Richard Richard in Bottom (1991-1995)
When one thinks of Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson pops up almost immediately alongside. Their comedy partnership lasted almost 30 years, seeing them perform together in The Dangerous Brothers, The Comic Strip, The Young Ones, Filthy Rich and Catflap and Blackadder Goes Forth. But what is arguably their most infamous onscreen union is the television series, Bottom. Focusing on the disgustingly promiscuous and often violent exploits of flatmates Eddie and Richie, Bottom allowed the duo to really push the boat out on the anarchic slapstick comedy they had previously explored on The Young Ones.
The show was extremely crude and completely loony right from the off, but the comedic chemistry between Mayall and Edmondson had audiences in stitches. The show, which ran for three series, was so successful infact, that it spawned five live stage shows and a feature film entitled Guest House Paradiso. Though funny onscreen, it was on stage where the characters and the actors themselves really tickled some ribs – even when they fluffed up their lines! Below is a scene from the second series, which saw the pair submitting their applications for a lascivious love bureau.
Other Notable Performances include: Kevin Turvey in A Kick Up The Eighties (1981-1982), Fred in Drop Dead Fred (1991), The Storyteller in Grim Tales (1989-1991), DI Gideon Pryke in Jonathan Creek (1998/2013) and Dad in Man Down (2013)
“This house will become a shrine! And punks and skins and Rastas will all gather round and all hold their hands in sorrow for their fallen leader! And all the grown-ups will say, ‘But why are the kids crying?’ And the kids will say, ‘Haven’t you heard? Rick is dead! The People’s Poet is dead! And then one particularly sensitive and articulate teenager will say, ‘Why kids, do you understand nothing? How can Rick be dead when we still have his poems?” – Rick, The Young Ones
R.I.P Rik Mayall (1958-2014)
Words by Annie Honeyball