Dawn French reflects on ‘huge loss’ following the passing of Robbie Coltrane

Following the passing of iconic actor Robbie Coltrane, fellow actor and star of The Vicar of Dibley , Dawn French, took to social media to pay tribute to the late star, describing the death of her “loving friend” as a “huge loss”.

Coltrane, who gained worldwide praise for his role as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series, passed away at the age of 72 on Friday, October 14 Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Scotland, according to his agent Belinda Wright.

“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,” Wright said.

“He is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alice and their mother Rhona Gemmell. They would like to thank the medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert for their care and diplomacy.

“Please respect Robbie’s family’s privacy at this distressing time.”

Following the news of the Scottish actor’s passing, French took to Twitter to deliver her own tribute to Coltrane and bid farewell to the “big man”.

“A giant,” she wrote.

“Literally. A loyal, funny, loving friend, such a huge loss.

“I remember this day so well. Bye big man.”

A giant. Literally.
A loyal,funny,
loving friend, such a huge loss.I remember this day so well. Bye big man. ❤️ https://t.co/Qeo8LieNnT

— Dawn French ????????????️‍???????????? (@Dawn_French) October 16, 2022

Fans of both performers were quick to offer their own messages of condolence for Coltrane while showing their support for French during what is surely a difficult time.

“Lovely tribute Dawn,” one fan wrote.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“What lovely words x.”

“So sorry Dawn still can’t take it in,” wrote another.

“He was an incredible actor and all round good guy I would always watch anything he was in and any interviews that were showing He would have been in the top three famous people you’d have to dinner if you could choose xxx.”

“So sorry for the loss of such a long time friend. Those Comic Strip, Young Ones, Blackadder days were just comedy magic.”

Sadly, Coltrane’s passing is not the first time French has had to bid farewell to a friend from the entertainment industry.

Earlier this year French paid tribute to her Vicar of Dibley co-star Gary Waldhorn who passed away at the age of 78 on Monday, January 10.

French who played Geraldine Granger in the long-running BBC series, alongside Waldhorn’s Councillor David Horton, paid tribute to her late co-star on her Instagram page with a black and white photo of Waldhorn with a broken heart emoji.