Crowdfunding drive launched for companion volume

Three die-hard fans of Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson’s sitcom Bottom are trying to crowdfund a book celebrating its 30-year anniversary.

 Talking Bottom will dive into all three series of the BBC Two comedy, its five five tour shows and the feature film spin-off Guest House Paradiso, and promises first draft scripts, previously unseen pictures and essays inspired by the programme.

It will be written by Mat Brooks, Angela Pearson and Paul Tanter, who also produce a podcast of the same name.

Tanter said: ‘We are three comedy obsessives who grew up watching Bottom and endlessly quoted the show in school, often to the detriment of our education. We are tremendously excited that we are finally able to put that hard work to use and share our Bottom knowledge with fellow fans.

‘Thanks to various streaming platforms, Bottom continues to delight and disgust new audiences and our podcast Talking Bottom regularly found itself in the iTunes Top 10, much to our surprise.

‘We decided to make the podcast for fun but our listenership has grown year on year and that’s testament to the affection people around the world still hold for Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson’s incredible writing and performances.

‘The book is a chance for us to give comedy fans even more than we explored in the podcast as we are convinced there is a continued shared appetite from other Rik and Ade lovers to learn about Bottom.’

Talking Bottom: A guide to the cult sitcom is available for pre-order now via Unbound.com,  priced £10 as an ebook or £16 in paperback.

Additional supporter rewards include exclusive artwork, mugs, t-shirts, tea towels, signed copies and a publication day pub crawl kicking off at the Rik Mayall memorial bench in Hammersmith, West London, where the sitcom was set.

Published: 29 Jun 2021