“There is nowhere like the Edinburgh Fringe anywhere else on earth. As lovers of British comedy it’s always been hallowed ground, especially as it’s where our heroes Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson started out back in the late 70s.”
WHO: Angela Pearson
WHAT: “Eager to celebrate their favourite sitcom – Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson’s BBC 90s classic, Bottom – comedy fans Paul Tanter, Angela Pearson and Mat Brooks launched their popular podcast Talking Bottom in 2018. Named Podcast of the Week by The Guardian and Metro, it features interviews with Bottom’s cast and creatives, plus deep dives into Bottom episodes and various comedy themes. Their companion book, Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom, hits UK bookshops this summer. Now, the trio are bringing the Talking Bottom podcast live to Edinburgh, joined by a special guest – Lee Cornes (AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!).”
WHERE: Ermintrude at Underbelly, Bristo Square (Venue 302)
WHEN: 15:15 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Yes this is our very first time popping our Edinburgh cherry as ‘performers’! We’re co-hosts of the Talking Bottom podcast and our aim is to bring Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson’s sitcom Bottom into the conversation wherever we go. Doing a live podcast was not something we’d considered until this year and we’re beyond thrilled Underbelly booked us into their programme for the final weekend. We’ve visited as revellers in the past and absolutely loved cramming in as many shows as possible into a day. There is nowhere like the Edinburgh Fringe anywhere else on earth. As lovers of British comedy it’s always been hallowed ground, especially as it’s where our heroes Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson started out back in the late 70s. Ange has worked the festival as a comedy publicist in recent years so knows the lie of the land but bringing Talking Bottom LIVE to Fringe audiences is an absolute dream come true. We’re twisting our nipples with excitement to talk complete and total BOTTOM there with our special guest Lee Cornes (AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head!).
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
This is our first venture into Fringe with a show of our own so we don’t have personal experience of Fringe performing to share in that regard. In terms of finding reasonably priced accommodation not even the advice to ‘book early’ really means anything any more so our advice would be to make friends in Edinburgh this year so you can beg to stay with them the next! But in all seriousness, since 2024, we have seen our Talking Bottom book go from its initial transcript to being painstakingly edited and now printed – it’s out in all good bookshops this summer via the publisher Unbound – so we’ve learned a huge amount about self-hatred, sleepless nights and the book publishing process. Overall, it’s rewarding! And we’re hoping the Edinburgh Fringe is going to teach us a similar lesson – to pursue your dreams and, above all, back yourself. Trust that you know your own potential, no-one else is going to invite you to succeed in life unless you put the effort in. You have to aim to grab all opportunities by the short and curlies and whack ’em with a frying pan!
Tell us about your show.
Talking Bottom LIVE at Edinburgh Fringe is going to be a truly special one off episode of our podcast. We’ll be interviewing the incredibly 80s alternative comedy legend that is Lee Cornes! He started out in the 80s as a stand up and was a regular compere at the iconic The Comedy Store. He was also cast in 80s sitcoms including Blackadder and Red Dwarf – his turn as Paranoia alone has gone into the history books as a hilarious bit part. Then he was cast as Dick Head, the pub landlord, in Bottom and was cemented as one of the greatest side characters the show ever produced. Fans quote his lines amongst themselves ad infinitum. Together we three – Paul Tanter, Angela Pearson and Mat Brooks – Bottom fans started the Talking Bottom podcast back in 2018. At first it was a way to excuse ourselves from our other halves and talk about our favourite sitcom week on week. It was also a way to remember the late great Rik Mayall. It’s astonishing how many people you can meet who’ve now never heard of Rik Mayall’s work in Bottom, and even The Young Ones! It’s been 30+ years since these TV shows changed the face of sitcom and we feel Rik and Ade’s work needs celebrating and commemorating. We started doing interviews with the Bottom cast and crew, gleaning more insights than we ever thought possible. It may sound nerdy but preserving anecdotes and uncovering new facts is what drives us in our mission to keep Bottom in the conversation. We’re thrilled to be bringing the podcast to Fringe with Lee Cornes. We did the first ever live Talking Bottom podcast at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May this year with special guest Ed Bye – Bottom’s Director/Producer. It sold out within hours of going on sale and was a really fun hour learning about Ed’s craftsmanship and relationship with Rik and Ade as performers. We are considering doing another live podcast this Autumn in London but we’ll see how Edinburgh goes!! Learn to walk before we run (probably with the dogs set on us!!)
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
There are SO many shows at the Fringe this year we’re hoping to see while we’re there for the final weekend. It’ll be near impossible to cram them all in but top unmissable picks are the two funniest women you’re ever likely to encounter doing sketch Siblings: Dreamweaver at Pleasance Baby Grand, the hilarious high-energy New Zealand husband/wife musical comedy duo Two Hearts’ brand new show ‘Don’t Stop Throbbing’ at Pleasance Courtyard and the one woman powerhouse that is Elf Lyons with her reprisal of her THREE fantastically funny and thought-provoking shows collectively billed as ‘The Bird Trilogy’ at Pleasance King Dome. Also definitely going to be checking out the very funny man Will Rowland’s Sunshine by Candlelight at PBH Free Fringe’s Banshee Labryinth and the hilarious storytelling comedian Kevin James Doyle’s Wild Card at Just The Tonic The Caves which promises a huge amount of audience participation and even huger laughs.
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