Paul

AARON Paul has paid tribute to RJ Mitte saying he has been left “heartbroken” after the Breaking Bad star died, aged 34.

Mitte, who famously played Walter White Jr in the Emmy Award-winning show, tragically died on Monday in Brownsville, Texas.

Paul – Mitte’s Breaking Bad co-star who played Jesse Pinkman – told The Hollywood Reporter: “I am at a loss. I am heartbroken over this news.

“RJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed. And to whoever happens to be reading this, please know you are loved, and you are not alone. Always remember that.”

Dean Norris, who also played alongside Mitte as his on-screen uncle Hank Schrader also paid tribute, saying: “Though RJ didn’t play my TV son, I always looked out for him as a young kid on set.

“He was a sweetheart of a young man and will be greatly missed. This is so heartbreaking, I can’t believe it. Thinking of him and his family.”

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Mitte’s representative confirmed to TMZ on Monday that Mitte had tragically passed away in Texas.

They said: “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate RJ Mitte.

“RJ Mitte was best known for his role as Walter ‘Flynn’ White Jr on AMC’s critically acclaimed, award-winning series Breaking Bad. 

“Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion.”

His cause of death was not immediately disclosed, however, the outlet reported that he died by suicide.

Mitte was born on August 21, 1992, in Jackson, Mississippi, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at just three-years-old.

But he used his stardom as a Hollywood actor to become a leading disability rights advocate.

He spent most of his childhood using crutches, but improved his ability to walk over his teenage years through sports and exercise.

Just months before his death, Mitte told young people who also live with the condition to “never give up”.

He told Future of Personal Health: “My hope is to inspire a ‘never give up’ mentality.

“If there is something you want in life, pursue it no matter how hard it may be. Keep your dreams alive. Don’t lose sight of who you want to become.”

Off the set, Mitte served as a celebrity ambassador for several organizations, including United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s.

He was also the president of his own charity – The Mitte Foundation – which supported philanthropic efforts and community initiatives, challenging stereotypes around people with disabilities.

Breaking Bad – often credited as one of the best TV series of all time – aired on AMC for five seasons between 2008 and 2013, earning a staggering 58 Primetime Emmy nominations.

Mitte was cast in the leading role of Walter “Flynn” White Jr in 2008 at the age of 15, going on to star in 56 episodes of the hit crime drama.

He played the son of Bryan Cranston and Anna Gunn’s characters – Walter and Skyler White – and his character also had cerebral palsy, as Mitte drew on his own experience for the part.

A week before his sudden death, Mitte appeared on the Joe Vulpis Podcast, where he spoke about his early days in acting and his time on the show.

He called auditioning for Walt Jr “one of the longest auditions of my life”, saying he was one of the last characters to be cast in an audition process that took six months.

Mitte added: “It was me versus another individual at the time. An hour later, Vince called me and goes, ‘Hey, RJ, you got the part. Pack your bags. Go back to Los Angeles, and come back to set. You’re already late. We’re already filming. We need you here’.

“And that was history for me.”

Reacting to the news of Mitte’s death, Vulpis said on social media: “I had the honor of sitting down with RJ Mitte not too long ago and I can genuinely say he was such a kind, incredible, and gentle soul.

“My heart goes out to his family and loved ones, and I wish them peace and privacy during this difficult time.”

Mitte’s breakout role came after starting his career in entertainment as an extra in shows such as Everybody Hates Chris and Hannah Montana.

It opened up further opportunities with the TV star going on to feature in shows including Switched at Birth and Netflix’s animated series The Guardians of Justice.

He also appeared in several films including the drama “Triumph” from 2021, which he also executive produced.

Mitte’s final public appearance came just days before he tragically passed away as he smiled on the red carpet for the premier of his new movie – Talking to Strangers – on September 30 in California.

He was a Screen Actors Guild spokesman for actors with disabilities and in 2013, he received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award.

A year before his death, Mitte got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Kennedy Suarez, in October 2025.

At the time, Mitte gushed about starting a life together with Suarez, telling People: “I’m thrilled to have found my person, my partner in life who makes me want to be better, no matter what we’re doing.

“Kennedy is my everything and I can’t wait to officially start our life together and see what adventures life takes us on next.”

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.

Paul Whitehouse joked his three heart stents would outlast him as he discussed his health with Bob Mortimer on Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.

Comedian Paul Whitehouse opened up about the “very difficult” changes he has had to make to his health.

