All this month we are celebrating acts that you need to look out for in 2026. Ones To Watch this year is being led by Talking Bottom Podcast. This week we are talking to Ange, superfan of Bottom and talk even more about the sitcom and the podcast.

Hello Ange – one third of the Talking Bottom podcast. For anyone who has never heard of Bottom, how would you describe it? 

It’s incredibly difficult to sum up Bottom adequately for someone who’s never watched it. On paper it sounds like a really depressing show. Richie and Eddie are two vile, violent, virgins with no hope and no future. They’re dirty, desperate losers on the bottom of life’s heap constantly fighting with each other – they have nothing, no jobs, no women and they are always out for what they can get – which is often very little. They deserve nothing because they are nothing. But if you picture these creatures as EXAGGERATIONS of ‘real’ human men, see them instead as a pair of extreme cartoon characters – the dumb and dumber dynamic – forever trying to out-wit each other but mucking things up for each other in the process. Neither of them ends up coming out on top and there’s a huge amount of humour to be had in watching them fail. Spectacularly.

I’ll also share the short blurb we wrote for the back of the book to help sum up the show… “Mixing cartoon-style slapstick, nob gags and Beckettian nihilism, Bottom left an indelible mark on British comedy. Written by and starring comedy legends Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson as reprobates Richard Richard and Edward Hitler, their depraved universe unfolded over three chaotic BBC TV series, five explosive live shows and a formidable feature film.”

“If you watched Bottom back in the day and enjoyed it then the chances are you might enjoy our podcast as a nostalgia trip“

How did the idea of the Talking Bottom podcast first come around? 

In 2018 Paul decided it was about time the world had a Bottom podcast. I think he’d heard a few on other sitcoms and figured Bottom deserved a good seeing to. I remember he messaged me via Facebook saying him and Mat were planning on doing a podcast on Bottom and they couldn’t think of another bird who knew as much about Bottom as me. After that (accurate) compliment I wasn’t about to let some other bird do it, was I?!

Tell us about the format of the podcast and how you approached it / how it’s developed? 

It started out as us three talking about each episode in turn, starting with series one episode one and going through chronologically and discussing the themes in each show, our favourite moments / best sound effects, etc. all rounded off with a quiz at the end of each episode. We were keen for it not to be just fans quoting their favourite lines. From the off we knew it had to be an analytical eye we were casting over it or it wouldn’t be worth listening to. We figured if we all enjoyed having a chat about each episode then hopefully other fans would get something out of our discussion / what we’d learned along the way and, if no one listened, at least we’d have all had a fun chatting about our favourite sitcom. Then, as we got through series 1, series 2 and series 3 we realised we’d only have the live shows and the film left and that’d be it.

Paul met the legend that is Ed Bye at a Directors event and told him when he was younger that he’d thought all TV was made by the same group of people as Ed’s name and the likes of Paul Jackson, Jon Lloyd and Jon Plowman were always on the credits. Paul then emailed him to invite him on the podcast for an interview and, to our amazement, he agreed. He was a perfect interviewee, having worked as the producer and director of Bottom, and he’d also worked on The Young Ones. Not many people know Rik and Ade inside out (oo-er) like Ed Bye! And from there we realised we had a vehicle through which we could learn so much more about the show than just watching the episodes and talking about what made it so great amongst ourselves – so we approached loads more cast and crew in the hope they’d be as generous as Ed and we were delighted (and genuinely staggered!) so many were prepared to kindly give up their time to speak to us. Of course, there are still a few that we’d love to have on.

Ade, if you’re reading this… Haha, no, I interviewed Ade for Entertainment Focus in 2018 and he was very obliging answering some of my Bottom questions then but I am aware he’s busy/has far better things to do. But we’ll never give up hope that one day he’ll be on for it… Same goes for Steve O’Donnell and Christopher Ryan (Spudgun and Hedgehog).

“…As a journalist and writer, to have written a book was on my bucket list, and to have written a book about my favourite sitcom and analyse and argue precisely why it deserves its place in the comedy history books… well, I couldn’t have asked for a better project! “

Out of all the special guests you’ve had on, who has been your favourite(s)? 

It was a privilege to get the godfather of alternative comedy Paul Jackson on the podcast. It’s a toss up between him and Ed Bye as they give such a fascinating insight into what it was like working with Rik and Ade as writers and actors. Ed also kindly wrote the foreword for our book and was also very obliging, coming along to be interviewed for a second time but live at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival – and he stayed for the book signing after!

