His reading of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

The last acting job Tony Slattery ever had is to be released this week.

Last December, the comedian recorded The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, which is to be put out as a special episode of the Tony Slattery’s Rambling Club podcast on Christmas Eve.

Producers say the reading: ‘stands as a powerful testament to his dramatic ability, vocal mastery and emotional depth. It is a haunting, moving performance that reminds listeners that Tony was not only a comic improviser of rare brilliance, but also a serious and compelling actor’.

It will be followed by another special episode, recorded before Slattery’s death on January 14 this year, aged 65, which ‘captures Tony at ease, engaged, and clearly relishing the format that had become such a source of joy for him in the final year of his life’.

Co-host Paul Carmichael said: ‘Working with Tony was an absolute privilege. He was a genuine genius — not just quick or funny, but profoundly intelligent, curious and generous with it. The Rambling Club gave him space to be entirely himself, and being part of that was one of the great honours of my career."

Producer Erica Lear added: ‘Tony brought something utterly unique into the room every time we recorded. There was a sense that anything could happen — and often did. These Christmas episodes are deeply emotional for us, but they’re also joyful, because they capture Tony doing what he loved, at a time when he felt creatively fulfilled.’

The podcast has continued this year, with the blessing of his partner Mark Hutchinson, to stand as a tribute to the Whose Line Is It Anyway star.

Hutchinson said: ‘The last year of Tony’s life was one of the happiest I’d known with him. He was so proud of The Rambling Club – it gave him purpose, pleasure and a sense of play. He loved the people involved and the sheer oddness of it all. I know how much these episodes would have meant to him, and I’m very glad they’re being shared.’

Published: 22 Dec 2025