Bloody hell, that was a bit of a year, wasn't it?! Join us while we pour a festive glass of gravy, scrub our sprouts and wrap presents*. We reminisce on the year that saw the book nearly have a rubbish cover, get cancelled, resurrected, moved to a new publisher, sell out as that publisher went into liquidation, have a third of its backers wait for their book, get republished and finally reprinted just in time for Christmas! Not to mention our first ever live shows at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe! We also tease what's coming in 2026, including a "Once in every lifetime" new series... To buy the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom," our Lamb and Flag & Hammersmith Bugle tea towels or listen to more episodes, click here: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom  Oh and one more thing: MERRY BLOODY CHRISTMAS * The book and the tea towels, of course!

This week's guest is a man whose professional career has often tighly interwoven with Rik Mayall's. He's a prolific writer of screenplays, novels, video games, plays - and was the ghost writer of Rik's spoof autobiography Bigger than Hitler, Better than Christ. He's currently researching and writing the only official biography of Rik Mayall, due for publication in 2028. It's Max Kinnings! Max chats with us about working with Rik, first on a screenplay and then on the legendary autobiography that took the nation by storm. We also discuss his BBC Radio 4 documentary about Rik, Panglobal Phenomenon, which was based on over 100 hours of archive recordings of himself and Rik chatting about ideas. He shares his memories of working on Rik and Ade's Waiting For Godot in 1991 and on the first two Bottom Live shows, plus of course how the work on the official Rik biography is going! To buy the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom," our Lamb and Flag & Hammersmith Bugle tea towels or listen to more episodes, click here: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom 

This weeks guest is a prolific comedy writer, stand-up comedian, novelist, Perrier award nominee, founder member of the Comedy Store Players and the man who coined the phrase “Comedy is the new rock n’roll.” For over 35 years he’s written for some of the most successful shows on TV, including Spitting Image, The Rory Bremner Show, The Eleven O’Clock Show, My Family and Not Going Out, and on radio for Dead Ringers, The News Quiz and Sunday Format. He co-created the award-winning 15 Minute Musical and has written over 100 songs for the multi-BAFTA winning BBC hit Horrible Histories. But ALSO he's one of the very few lucky individuals to witness first-hand Rik and Ade's "Death on the Toilet" at the 1979 Edinburgh Fringe. It's Dave Cohen! To buy the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom," our Lamb and Flag & Hammersmith Bugle tea towels or listen to more episodes, click here: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom 

Talking Bottom chats with Colin Gilbert, the director and co-writer with Rik Mayall of The Man Behind the Green Door and Kevin Turvey Investigates. Colin also directed Rab C Nesbitt and worked on Not the Nine O'Clock News, A Kick up the Eighties, I Lovett and Naked Video. He is the co-founder of prolific independent production company The Comedy Unit. Colin shares memories of his career, the genesis of Kevin Turvey, working with Rik and much more in this fascinating interview. To buy the book, our Lamb and Flag tea towels or listen to more episodes, click here: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom   

This week it's the Talking Bottom podcast you've all been waiting for as we come to you LIVE from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe! We were honoured to be joined by a very special guest - a comedian and writer who was at the cutting edge of alternative comedy in the 1980s. He performed on the very first night of The Comic Strip and his comedy CV includes The Young Ones, The Comic Strip presents…, Filthy Rich & Catflap, Colin’s Sandwich, Rab.C.Nesbitt, Blackadder and Red Dwarf. Yes, it's a brand new LIVE chat with The Lamb and Flag’s parasitic pub landlord, Dick Head AKA Lee Cornes!    Listen now or head to this link https://youtu.be/caPVWUtYRD8 on youtube to see the interview in full technicolour plus vox pops from fans after the show (spoiler, we all keep our pants on!)   To buy the book, our Lamb and Flag tea towels or listen to more episodes, click here: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

"Phew, that was close!" Following a catastrophic near-end more fraught than Richie and Eddie getting gunned down by the SAS, with the book Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom SELLING OUT on its week of release and then the publisher liquidising its assets (literally), we're excited to announce that the book is back!  We discuss the seat-of-the-skidded-pants journey we've been on that's finally brought us to a brand-spanking new 2nd edition being published and out NOW via the very best bookshops and all your online book marketplaces. We also chat about our upcoming podcast interview with comedy legend and "Dick Head" himself, Lee Cornes, that we recorded live on stage at this year's Edinburgh Fringe! To buy the book, our Lamb and Flag tea towels or listen to more episodes, click here: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

Talking Bottom reaches the final episode of this special series on The Many Faces of Rik Mayall. Everyone knows Rik had the most expressive face but he had a voice to match, too. From The Wind in The Willows Toad to Jackanory. From Grim Tales to The Last Hurrah. Rik threw everything into his times in the audio booth, making each one unique, comedically brilliant and a masterclass in vocal performance. Talking Bottom digs deep into those vocal performances that made our childhoods so special, plus some hidden gems from Rik's later career that fans may want to seek out. 