We also really enjoyed having Helen Lederer on the podcast. She’s a fascinating woman. The cleavage left an impression on me even as a teenage girl so I know the boys loved her. She was great, as was Lisa Maxwell, and Mark Lambert who played the Gas Man was really up for a laugh – he brought a frying pan on the zoom call! So funny! God. I really can’t choose a favourite as each one was like a pinch of gold dust to get to chat to but I think for me personally it’s got to be Lee Cornes, who played Dick Head, he’s always so very supportive and funny. He’s always up for getting involved. From the very beginning he’s been lovely, he came along to my first Bottom pub quiz and did a turn as quizmaster for no payment beyond his travel. He’s a genuinely lovely bloke. This year he came all the way to Edinburgh to be a guest on the live podcast for very little money!

Not many people would give up an entire weekend to chat to three sad bastards like us and then also hang around chatting with fans after the show and signing books. He seemed to genuinely enjoy himself which was great to see. Legend.

‘”geekiness’ should be celebrated rather than shamed if you ask me.…“

Can you remember the best discussion had / fact you have learned in an interview? 

I keep saying this against my better judgement but Helen Lederer revealing she had a romantic dalliance with Rik Mayall at the Edinburgh Fringe in the early 80s was a big one. The revelation, I mean. (We didn’t think it appropriate to probe her about Rik’s size!) The newspapers picked up the story!! That was quite bizarre knowing our chat with her led to salacious tabloid gossip which we’d never intended and we hope Rik’s family weren’t upset by it – it was so long ago!

I checked in with Helen afterwards and made sure she knew it wasn’t us that had put her quotes out and that she was OK. Other than that, in similar fashion, I loved learning that Lisa Maxwell had a crush on Rik during filming as Lily Linneker, the love bureau owner. Who can blame her! There’s also of course loads of stories and facts about the show itself we learned writing the book – getting access to the draft scripts of Contest (the pilot episode) was like coming across a gold mine of material we’d no idea existed.

It’s fascinating seeing how Rik and Ade’s writing was polished from the off but how it was tweaked and toned over the various drafts. That’s felt like a real *discovery* we wouldn’t have made without writing the book and it’s been great to share snippets with other fans through the book.

I know sadly Rik isn’t around anymore but if you had a chance to ask him or Ade a question each about the show what would it be and why? 

If Rik were still alive I’d ask him so many things about his comedy influences and how they shaped his approach to writing the very first script for Bottom – we know he and Ade were big fans of Galton and Simpson’s work in Hancock’s Half Hour and Steptoe and Son but there’s so much detail I’d love to delve deeper into with Rik. I’m not sure how serious an answer I’d have got from him if he was still with us, though!

Same question for Ade, really, but I’d be fascinated to ask him more about his side of the story on his and Rik’s relationship, too. In the brilliant documentary about Bottom that Studio Crook filmed in 2023 Ade revealed a few details about how he and Rik wrote for one another’s characters. I’d love to hear more about that process and see if he remembered any other specific lines they wrote. I wouldn’t want to pry too much into their friendship because clearly Ade likes to keep parts of that private. If Rik were still here it’d be great to get his side of the story, of course, but that’s sadly never going to happen.

You have also had discussions on episodes about ‘The Many Faces Of Rik Mayall’, what has been your favourite show or film to talk about of Rik’s outside of Bottom and why? 

Without question it is the film/character Drop Dead Fred. It’s the best film ever made because Rik Mayall’s so great in it. I also adored talking about Rik’s work as the narrator in Grim Tales. Don’t get me wrong, I also LOVE him as Rick in The Young Ones, Flashheart in Blackadder and Alan B’Stard in The New Statesman and him as Kevin Turvey but Rik’s REALLY early storytelling work takes me right back to my childhood. It’s such a gift to be able to feel like a happy little kid again when I watch Drop Dead Fred or Grim Tales.

After Rik died I couldn’t watch them without feeling sad for a long time. Doing the podcast was a healing process for me since we lost, Rik, actually, re-watching Bottom was a tonic. And our recent podcast series about Rik’s many other characters showed me that the hurt’s mostly evaporated now. I can watch him and truly laugh again and be grateful for the joy rather than feel too much sorrow. It’s magic Rik’s left that behind for us all to enjoy.

You did a live podcast at Edinburgh Fringe last year – how did that go?

Much like the live pod with Ed Bye at Rik Fest, it went better than we could have hoped! I’ve been to Edinburgh for the festival many times over the years (as a reveller and to work it) and have never felt capable of putting on a show so finally doing that in 2025 was a truly daunting but also a wonderful experience. Flyering for yourself was eye opening, I have always sympathised with flyerers and tried to take the leaflets from people with a smile. I’ll be doing that even more so now as it is soul destroying getting rejection left, right and centre.

Once we got to it the live podcast itself, though, was absolutely brilliant. We just had to interview Lee Cornes and celebrate his work alongside Rik and Ade’s – it was a dream to be with fellow fans in a room getting to ask questions of an actor we love and have got to know well over the years. It was ace seeing him chat to fans afterwards and sign books, etc. Really great fun.

