A Kick Up the Eighties (TV Series 1981–1984) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A Kick Up the Eighties 30min Sketch show that originally explored a theme each week (work, death, sex). Stars: Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence.

a list of 74 titles created 10 Aug 2012 a list of 437 titles created 18 May 2014 a list of 1320 titles created 20 Nov 2014 a list of 82 titles created 10 months ago a list of 58 titles created 5 months ago Title: A Kick Up the Eighties (1981–1984) 7.2/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Add Image Add an image Do you have any images for this title? 21 September 1981 (UK) See more » Company Credits (Ambrosia) – See all my reviews A number of B.B.C. sketch shows appeared in the wake of 'Not The Nine O'Clock News', all attempting to recapture the original's healthy disrespect for authority and revelling in sheer bad taste for the sake of it. Made by B.B.C.

Scotland, and executive produced by Sean Hardie, 'A Kick Up The Eighties' is today best remembered for bringing the then-unknown Rik Mayall ( credited as Kevin Turvey ) to a mass audience. Turvey, a Brummie idiot who fancied himself as an investigative reporter, delivered surreal monologues to camera which he concluded by saying: "Kevin's 'ere!", whilst touching his left ear. Turvey became a cult character, leading to him getting his own one-off show: 'Kevin Turvey - The Man Behind The Green Door'. One or two sketches concerned then-topical subjects such as the cold war, the prospect of nuclear war, unemployment, sexual equality, and even the boom in home ( video ) entertainment. Among the writers were 'Rab C.Nesbitt' author Ian Pattison, and Doug Naylor and Rob Grant, creators of 'Red Dwarf'. The regular cast in the first season were Ron Bain, Miriam Margolyes, Roger Sloman, Tracey Ullman ( fresh from 'Three Of A Kind' ), with Richard Stilgoe providing witty 'Frost Report'-style linking material.

The second season saw Stilgoe replaced by Robbie Coltrane ( whom I thought at the time had probably been cast due to his physical resemblance to Mel Smith! ). Some of Coltrane's characters, particularly the stand-up comedian who is nowhere near as funny as he thinks he is, would reappear in 'Laugh? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee!'. Although 'Eighties' did upset some viewers - particularly a sketch in the fifth show in the first season in which Miriam Margolyes' nurse unplugs a patient's life support machine in order to be able to use her vacuum cleaner - there was no repetition of the furore that greeted 'Carrott's Lib' when Jasper joked about the deaf. Another sick sketch had surgeons casually tossing a patient's innards onto a floor where they were then eaten by a dog. But the nastiest item of all was, appropriately enough, set in a video rental shop ( which were everywhere in those days ) where characters from so-called 'video nasties' ( a term coined by the right-wing media to describe horror movies such as 'Driller Killer' and 'I Spit On Your Grave' ) engaged in a musical number.

Anyone who shared the Thatcher Government's view of such films ( that they should be banned outright ) would have had their prejudices confirmed by the gruesome sketch. Tracey Ullman spoofed the controversial Channel 4 show 'The Mini Pops' on one edition. As she sang 'Knick Knack Paddy Wack, a gang of dirty old men in grubby macs lusted after her. She also did brilliant take-offs of Janette Tough of 'The Krankies', and 'Toyah Wilcox'. The song 'I am Angry' was a send-up of 'I Want To Be Free'. The title sequence of the first season featured caricatures of Thatcher, Reagan, Charles and Di et al, culminating in a foot going through a television set. The second season's titles guyed the film 'Blade Runner', which had gone on release the year before. 'Eighties' was repeated on 'U.K. Gold' in the late '80's/early '90's, but has yet to appear on D.V.D. It goes without saying that the show looks like a product of its time, especially with its Quantel effects and synth theme tune by David McNiven ( used on the second season ).

It was hit and miss stuff, but served a purpose in laying the groundwork for the superior 'Naked Video'. 6 of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes kevin turvey : definition of kevin turvey and synonyms of kevin turvey (English) Kevin Turvey was a British television comedy character created by actor and comedian Rik Mayall for the BBC sketch show A Kick Up the Eighties in 1981. Turvey was a self-styled "investigative journalist" who lived with his mother, wore a shapeless blue anorak, fancied a local girl called Theresa Kelly (who was never depicted), and rarely ventured outside Redditch . Each week, his "investigations" amounted to no more than an over-excited, rambling, uninformed monologue delivered to camera. The theme is the third movement alla marcia from the Karelia Suite by Sibelius; the first movement, intermezzo, was the theme of ITV's This Week current affairs programme. In 1982 a one-off mockumentary , "Kevin Turvey - The Man Behind The Green Door" was broadcast.