Described by Man Down creator and star Greg Davies as "a force of nature" and "dream casting," Rik Mayall blessed us all with a final return to the world of sitcom, dropping in each week to steal the episode - and the show - every time. Richard Davies is the sadistic, prank-loving father of "Dan" (Greg) who loves nothing more than tormenting and publicly humiliating his adult son for his own amusement, yet with a hint of deep fatherly love behind that glint in his eye. This week is all about this role that sadly came to be known as Rik's TV swansong - and what a great one!

"Dog poo, dog poo, lovely lovely dog poo.” Move over, Harvey the rabbit. Get to buggery, Tyler Durden. This week Talking Bottom delves into Rik's foray into Hollywood, playing the world's best imaginary friend. He's violent, sweary, flicks snot into drinks and sinks houseboats. It's Drop Dead Fred! We chat about Rik as a film star, the psychology of imaginary friends and the film's re-evaluation as a story of female empowerment and mental health (yes we can be serious!). Plus of course we chat about looking up skirts, getting heads trapped in fridges and the parallels with the world of Tim Burton. We are heading to the Edinburgh Fringe with the second ever Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August. We will be joined by veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

“The Comic Strip Presents…Mr Jolly Lives Next Door was the prototype… that was really the pilot for Bottom.” Peter Richardson summed it up perfectly in our chat with him. Our new podcast puts Rik Mayall’s role starring alongside the legendary Peter Cook as Mr Jolly’s neighbouring business owner “Dreamytime Escort” under the microscope, along with a character who shares distant DNA; Richard Dangerous of "The Dangerous Brothers” double act!  Yes, this week is a double whammy of Rik’s most memorable characters as Talking Bottom examine what makes both disgusting, violent, perverted, heavy-drinking, greasy-haired creations brilliant and squalid in equal measure, and how Ade’s part in these loud, brash and chaotic duos served to elevate Rik’s performances to perfection. We are heading to the Edinburgh Fringe with the second ever Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August. We will be joined by veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

"You see, in the good old days, you were poor, you got ill, and you died!" After playing a series squalid losers, Rik finally poured all that charisma, sex appeal and Machiavellian cunning into Tory MP Alan B'Stard; money and power-obsessed serial adulterer and possessor of the largest majority in the House of Commons.  Talking Bottom chats about one of Rik's most enduring characters, where Rik was able to lampoon those in power as a truly corrupt git, yet still came out on top most of the time. We are heading to the Edinburgh Fringe with the second ever Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August. We will be joined by veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

"WOOF!!!” Following a brief appearance as "Mad Gerald" in the first Blackadder series, Rik returned in series two and four/forth as heroic, sexy, brave, top-level shagger Lord Flashheart. The character appeared in other similar guises in Blackadder Back and Forth as Robin Hood and then later in the Bombardier beer adverts. Talking Bottom get to grips with Flash’s costume, moustaches, attitude, Darling, Bob, bridesmaids, beards and comedy as hot as Flash’s pants!!! We examine Rik's brief but perfect performance that was so utterly sexy that his character is remembered long after so few moments of screen time. “Down boy, down!” We are heading to the Edinburgh Fringe with the second ever Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August. We will be joined by veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

Following the success of The Young Ones Rik, Nigel and Ade were reunited as a disgusting trio in Filthy, Rich & Catflap. Penned by Ben Elton, the sitcom mirrored the group's own entry into the world of light entertainment - and lampooned their own success with sharp-tongued satire that sadly only lasted one series. Richie Rich is a talentless, egotistical wannabe who bridges the gap between Rick the Student and Bottom's Richard Richard. Talking Bottom delves into what makes Richie Rich tick and how Rik's exaggerated performance, combined with flamboyant costumes, displayed incredible peacocking which won the hearts of many fans long before Bottom hit our screens. Rik and Ade perfected their double act in Bottom, but the roots of the duo's violent dynamic are plain for all to see as we explore the world of Filthy, Rich & Catflap. The Talking Bottom book is out now! “Oh God! This is real!" To order a copy follow this link: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom  And please also check out details for our upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August with veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