Welsh actor Paul Whitehouse shared his hope that his heart stents would not be the cause of his death during a candid conversation with Bob Mortimer on Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing. The comedian, who had three stents fitted in 2015, said: “I think they are going to outlast me.

“Like I bought a sofa recently that’s probably going to outlast me, Bob. And I like to think my stents aren’t going to be the cause of my demise, you know?” His remarks came after Bob suggested that, although the stents needed no upkeep, they might eventually need replacing.

Paul’s heart disease was discovered following life-saving bowel surgery and the conversation surrounding his health featured in the third episode of the BBC programme’s first series, which saw Paul introduce Bob to fly-fishing for wild rainbow trout in Derbyshire. The pair spoke about their diets, before attention turned to Paul’s stents.

Asked how the stents worked, Paul offered a characteristically humorous explanation: “Some sort of very high-tech, futuristic kind of steel sleeve. They put it in, blow it up, leave it. Get on with it. Let this man carry on delighting millions.” Bob was also keen to know what adjustments Paul had been asked to make after his treatment.

“What had to change, obviously, is diet,” Paul admitted. “But it’s very difficult to resist a mini chocolate doughnut, for example, isn’t it?” Both comedians have experienced serious heart problems, and their shared health struggles inspired the fishing series, which is currently being repeated on BBC Two.

Bob had an emergency triple heart bypass in October 2015 after learning that 95% of his arteries were blocked. The pair’s daily health routines also featured in the episode. At the start, Bob played solemn music on his laptop while Paul listed all of his medication as he took it.

Away from the series, Whitehouse has been open about his stents and how he feels “lucky to be alive” after the operation. He told Saga Magazine: “In many ways I was lucky. When I had the heart stents, the guy who did it said, ‘Well I didn’t put them in for you to go and sit by the fire, so get up and go out’.

“I took him at his word, so I do a lot of exercise to keep myself ticking over.” In a Radio Times interview back in 2015, the star was asked whether he reflected on his own mortality, to which he replied: “Well, I should probably die. Although, there is a school of thought that thinks I will live forever.

“I mean obviously there are things in the world that make me very anxious but I don’t worry about illness. I don’t particularly worry about that. I worry much more about mental illness than physical illness. Again I wouldn’t say I lie awake at night worrying about what mental illness I might be afflicted with in future.”

Also previously speaking to GQ Magazine, the comedian said he was keen to be an advocate for heart health awareness, sharing: “It is because it is a heart attack decade. If you don’t get a scare in your fifties, you’re lucky. Because you either have a heart attack and die or you have problems that flag up serious issues.

“As your doctor, Chris Young put it: angina is the heart consultant’s friend because it is a warning sign at least. If you don’t get that, you could get a heart attack, which could be fatal, or you might be one of these people like Glenn Hoddle who think of themselves as fit, but actually get to 60 and discover they have a heart problem.”

The episode of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing airs tonight on BBC Two at 10pm

EXCLUSIVE: The star opens up in new book A Magical Life, saying: ‘Even though I was losing him, I just kept telling myself – I still do – how lucky I was.’

Debbie McGee had been in bed for barely half an hour when the nurse woke her to say her wonderful, magical husband was nearing the end. After almost four decades together, there was nowhere else Debbie wanted to be than with Paul Daniels.

She says: “I got up and went to him, laying alongside him on the hospital bed, just cuddling him. Paul always used to tell people that I was the best thing that happened to him. I wanted him to know that he was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Ten years after Paul’s death at 77, Debbie, 67, has laid bare the agony and the profound tenderness of his final weeks in her new autobiography, titled A Magical Life.

She says: “Even though I was losing him, I just kept telling myself – I still do – how lucky I was.”

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The pair had met during a summer season in Great Yarmouth in 1979, the year The Paul Daniels Magic Show began its 15-year run on BBC1.

They married in 1988 and, although they had no children together, she became stepmother to his three sons, Paul Jr, Martin and Gary.

Their professional partnership continued long after his television heyday, with the couple still touring together in 2015. By the autumn, however, Debbie had begun to notice Paul seemed unusually tired, not least when he struggled to learn his lines for a pantomime.

Soon he began missing parties, leaving her to go alone, and when she returned he was often in bed. Even wrapping the Christmas presents, something they usually enjoyed together, no longer interested him.

Debbie writes: “Paul would usually have six projects on the go at any one time. He would get up in the morning and be straight on his laptop. He couldn’t sit still.

“But now he didn’t seem interested in anything. He would just sit in front of the TV until he fell asleep.

“When he was up and about, his balance seemed to have gone. He kept falling over.” Blood tests led to a suspicion of pernicious anaemia and a course of injections was prescribed.

