Adrian Edmondson

25 years on, Bottom is still the most underrated sitcom

Bottom could just be the most underrated sitcom of the modern era.

If You See God, Tell Him box set review

After a bump on the head Briers' Godfrey Spry believes he has to do exactly what the adverts say - with often disastrous results.

Ade Edmondson still misses Rik Mayall 'every day'

Ade Edmondson has spoken of his heartache at former comedy partner Rik Mayall's death, saying he still "misses him every day".

Comics with spectacular ha-ha homes

There are turrets and timbers, thatched roofs, private moorings and even an island. One home even has a secret garage, another boasts a 400-year-old walled garden. Yes, the titans of the comedy world have done rather nicely out of making people laugh.

My favourite photograph by Alexei Sayle

Stand-up star and writer Alexei, 63, recalls carefree days and calamities with The Young Ones' Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall.

A rerun of Rik and Ade's 2003 live Bottom touring show. They were able to be considerably muckier on stage than they ever were on the TV, so gird yourself appropriately for some turbo-charged toilet humour, riotous flatulence and invasive amateur medical procedures. Ade's Eddie Hitler invents a lager that puts the user into a coma, while Richie inherits a trunk from his uncle. The plot is thin, the violence thick and unctuous.

Ade Edmondson to appear in Star Wars VIII

I've learned that British comedian Ade Edmondson -- who played Eddie in Nineties sitcom Bottom alongside the late Rik Mayall -- has bagged a part in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII after impressing director Rian Johnson.

Bottom box set review

Unfairly labelled juvenile and tasteless, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson's flatshare comedy was one of the last sitcoms to boast political insight with the power to make you laugh uncontrollably.

When almost anyone who's had their 15 minutes dies now, social media is awash with people who have never given the deceased a second thought chiming in that they'll be missed. When Rik Mayall died suddenly in June, thousands tweeted their grief.

"He was a golden youth," says Ben Elton. "He was the greatest of us all," says Alexei Sayle. "The sexy genius, Rik Mayall," says whoever wrote Simon Callow's suitably grandiose narration for this tribute programme, which does the usual run-through of all the late star's famous roles, making out that each was incredibly groundbreaking, while celebrity chums say what a great guy he was.

The thing is, with Rik Mayall, for once all of that is absolutely true. He was a bloody sexy genius. He was unique and I'm quite willing to believe he was brilliant to know. And that grief felt real: to a certain generation, at least, he was ours in a way no other entertainer could be and loved as much as any stranger could be. He never sold out, never became a sentimental, corny shadow of himself.

This tribute programme - obvious as it is, missing (totally understandably) any contributions from his family or Adrian Edmondson, but filled with wonderful early footage and photos - reminds us of just what we lost.

You may cry a wee bit. But you will definitely laugh.

Cast rehearse Neville's Island

Rehearsal photos have been released for the upcoming West End transfer of Tim Firth's comedy. Leading the cast of Angus Jackson's production are Adrian Edmondson, who is reprising his performance as Gordon from the original run in Chichester, Miles Jupp, Neil Morrissey and Robert Webb.