. Pictured, left to right: Home to Roost characters Henry Willows (John Thaw) and Matthew (Reece Dinsdale)
Mr Chappell, who died on April 21, worked for 22 years as an auditor for East Midlands Electricity Board, and he wrote several novels that were rejected before he got his break in playwrighting.
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