We made no money from it, though, it has to be said. We did it to celebrate Lee and also help launch our book but given our publisher had folded it was a really trying time in many ways. It’s so expensive being in Edinburgh even for a few days so I doubt we’ll do another podcast at Fringe. Still, we DID love having Lee there and never say never! I’ll always return to the Fringe in some capacity as I love it too much, I’ve worked on publicity campaigns for comedians and venues there now ever since 2019 and it’s addictive. For a comedy fan there’s no better place to be.

“…He was a perfect interviewee, having worked as the producer and director of Bottom, and he’d also worked on The Young Ones...”

You have released a book as well! What can you tell us about that? 

‘Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom’ is the name of the book, it’s been a real labour of love and it is on sale NOW. We were originally crowdfunded for it within a week, back in 2021! That’s a testament to the love that endures for Rik and Ade rather than anything we three twats have done. Essentially, it’s a geeky deep dive into the show, much like we did on the podcast, we go through analysing each episode in chronological order, series by series, plus looking at all five of the live shows and the film Guesthouse Paradiso. We also wrote special chapters looking at Rik and Ade’s influences – Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Galton and Simpson’s Hancock’s Half Hour and Steptoe and Son.

We also did an introduction chapter looking at the history of alternative comedy and specifically where Bottom stands within Rik and Ade’s impressive collective body of work. Plus we explored the ill-fated fourth series that nearly came to fruition but sadly was not meant to be. We worked really hard researching, Paul was able to visit the BBC Archive and dug out draft scripts from the pilot episode Contest, and we pulled together the best facts we learned from the podcast plus the transcripts we were kindly allowed access to from Studio Crook’s brilliant documentary ‘Bottom Exposed’ for UKTV.

We’re very proud of the finished book, as hard as it was to get it over the line! As a journalist and writer, to have written a book was on my bucket list, and to have written a book about my favourite sitcom and analyse and argue precisely why it deserves its place in the comedy history books… well, I couldn’t have asked for a better project! I’ve spent my life talking to comedy fans (and, indeed, anyone who’ll listen) about how Bottom is not ‘just’ slapstick. Now, I’ve written my case down I can just hand ignorant people the book and leave the room (or twot them with a frying pan).

Since you dedicate a lot of your life to Bottom, what are some key things you feel you have learnt from podcasting/writing the book? And have they made you love the show even more or will you one day tire of it? 

I’ve learned that it’s OK to embrace your fandom. I spent many years hiding my passion for, and often feeling quite embarrassed by, how much I adore Bottom. And comedy in general, actually. But once you find your people, it’s wonderful, and ‘geekiness’ should be celebrated rather than shamed if you ask me. Loving something with a passion is nothing to be chastised for. Especially when it’s a comedy – there’s nothing better in this world than sharing in laughter and that’s why comedians or comedy actors / writers and performers will always get my utmost respect and adulation.

Rik is one of many performers I adore. I often say he feels like my ‘comedy Dad’ as I grew up watching his work and learned so much from him about not taking life too seriously. My own parents taught me that too, of course, and I’m so glad laughter was a priority for them in life. I’ve since lost Rik and both my parents and you really need to know how to laugh and appreciate joy in life when times get tough.

To answer your question regarding Bottom specifically, yes podcasting and writing the book has made me love the show even more. Which I didn’t think was possible! I never worried for a moment that I’d tire of the show itself but I’ll admit the process of writing of the book was very hard at times – mostly because I was worried what I’d write about Bottom wouldn’t come close to doing the show justice – but now the hard work is done I’m very proud of it and pleased the reviews so far have been overwhelmingly positive.

If people haven’t listened to your podcast before why should they? 

If you watched Bottom back in the day and enjoyed it then the chances are you might enjoy our podcast as a nostalgia trip. If you’re a fan of Bottom then you should REALLY enjoy the podcast as lots of fans have told us they do, but then again you might find us annoying (I think I would!). But the point of us doing the podcast was to do our bit to keep the show’s memory alive for fellow fans and hope that new people might just be encouraged to go and discover it. If you’re a fan of comedy but you’ve never seen Bottom or The Young Ones then I’d say don’t bother with our podcast, in fact don’t bother with ANY podcast you cretins – IMMEDIATELY go and watch all of Rik and Ade’s work but especially The Young Ones and Bottom.

After that, if you’re keen to learn a bit more about Bottom, then and only then, give us a listen. If you’re a comedy fan in general I think there’s a chance you’d enjoy hearing us discuss Bottom and you’ll learn more about why it deserves a place within the top 10 British sitcoms ever made. But in all honesty you really need to have seen the show to want to listen to a podcast with three nobodies talking about it. That said, if you only listen to one episode at all, I’d recommend our special guest podcast with Ed Bye. Oh and our interview with Paul Jackson. ANY comedy fan should get something out of listening to their careers and insights into how the industry’s developed over the years.

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