But Paul continued to weaken, and Debbie rang the surgery desperate for answers. She told the doctor: “I can’t describe what’s happening but this isn’t my husband.”

Eventually, Paul was referred to a neurologist. However on the morning of the appointment he was sick after breakfast, and so Debbie called an ambulance. A CT scan later revealed a glioblastoma that had spread across much of the left side of his brain and was extending towards the right.

The consultant asked Paul: “Do you want me to tell you what’s wrong?” He replied: “No. Tell Deb.” Paul waited in the hospital corridor while Debbie stayed to hear the results, expecting an explanation of how doctors would treat him.

But though radiotherapy was discussed, the consultant could not promise it would improve his condition. Paul’s severe claustrophobia also made the prospect of wearing a treatment mask daunting.

Debbie says: “In desperation, I asked, ‘Is there any treatment he could have in America?

“‘If this was your spouse, what would you be doing?’” The consultant promised to discuss the case with oncologists, but told Debbie quite frankly: “In all honesty, if this were my spouse, I would be taking them home and making them as comfortable as possible.”

In the end Debbie was told Paul might have two months, and went home to prepare for his return.

When she came back to the hospital, she found him in his Crombie coat and favourite trilby, dancing with a nurse. Debbie recalls: “In that moment it was hard to believe there was anything wrong with him at all.

“He seemed like himself again. The man I loved. My Paul.”

After they announced his diagnosis publicly, around 800 emails and letters arrived in a single day. His sons and grandchildren visited.

With Paul prone to falling because of the tumour, Debbie’s sister Donna also moved in to help watch over him, finally allowing Debbie to get some much-needed sleep. Debbie says: “Paul didn’t ever want to know what was wrong with him.

“I think he knew that he was dying but he couldn’t discuss it. I didn’t try to press him. There was no benefit to distressing him.”

Days were spent watching Only Fools and Horses and taking short walks when the weather allowed. Paul had a Magnum ice cream every afternoon. Debbie remembers: “It was a very loving, peaceful month. I couldn’t deny what was happening, but I really forced myself to stay in the moment and not look forward and not look back.

“I would wake up, put my make-up on and smile, although it was sort of fake. Each new day I told myself, he’s still alive today so we’ll make the best of it.”

One film they watched together during those weeks has become impossible for her to watch again.

She explains: “I only cried in front of Paul once and I only saw him cry once in front of me. It was when we were watching one of the films in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel series.

“At the end of it, there’s a wedding. The young couple at the centre of the film get married. I turned to Paul to see that he had tears streaming down his face.

“I can’t watch that movie any more.” As his condition deteriorated, nurses began sitting with Paul overnight. On March 14, Debbie’s mother visited for her birthday and went to say goodbye.

“Paul couldn’t speak very well by then but he sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Mum in a whisper,” Debbie says.

That was the last day Debbie remembers her husband being conscious. Afterwards, she just sat with him and talked, though she found it difficult to say much without crying.

Debbie adds: “Paul and I had a fairy tale life. Through the good times and the bad, we had faced every challenge together. We really were a team.

“I hope he knew that I was with him, loving him until the very end.”

A Magical Life by Debbie McGee is out on October 8 (Mirror Books).

Paul Reubens’ larger-than-life stage presence as Pee-wee Herman carried over into the actor’s home-sweet-home — and this month, fans of the late actor can bid on 439 items from his collection.

Julien’s Auctions is hosting Paul Reubens’ Big Auction at the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles on Oct. 28 to celebrate the life and career of the late comedian, actor and writer. Tickets sold out within the day on Friday, but the public may participate in the auction online at juliensauctions.com. Anyone with a Groundlings show ticket can view the exhibition until Oct. 28.

The auction features Pee-wee’s iconic gray suit and other costumes, red Schwinn bicycles, dolls, puppets, claymation figures, scripts and more. The memorabilia comes from Reubens’ major features and TV shows, including “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” “Big Top Pee-wee” and “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday.”

Reubens created the Pee-wee Herman character in 1978 while a member of the Groundlings company. “The Pee-wee Herman Show” began at the Groundlings Theatre, moved to the Roxy Theatre on Sunset Boulevard and aired as a 1981 HBO special. Reubens parlayed the show’s success into the 1985 hit film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” Tim Burton’s feature film directorial debut, the movie had a $7 million budget and earned more than $40 million.

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Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian best known for portraying the character Pee-wee Herman on stage and screen, has died. He was 70.

