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Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is an English writer, actor, and comedian. He is known for playing the cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the

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sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...

'', and as presenter Roy Mallard in '' People Like Us'', first on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost entirely an

unseen character An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and w ...

. He subsequently created several spoof advertisements in the same vein. He also played similar unseen interviewers in an episode of the television series ''

Happy Families Happy Families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete fami ...

'' and in the film '' The Big Tease''. He is also known for his roles in the television series ''

Not the Nine O'Clock News ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show which was broadcast on BBC2 from 1979 to 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, it features satirical sketches on then-cur ...

'', ''

Help Help is a word meaning to give aid or signal distress. Help may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film * ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film * '' ...

'', and ''

Kiss Me Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-sta ...

'', and as the gatehouse guard in ''

Chelmsford 123 ''Chelmsford 123'' is a British television situation comedy produced for Channel 4 by Hat Trick Productions. Chelmsford ran for two series, of six and seven episodes respectively, in 1988 and 1990. The series was set in the British town of Che ...

''. In 2006, he won BAFTA awards for ''The Thick of It'' and ''Help''. On 2 August 2007, Langham was found guilty of 15 charges of downloading and possessing level 5 child sexual abuse images and videos. Langham was jailed for 10 months, reduced to 6 months on appeal. He was made to sign the sex offenders' register and was banned from working with children for 10 years.

Early life and education

Langham is the son of theatre director

Michael Langham Michael Seymour Langham (22 August 1919 – 15 January 2011) was an English director and actor, who spent much of his career living and working in Canada and the United States. He was educated at Radley College and studied law at the Universi ...

and actress

Helen Burns Helen Burns (22 December 1916 – 23 July 2018) was a British actress mostly known for playing comedic roles. Burns is known for her performance in the 1993 production of '' The Last Yankee'' at the Duke of York's Theatre, for which she won a ...

. He was educated at St Paul's School, an independent school for boys in Barnes in West London, followed by the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, where he studied English and drama, before dropping out.

Career

Langham began performing comedy and writing for

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

. One of his earliest breaks was as the sole British writer for ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a s ...

''. He also appeared as the "special guest star" in the 19th episode of the final season, when the scheduled guest,

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

, was unable to make it to the recording; a script was hastily written in which "Chris the Delivery Boy" stood in for an absent celebrity. He received two awards from the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

for his work on ''The Muppet Show.'' He also made a brief appearance as a police driver in ''

The Pink Panther Strikes Again ''The Pink Panther Strikes Again'' is a 1976 comedy film. The fifth film in ''The Pink Panther'' series, its plot picks up three years after '' The Return of the Pink Panther'', with former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) about t ...

'' in 1976, opposite

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

. In 1976 also was the inception, at the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool, of the nine-hour stage play '' Illuminatus'', which Langham co-wrote with

Ken Campbell Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre". Campbell achieved notoriety in the 1 ...

. In 1977, the production transferred to the

Cottesloe Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

, London, where he took the part of George Dorn, giving a performance which Peter Hall found "extremely impressive". Langham was part of the original cast for the pilot for ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' in 1979, written by

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

. The show was positioned as a comedy series, which was neither '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'' nor ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...

''. Even after the original pilot was pulled from the schedules, Langham was retained for the first full series, billed equally with the then-unknown

Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and director. Smith worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. ...

Pamela Stephenson Pamela Helen Stephenson, Lady Connolly (born 4 December 1949) is a New Zealand-born psychologist, writer, and performer who is now a resident in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She is best known for her work as an actress and co ...

, and Rowan Atkinson. The first series did not rate as well as hoped, however, and Langham was felt to be "too independent a spirit." Langham took a part in ''

Monty Python's Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It ...

'' as a centurion, a film which generated controversy for its satire of Christianity, resulting in a televised debate between John Cleese,

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, in Essex). In ...

, and

Mervyn Stockwood Arthur Mervyn Stockwood (27 May 1913 – 13 January 1995) was a Church of England bishop who served as vicar of St Matthew's Church, Moorfields, then of Great St Mary's, Cambridge, and finally as Bishop of Southwark, retiring in 1980. Early l ...

over whether the film is blasphemous. Curtis had written a skit that parodied this debate itself. Langham was upset at the inclusion of the sketch, which gave the team and producer John Lloyd the excuse for his replacement by support player

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...

