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Dominating the comedy scene in the 80s were Ade Edmondson and Rik Mayall, the dream double act behind hit shows like Bottom.
The legendary comedic actor Mayall died suddenly in 2014 from a heart attack at just 56, shocking family and fans alike.
Almost a decade after the loss, his comedy partner still misses having that ‘other opinion’ of himself from the Young Ones star.
However, he’s admitted that things weren’t always rosy behind closed doors, as their relationship did become ‘strained’.
A few months ago he had Desert Island Discs listeners sobbing over a story dedicated to Mayall, but his latest admission speaks to the depth of their friendship, albeit a tumultuous one in its latter days.
In a documentary on their beloved show Bottom, which ran from 1991 to 1995 on the BBC, the 67-year-old almost broke into tears discussing his best friend.
The Jonathan Creek actor said: ‘Our relationship was strained towards the end. And when I do things like this, and I remember the absolute joy of sitting in that little office in Richmond opposite the Hole in the Wall pub.
‘It was absolute, you know, the distilled joy – the most joy I’ve ever had in my life, I think.
‘Making each other laugh, Properly laugh. Big belly laugh, laughs, you know. Proper can’t stop laughing, laughing. Very rarely you get a relationship like that with someone.’
He added fondly in Bottom: Exposed: ‘It’s very weird being in a world without [him].
‘It’s weird thinking that he didn’t know anything about Brexit, didn’t know about Covid.’
Edmondson sat in the middle of the famous Bottom sofa, surrounded by the familiar set as he discussed their love for comedy and each other.
Getting emotional, he continued: ‘I mentioned…. the way we used to write each other’s characters and were in love with each other’s characters – I miss that love.
‘Yeah, I miss that other opinion of me. A very loving opinion.’
Discussing the end of Drop Dead Fred star’s life, Edmondson still remembered their ‘belly laughs’ lovingly.
At the time of his death, the duo had not worked together for over 10 years with the late star being left confused by his friend’s reluctance to continue their working relationship.
In 2013, Mayall blamed the Holby City actor for abandoning a Bottom revival the BBC had pitched them as he wanted to wait longer before returning to the characters.
‘He wants to wait until we’re older, but I won’t be able to see or walk by then,’ Mayall had joked to MailOnline, only to die a year later.
In his book, Edmondson pointed at his co-star’s drinking habits and ‘comic god’ complex while touring as the end of the show, as laughs were ‘diminishing’ in 2003.
He wrote: ‘Rik never gets his head around my decision to quit. For the next decade, whenever I ring him up to suggest we have lunch, just to chew the fat, just to be friends rather than colleagues, he always assumes I want to get the act back together again.’
Edmondson had noted in his 2023 memoir that when they were brought back to the world of Richie and Eddie in a 2012 reboot the trust had gone as Mayall was counting jokes.
He reportedly complained that his double act partner had got more punchlines than he did, causing friction between them.
Despite this tension, it’s clear Edmondson still has a lot of respect and ‘love’ for their time together, which fans were touched by.
In response to a clip of the documentary going viral on X, fan PJ Lamplight wrote: ‘You could see it in their performances Love. Friendship can be underrated but it’s possibly the truest love.’
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Lucy Elizabeth added: ‘My heart ❤️ I have loved Rik and Ade almost all my life and this documentary was a perfectly beautiful tribute to their partnership. Thank you @AdrianEdmondson for your honesty and emotion.’
‘How very, very touching this is. The abundance of love he had for Rik flows out of him,’ wrote Phil Murphy.
When asked in Bottom Exposed what the icon would have thought about them celebrating sitcoms, Edmondson smiled knowingly.
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He replied: ‘Rick would have hated a programme like this and would have told you to f**k off. I mean that quite sincerely.’
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