Next came the Daytime Emmy-winning TV series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” which ran from 1986 through 1990 and helped kick-start the careers of now well-known stars including Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson. Feature films “Big Top Pee-wee” (1988) and “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” (2016) followed. Before his death on July 30, 2023, Reubens recorded interviews for the 2025 Emmy-winning documentary miniseries, “Pee-wee as Himself.”

Here are six highlights of the auction:

“Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” Hero Pee-wee Herman Suit

“Pee-wee Herman” hero ensemble.

(Julien’s Auctions)

The iconic slate gray glen plaid suit worn by Paul Reubens in his 2016 Netflix film, complete with white shirt, red bow tie, pocket square, and white loafers. ($8,000-$10,000)

“Pee-wee’s Playhouse” Fridge Food

12 pieces of “food” found in Pee-wee’s fridge.

(Julien’s Auctions)

A collection of 12 prop food pieces from the “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” refrigerator, including a claymation red pepper and bacon with armature arms, olive barbells, frozen food boxes, and desserts. ($800-$1,000)

Pee-wee Herman 1989 JCPenney 40-Inch Limited-Edition Doll

Large Pee-wee Herman doll from the late 1980s.

(Julien’s Auctions)

The 40-inch doll made by Carousel for Reubens’ JCPenney-exclusive line in the late 1980s is one of the rarest Pee-wee Herman collectibles. Only 2,000 were made in 1989, and some were used as store displays. The doll is in its original box, with the original factory shipping carton. ($300-$500)

Paul Reubens’ “Pee Wee” Harmonica

A vintage “Pee Wee” brand harmonica, circa 1945-1951.

(Julien’s Auctions)

A vintage “Pee Wee” brand harmonica made in occupied Japan (circa 1945-1951) in its original box, personally owned by Reubens, who cited this brand as the inspiration for his character’s name. ($100-$200)

“Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” Replica Bicycle with 2011 Visionary Spike TV Scream Award

A full-scale replica of Pee-wee’s red Schwinn DX bicycle.

(Julien’s Auctions)

A full-scale replica of Pee-wee’s iconic red Schwinn DX, ridden by Reubens at the 2011 Spike TV Scream Awards where he accepted the honorary Visionary Award (also included in the auction). ($5,000-$7,000)

Production scripts and storyboards

“The Pee-wee Herman Show” 1981 production script with revision pages.

(Julien’s Auctions)

• “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” Season 1 scripts (a collection of 13, one for each episode of Season 1 in 1986)
• “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” script credited to Phil Hartman, Paul Reubens, and Michael Varhol, containing minor differences from the final film including a deleted magic shop scene
• “Big Top Pee-wee,” featuring barnyard and farm animal artwork
• “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” Season 4 storyboards

(each lot range: $500-$700)

PAUL Gorton has revealed more awful details about his home being burgled, sharing how he’s lost thousands worth in personal possessions.

The star opened up about his home being robbed earlier this month and how he begged for the robbers to return what they have stolen.

Going into more detail now, Paul elaborated on how many items stolen from his home were expensive and/or irreplaceable due to sentimental value.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Paul said that his “pride and joy” was taken, a bicycle worth roughly five grand.

Paul also shared that his wife Kate’s jewellery box had been ransacked, with her grandmother’s ring missing.

He added: “It was costume jewellery, so it was only a couple hundred pounds worth of jewellery, but it did have Kate’s grandmother’s ring in there, it’s super sentimental.

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“Completely worthless but worth everything to Kate, and it’s now gone, I presume it’s just in a bin.”

The BBC One star, who featured on series two of The Traitors in 2024, took to Instagram to share the news of the burglary with his followers.

He penned: “Came home to find our house had been burgled.

“Presume we’ve been watched and the day after we posted that we were on holiday, they broke in. 29th August at 9:30pm.

“The robber or robbers cut the broadband connection (presumably to cut the ring doorbell and any CCTV) and in doing so, told us when they broke in so the police and CSI are on it.

“We’re fine. House isn’t too bad. Robbed my bike. Ransacked my office and wardrobes etc.

“Kate’s jewellery stolen including her grandma’s ring which is probably worth nothing but it was everything to her. All material stuff can be replaced.”

The reality star urged the robbers to seek help as well as to return the items they stole.

He continued: “To the robbers, get off this path you’re on. It goes nowhere and it’s never too late to turn your life around.

“You’ve committed a crime for an unsaleable bike and cheap jewellery.

“PS. If you did rob me, throw the jewellery back on our drive and the bike as both are worthless to you.”