. Langham did not learn of the switch until the last day of filming, when he heard the crew discussing the second series. The show only achieved cult status during its later series, and in subsequent compilation repeats, most of Langham's contributions have been cut, giving the impression that he was never a main cast member. Langham went on to appear on Smith and Jones' own programme, ''

Alas Smith and Jones ''Alas Smith and Jones'' is a British comedy sketch television series starring comedy duo and namesake Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones that originally ran for four series and two Christmas specials on BBC2 from 1984 to 1988, and later as ''Smit ...

'', playing an ineffectual panel-show host. This character apparently inspired John Morton to create the character of Roy Mallard, who was later to feature in his show '' People Like Us''; Mallard was played both on radio and (offscreen) on television by Langham. Langham also played a fly-on-the-wall documentary interviewer very similar to Roy Mallard in ''

'' in 1985. Also in 1979, Langham played

Arthur Dent Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character and the hapless protagonist of the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams. In the radio, LP and television versions of the story, Arthur is played by ...

in the first professional stage version of ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...

'', directed by

. He later returned to ''Hitchhiker's'', appearing as

Prak This page is a list of characters in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', by Douglas Adams. The descriptions of the characters are accompanied by information on details about appearances and references to the characters. Main characters ...

in Above The Title Productions' ''Tertiary Phase'' radio series in 2004. He appeared in a series of Birdseye advertisements for their

Steakhouse A steakhouse, steak house, or chophouse refers to a restaurant that specializes in steaks and chops, found mainly in North America. Modern steakhouses may also carry other cuts of meat including poultry, roast prime rib, and veal, as well as ...

range (1991–1993). Langham narrated the 1984 radio series '' The History of Rock with Chris Langham'', in which Langham gave a comedic and somewhat fictitious account of the history of rock music. On 14 November 1985, Langham appeared as the narrator/reporter in "Roxanne", episode five of the BBC situation comedy ''Happy Families'', written by

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

. In 1992, he appeared in the film ''

Carry On Columbus ''Carry On Columbus'' is a 1992 British comedy film, the 31st and final release in the ''Carry On'' film series (1958–1992). The film was a belated entry to the series, following 1978's ''Carry On Emmannuelle''. It was produced to coincide ...

''. In addition to several one-man shows, Langham counts among his stage credits ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'', in which he played Thénardier in 1996; '' Crazy for You'', for which he received an Olivier nomination; ''

The Way of the World ''The Way of the World'' is a play written by the English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in early March 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It is widely regarded as one of the best Restoration comedies and is stil ...

'', ''The Nerd'' and ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 187 ...

''. He created the comic role of the Assassin in '' Blondel'' (co-starring

Paul Nicholas Paul Nicholas (born Paul Oscar Beuselinck; 3 December 1944) is an English actor and singer. He started out with a pop career, but soon changed to musical theatre, playing the lead role in ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the West End’s Palace T ...

; by

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...

and Stephen Oliver), and appears on the original cast album. Langham wrote the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

sitcom ''Kiss Me Kate'', in which he appeared alongside Caroline Quentin and

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

. In 2002, he wrote and starred in ''Bradford in My Dreams'', an adaptation of a short story by

Lawrence Block Lawrence Block (born June 24, 1938) is an American crime writer best known for two long-running New York-set series about the recovering alcoholic P.I. Matthew Scudder and the gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. Block was named a Grand Ma ...

for the BBC. On Radio 4, he narrated the series ''The Rapid Eye Movement'', which starred

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most not ...

as Chester Beatty, in whose head the entire series took place. In 2003, he directed the BBC TV comedy series '' Posh Nosh.'' In 2003 and 2005, respectively, he portrayed authors George Orwell and

John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names ...

in the BBC docudrama ''George Orwell – A Life in Pictures'' and the BBC Four documentary ''John Wyndham: the Invisible Man of Science Fiction''. He also appeared in the radio magazine satire '' The Sunday Format''. He starred alongside co-writer