The hair... the tight trousers...the stepping in dogshit wearing just a sock on his foot... Bad News and More Bad News are two of "The Comic Strip Presents..." jewels in the crown, with Rik's Colin Grigson definitely a legend in his own mind. Talking Bottom dive into the character, his memorable moments and what makes Rik's performance so special. The Talking Bottom book is out now! “Oh God! This is real!" To order a copy follow this link: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom  And please also check out details for our upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August with veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

A quick one (ooh err) about our recent book launch in Hammer-smith, where we were joined at Rik's memorial bench by Godfather of alternative comedy, Producer Paul Jackson and Bottom actor legends Lee Cornes (Dick Head) and Roger Sloman (Mr Harrison), plus Bottom fans (including two who came all the way from The Netherlands!) and assorted press! Thank you to everyone who came down to collect their books and to everyone who backed the book (especially those still waiting for theirs to arrive). Also an update about our upcoming live show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where we'll be joined by Lee Cornes who'll be sharing memories of working on Bottom and the multitude of other comedies he's appeared in, plus his fave Bottom clips! The Talking Bottom book is out now! “Oh God! This is real!" To order a copy follow this link: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom  And please also check out details for our upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August with veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

Once in every lifetime comes... one of Rik Mayall's most enduring and iconic characters. Starting life on stage reading crap poems and getting angry with the audience on shows like "Boom Boom, Out go the Lights" before graduating to student life in a sitcom that redefined the genre in "The Young Ones," for many, Rick is the character they picture when they think of Rik Mayall.  Talking Bottom dive into the character, his memorable moments and what makes Rik's performance so special. The Talking Bottom book is out now! “Oh God! This is real!" To order a copy follow this link: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom  And please also check out details for our upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August with veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

It's a new series! Most actors are fortunate if they have just one role people love them for. Rik embodied so many iconic and memorable characters that people adore. Kicking things off is a look at one of his early incarnations - self-styled "Investigative Journalist" and son of Redditch, Kevin Turvey in "A Kick up the Eighties" and "The Man Behind the Green Door." The Talking Bottom book is out now! “Oh God! This is real!" To order a copy follow this link: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom  And please also check out details for our upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August with veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

“That was quite a LOCK IN, wasn’t it??” A short while ago our great mate Jeffers @PodcastoCatflappo asked to interview us about the writing process behind ‘Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom’ and what Bottom fans can expect to uncover when flicking through its weighty folds. Listen to our sickeningly lovely chat with the top bloke that is Jeff - and then give his podcast a listen and follow him on socials @PodcastoCatflappo - his pod has featured loads of faaaaantastic names in alternative comedy including Nigel Planer and Jon Lloyd, as well as deep dives into Catflap and other brilliant Rik and Ade related content. The Talking Bottom book comes out NEXT WEEK on 3 July! “WE ARE ON E WING!!!”  To order a copy follow this link: https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom  And please also check out details for our upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Talking Bottom LIVE podcast at Underbelly Bristo Square on Sunday 24th August with veryyyyy special guest Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!!! “Are you calling me a liar??” “No, I’m calling you a tosser!” Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live 

Talking Bottom is BACK and LIVE - and what better place to do our FIRST EVER live show than at the innagural Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in Rik's old home town of Droitwich? We were joined by legendary Bottom director and Producer Ed Bye at the Norbury Theatre on the very stage upon which Rik first ever performed and where he used to operate the lights.  To a sold-out crowd, Ed shared memories of directing Bottom, working with Rik and Ade and his very favourite Bottom moments - watching them along with the audience and chatting about why they are so special.  Ed also joined in with a reading from an exclusive never-before seen or heard scene cut from an early draft of Bottom: Smells. AND of course the Talking Bottom quiz had to return for it's first ever live version, complete with audience participation! Talking Bottom's next live show with special guest, Bottom's "Dick Head" Lee Cornes (also in Red Dwarf, The Young Ones and Blackadder) is at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sunday 24th August at 3.10pm at Underbelly Bristo Square. Tickets are available here: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live  The book Talking Bottom: A guide to The Cult Sitcom can be found to order at: https://t.co/G677or4Xgw

This ep sees an update on our book, Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom, snatched (ooh errr) from the jaws of defeat to be published on July 3rd. We wang on about why it took f*cking aaaages and how book backers can get their grubby hands on the book on July 3rd while others wait for their postman to unload his sack. We also chat about our upcoming live podcast on May 31st, on stage in Rik's home town of Droitwich as part of the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival, where we will be joined by a VERY special guest; Bottom director and producer Ed Bye! We also chat about our upcoming series based around Rik Mayall's most iconic and best-loved characters. The book Talking Bottom: A guide to The Cult Sitcom can be found to order at: https://t.co/G677or4Xgw