In this, a BBC 'fly-on-the-wall' camera crew followed Kevin for a week as he went about his "investigations." Robbie Coltrane played Mick the lodger (who was AWOL from the Army), Adrian Edmondson played Keith Marshall, and Gwyneth Guthrie Kevin's mum. Roger Sloman appeared as a psychotic park-keeper. Making guest appearances as part of Kevin's band "20th Century Coyote" were Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron , known as Raw Sex. Mayall described Turvey as "an accent and a mood from south-west Midlands" where he (Mayall) had grown up. A subsequent "accent and mood" character called Siadwell appeared on the TV series Naked Video . John Sparkes , the comedian behind the Welsh Siadwell, was inspired by Kevin Turvey. External links Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind the Green Door Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 12 out of 14 people found the following review useful: What Ever Happened to Kevin Turvey? from London 4 August 2004 There's a 40 minute version of this (the version available to buy) and a 30 minute version for TV.

The shorter one is much, much funnier. Kevin Turvey is an investigative reporter who works mainly in the Reditch area, Midlands, UK. He investigates the park, the canal, the library, the supermarket... Kevin is my favourite Rik Mayall character. He's not the instigator of violence like so many of the others, but is sometimes on the receiving end. He's an innocent, carefree, poking his nose journalistically into the mundane things around him. It's his calm, logical approach that is so funny and his determination to discover the truth about such things as what happens to frogs after people have eaten their legs. Sadly this character never had his own series. He did have a regular five minute section in the middle of a sketch show called A Kick Up the Eighties. Personally I would have much rather had more Kevin Turvey and less Bottom. (Having said that, can anyone ever really have enough Bottom?) Was the above review useful to you?

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: This is brilliant, too brilliant apparently, since most people don't seem to "get" it 24 February 2007 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Unlike most Rik Mayall fans, I prefer his early Dangerous Brothers and Comic Strip work to his later shows such as "The New Statesman". I adore his "20th Century Coyote" routines in which he berates the audience and hollers at them to "SHUT UP!" while he tries to read outrageously bad poetry. I'm also a big fan of his writing, in such shows as "The Young Ones", "The Comic Strip Presents", and even the crass but deceptively interesting "Bottom". Maybe that's why I'm able to really enjoy this unique show and give it its proper due. The character of Kevin Turvey is delightful and unlike any of Rik's other roles. Kevin is a ridiculously literal fool, an overgrown child who takes everything far too seriously without ever realizing how silly he is.

He lives with his mother and their "lodger" (wonderfully played by Robbie Coltrane), and has somehow convinced some friends with a camera to film him doing "investigative reports" around his hometown. He chooses to investigate burning issues like whether or not the park employee that posted the "keep off the grass" sign had to actually keep ON the grass to post it, or if they employed a system of strings and pulleys instead. Absolutely mad. Much like Alan Partridge, Turvey proudly invites you to share in his pathetically boring life because he actually thinks it's pretty neat. He babbles endlessly, talking in bigger and bigger circles until he has completely lost any thread of logic, throwing out stranger and stranger ideas, and it's impossible to guess what he might say next.

For example: an idle comment about the eating of frogs' legs turns into a detailed argument about how they manage to take care of the legless frogs afterwards (do they get little wheeled carts or do they just stay in bed?) There are far too many great moments to list here, from his interminable trip to London to his raucous cover of the song "Downtown", with Coltrane, Ade Edmondson, Simon Brint, and Rowland Riverton. If you like your humor tidy and conventional, this will bore you, but if you like a dose of surreal weirdness with your laughs you should definitely check this out. Kevin Turvey is a scream. Was the above review useful to you? ''He's always been a bit of a loner!'' from Wallyford, East Lothian, Scotland 30 September 2015 *** This review may contain spoilers *** One year after catching viewers attention with his alter ego Kevin Turvey on the BBC Scotland sketch show 'A Kick Up The Eighties', Rik Mayall expanded the character in a one-off show created for television entitled 'The Man Behind The Green Door'.