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows ''Harry & Paul'' and ''Harr ...

in ''

'' on BBC Two in 2005, where he also appeared in the

Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...

comedy ''

'' in the same year. Langham was named Best Comedy Actor in the 2005 British Comedy Awards and won the 2006 BAFTA Best Comedy Performance award for his role in ''The Thick of It''. In November 2005, Langham wrote and starred in ITV pilot ''Seven Second Delay''. He was a frequent guest on ''The Heaven and Earth Show''. He was part of the writing team for ''

Bremner, Bird and Fortune ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune'' is a satirical British television programme produced by Vera Productions for Channel Four, uniting the longstanding satirical team of John Bird and John Fortune ("the Two Johns") with the satirical impressionist Ro ...

'', in which he occasionally appeared as a civil servant discussing things with Bremner's

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

. Langham has appeared as a panelist on the Radio 4 show ''

Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive ''Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive'' is a British radio comedy programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2005 with a second series in 2006, a third in 2007 and a fourth in 2008. Series 2, 3 and 4 of the show were broadcast in the p ...

.'' A few days after his release from prison in 2008, Langham was interviewed by celebrity psychologist Pamela Connolly, with whom he had worked on ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', for her UK television series '' Shrink Rap'', where he discussed being abused as an eight-year-old child, events which he said led to his trial and conviction. The interview was broadcast on

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

on 15 January 2008. Langham was also invited to make a speech in front of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

on 29 May 2008, but the invitation was then withdrawn. In 2011, in his first screen appearance after his release, he was cast as the lead in '' Black Pond'', a low-budget British film directed by Tom Kingsley and

Will Sharpe William Tomomori Fukuda Sharpe (born 22 September 1986) is an English actor, writer, and director. He is known for writing, directing, and starring in the 2016 dark comedy-drama ''Flowers''. He starred in the drama series ''Giri/Haji'' and the s ...

. In an interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in September 2011, Langham stated that many people had suggested to him that he should work again, but no one wanted to employ him. Reviewing his performance in ''Black Pond'' positively, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' commented, "whether it will rehabilitate him among casting agents and comedy show commissioners is another question". The Kino Digital cinema in

Hawkhurst Hawkhurst is village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Na ...

had a screening of the film on 11 December 2011. Afterwards, Langham, who lived nearby, held a brief question-and-answer session to help promote the film. In 2012, he appeared with Billy Murray, Leslie Grantham, and Crissy Rock in

Richard John Taylor Meredith Alfred Lytton (born 15 June 1985), known professionally as Richard John Taylor, is a British filmmaker, author and restaurateur. Career In 2011, Taylor formed Princess Films with the goal of producing "hard hitting and thought provokin ...

's drama film ''Acceptance''. In 2021, Langham's ''The Muppet Show'' episode was not made available on

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

when the series was added to the streaming service. Disney stated that most missing episodes and segments were due to music-rights issues, but refused to comment on Langham in particular.

Personal life

Langham's first marriage, to actress/singer

Sue Jones-Davies Sue Jones-Davies (born 1 January 1949) is a Welsh actress, singer and local politician. She played Judith Iscariot in the film '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979) and was Mayor of Aberystwyth from 2008 to 2009. Early life and education Sue ...

, produced three children, but broke up on his own admission due to his alcoholism. Langham had two children by his second wife, director Christine Cartwright. Langham sought counselling for alcohol and cocaine addiction, and was still undergoing therapy once a week as of 2006. He used his experiences to co-write the BBC2 series ''

'', in which he portrayed a psychotherapist, with friend

, and played a counsellor in sitcom ''Kiss Me Kate''. Despite his conviction and imprisonment for possession of images of child abuse, his marriage to Cartwright survived, and his wife and children continued to live with him in the family home in

Cranbrook, Kent Cranbrook is a town in the civil parish of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst, in the Weald of Kent in South East England. It lies roughly half-way between Maidstone and Hastings, about southeast of central London. The smaller settlements of Sissing ...

