Put your Bottom where his was...

A memorial bench to Rik Mayall is to be unveiled today – on the same spot he was seen in the opening credits to Bottom.

It follows an online campaign launched soon after his death in June, at the age of 56, which attracted 7,000 names.

The bench in Hammersmith Broadway had been removed before the star’s death, but the strength of support convinced the council to reinstate it – this time bearing the inscription: ’In Memory of The Man, The Myth, The Legend.’

The petition, started by actress Jamie Bird, said: ‘Rik changed the face of comedy in the UK, he had a huge impact on thousands of people throughout the UK and around the globe. A creative genius and firecracker of always on tap energy that shaped a nation

‘We, the fans and friends, feel that we need a place where we can remember him and placing a memorial bench at this location is something we feel he would have loved.’

In a 2010 interview with the BBC, Mayall said: ‘Hammersmith is my stomping ground I suppose. And one of the great opening credit sequences was for the telly show Bottom, where you had Richie and Eddie - me and Ade - sitting on a bench. If you were to come to the end of King Street where it meets the big roundabout to get to the Hammersmith Apollo, you'd find that same bench on a traffic island - until one day they took it away and put a pelican crossing in its place. That for me is the worst journey I ever made, discovering what had happened to that bench.’

There is already a blue plaque close to the spot, but it’s unofficial.

Today’s unveiling ceremony is expected to include a tribute written by Mayall's Young Ones co-star Nigel Planer, and a sing-song including Cliff Richard’s The Young Ones and Living Doll.

Published: 14 Nov 2014