Jones, Paul (27 May 2011). "Mrs Ed Miliband's role in "banned" TV show revealed". Radio Times . Retrieved 17 June 2014.

Mayall, born in Harlow, Essex, was the second of four children of John and Gillian Mayall, both drama teachers, and grew up in Droitwich, Worcestershire. At the age of eight, he played a peasant in Brecht's The Good Woman of Setzuan and pulled faces when told not to sing (because he couldn't) in the school choir, aged 10; he soon knew what he wanted to do when he didn't grow up. Mayall leaves behind his wife, the Scottish make-up artist Barbara Robbin, whom he married in 1985, and his three children Rosie, 28, Sidney, 26, and Bonnie, 19. The Little Britain comedian David Walliams also expressed his sadness at the news: "I am heartbroken that my comedy idol growing up, Rik Mayall, has died. He made me want to be a comedian." Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (10 June 2014). "Rik Mayall: 'the funniest man of his generation' ". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 June 2014. His Young Ones co-star, Nigel Planer, told the BBC he was "very, very sad and upset that we've lost Rik, who was inspirational, bonkers, and a great life force". He described Mayall as "a brilliant comedian and someone who made everyone else's lives more fun. He will be really, really missed".

On the main the book is a success although as an autobiography it leaves you more curious than before with all the facts obscured by a massive, although fictional, ego. In 1986, Edmondson achieved a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart when he and his co-stars from The Young Ones teamed up with Cliff Richard to record a new version of " Living Doll" for the inaugural Comic Relief campaign. Despite having been killed off in the final episode of the series, Edmondson played Vyvyan one last time in the video. The same year he co-wrote the book How to be a Complete Bastard together with Mark Leigh and Mike Lepine.

Rik and I last worked together for the recording of my Radio 4 play: A Higher Education. He appeared as the corrupt professor Don Crookfield, at a failing drama department. This off-beat satire, that also features Helen Lederer and Philip Glenister, owes much to those Coyote days combining heightened character types with a farcical, pantomimic performance style. Also like Coyote shows of the past, and unusually for radio drama, some scenes were improvised “live” when recorded. We were never sure what version of the words Rik was going to deliver – even when he was supposed to be reading from a script. But now we're earning good money, we can drink as much as we like, of anything, even spirits, and half a bottle of Scotch makes Rik, by turns, belligerent, morose, and then unconscious. It's no fun for either of us." McMurray, Niall (10 March 2017). "Kirsty MacColl – Terry". Into the Popvoid . Retrieved 19 July 2020.In 1986, Mayall played the private detective in the video of " Peter Gunn" by Art of Noise featuring Duane Eddy. [16] [17] Becoming a household name [ edit ]