, after his release. Likewise, his three sons from his first marriage stood by him.

Arrest and conviction

On 29 November 2005, Langham was arrested by Kent Police in connection with

Operation Ore Operation Ore was a British police operation that commenced in 1999 following information received from US law enforcement, which was intended to prosecute thousands of users of a website reportedly featuring child pornography. It was the United ...

, a British police operation into credit-card customers paying to access indecent and abusive images of children on the internet. The arrest was first reported in the press on 16 December 2005, in response to which Langham's lawyer read a statement in which he said that he was innocent and pointed out that he had not been charged. On 11 May 2006, he was charged with 15 counts of " making indecent images" (a legal term meaning to download and store indecent images as distinct from the act of photography) of children. The trial took place at Maidstone Crown Court during July and August 2007. Part of Langham's defence to these charges in court was that they were research on a

peeping tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly re ...

character "Pedro" for a television comedy. Langham's former ''Help'' co-star/writer Paul Whitehouse confirmed that the character was referred to as a "peeping tom" who was prone to highly dubious sexual behaviour. Whitehouse stated that the character was not intended to be a

paedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

, nor was he personally aware of Langham obtaining such material for the development of the programme's script. The prosecutor, Richard Barraclough QC, asked Whitehouse, "Did Mr Langham ever discuss with you that he was undertaking any research for the shows?" "Not to my knowledge, no," Whitehouse replied. Langham also said in court that he was the victim of child sexual abuse and this caused him to look for images; Barraclough called this "pseudo-

psychobabble Psychobabble (a portmanteau of "psychology" or "psychoanalysis" and "babble") is a form of speech or writing that uses psychological jargon, buzzwords, and esoteric language to create an impression of truth or plausibility. The term implies that ...

" and the judge dismissed its legality as a defence. Langham had paid with his credit card for access to a site entitled "European Lolita Sex" in 1999. On the evening that the public was made aware of the scope of Operation Ore, Langham had contacted police to report his "concern" about spam emails, with links to paedophile sites, which he said he was receiving. The prosecution said that he had contacted police because he had "panicked" and "wanted to give the impression of being a good citizen". During his trial, he was also accused of having sex with an under-age girl in upmarket hotels, his West End dressing room, his car, and his home. The accuser claimed this had started when she was 14 years old. Langham denied the charges and claimed he had only had sex with her when she was 18. He was found not guilty of six counts of indecent assault and two counts of buggery between January 1996 and April 2000. On 2 August 2007, Langham was found guilty on charges of possessing child sexual abuse images and videos. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison and was placed on the sexual offenders register for 10 years. Before sentencing, the judge said that "some of the children viewed are clearly prepubescent... The worst video was 15 minutes long and it showed in quite graphic detail the sadistic brutalisation of an eight-year-old girl in the UK, with some serious sexual offences against her". He was released on 14 November 2007, after his sentence was reduced to six months on appeal. Dame Heather Steel, who gave the decision, said that the court viewed Langham's explanation that he viewed the child sexual abuse images for research as "highly improbable", but could not reject it, although he was still guilty of encouraging "despicable acts" through downloading the images of child sexual abuse. On his release, Langham stated, "My life has been ruined, but my conscience is clear" and complained that the media "completely ignored" the court's "acceptance based upon all the evidence and expert opinion that I have no sexual interest in children". Despite the judge ruling, "Paedophilia is not an issue in this case" and " anghamis not a sexual predator", after the trial Detective Superintendent Paul Fotheringham of Kent Police told journalists, "Langham doesn’t like the label, but I am satisfied that he is a paedophile".

References

External links

* *
Chris Langham
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

* at the bbc.co.uk Guide to Comedy ;Interviews
"My top TV: Chris Langham"
at BBC News Online (May 2001)

at ''The Guardian'' (May 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Langham, Chris 1949 births 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English criminals 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the University of Bristol British male television writers Best Comedy Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners BBC people British male criminals Criminals from London Emmy Award winners English comedy writers English male comedians English male television actors English male voice actors English people convicted of child pornography offences English television writers Living people People educated at St Paul's School, London Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Writers Guild of America Award winners