The show was a mockumentary giving us a glimpse into a week in the life of the harebrained Turvey, which included interviews at his home in Latymer Rise, Redditch, with his brassy mother ( Gwyneth Guthrie from 'Take The High Road' ), their lodger Mick ( Robbie Coltrane ) who has recently escaped from the army ( and it is suggested that he is sleeping with Kevin's mother ) and Turvey's friend Keith Marshall ( Mayall's future long-term comedy partner Ade Edmondson ), who was previously mentioned on 'A Kick Up The Eighties'. Roger Sloman makes a brief appearance as a psychotic park-keeper who beats Kevin senseless. The interviews with Turvey's mother and lodger were hilarious. On being asked to describe her son's personality, she responds: ''He's always been a bit of a loner. A bit of a Clint Eastwood figure, in that people don't like him very much.''. Upon being asked to describe his relationship with Kevin, Mick the lodger gives a surreal statement along the lines of ''I have four pairs of shoes, one brown pair and three black pairs. I'll lend him the brown ones, but not the black ones.

I know it sounds peculiar but its just the way I like to live my life.''. Rik Mayall wrote 'Green Door' in collaboration with its producer Colin Gilbert, who had earlier worked on 'A Kick Up The Eighties' and would later go on to do other shows such as 'Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee', 'Naked Video' and 'Rab C. Nesbitt'. It was mostly good stuff, with good work not only from Mayall, but from Coltrane and Guthrie too. Only Ade Edmondson's musical item 'Keith Marshall & His Musical Anarchy' fell upon stony ground. Kevin Turvey never received a full series, however. Probably just as well. I doubt very much that the character would be able to sustain a full six-part sitcom. Afterwards, Mayall found greater stardom in 'The Young Ones' and 'The Comic Strip Presents', as did Edmondson and Coltrane. Funniest bit - in a bid to impress Mick the lodger, Kevin shouts through to the kitchen: ''Hurry up with dinner mum, we're f**king hungry!''. ''Come through here a moment please Kevin!'', asks his mother out of vision.

As Kevin walks out of shot to the kitchen, we hear what sounds like a frying pan being hit across his head! Was the above review useful to you? 0 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Not too funny in my opinion 12 May 2016 *** This review may contain spoilers *** "Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind the Green Door" is a 40-minute fake documentary from almost 35 years ago starring the late Rik Mayall as title character Kevin Turvey. The co-writer (to Mayall) and director here is Colin Gilbert. In general, I have to say this is not really my brand of humour and I felt it dragged on several occasions. Funny moments were certainly not enough, not even for a film under 45 minutes. Still after having watched Mayall's comedy stand-up routine, i must say this film here is better than him on stage. The script certainly elevates the material. I wish I could say something more positive in the light of his death, but I just wasn't entertained at all by this one here. Thumbs down and I don't recommend it, unless you want to see the young Robbie Coltrane. Was the above review useful to you?

1 out of 3 people found the following review useful: True genius - shame it was downhill from here from United Kingdom 4 November 2009 Other commentators are right in that the 40-minute version contains extra material that is weaker than the tighter 30-minute edit, but having been familiar with the 30-minute version for some years, it was still great to see the extra material. 1981 saw the first TV appearances of Kevin Turvey, investigative reporter in a show called A Kick Up The Eighties, which was otherwise rather bland. Turvey's reports were pure genius: wild, unpredictable and much funnier takes on the Ronnie Corbett-style monologues. Comedy on British TV was changing, and the people, including Mayall, who participated in the Comic Strip, The Young Ones and Blackadder went on to dominate comedy in the Eighties.

After The Young Ones, I consider Mayall's offerings to have gone downhill rapidly: the New Statesman with its cliché-ridden script and coarse acting, and Bottom (as they aged, Mayall, Elton, et al seemed to find farting more and more hilarious, possibly because they increasingly tried to write for a younger generation they were no longer a part of, whereas in the early 80s they were writing intelligent dialogue for their own generation). And less said about Mayall's film work, the better. But Kevin Turvey remains whimsical genius in this "week in the life of a freelance investigative reporter" reporting on biting local issues, such as "who is keeping on the grass?", the significance of "the Battle of Redditch" and whether the Japanese are able to make wheelchairs small enough for frogs when half of them's been eaten. Mayall is brilliant, as is the support cast, especially Robbie Coltrane as Mick the Lodger ("these hands are killers. If I had a gun in either of these hands, you'd be a dead man"). Mayall demonstrates a genius for character comedy that he failed to pursue.

This is a shame, because those who were the natural successors to the Turvey style (notably Steve Cougan with Alan Partridge) produced much funnier comedy than any of Mayall's over-the-top later performances. The Man Behind The Green Door script remains more quotable than anything written since the Pythons ("Aha! I can see that you're reading a review. Tell me, mate, is that your computer?"). Was the above review useful to you? A Kick Up The Eighties (see also) - British Comedy Guide A Kick Up The Eighties A Kick Up The Eighties Like this show BBC Two sketch show. 10 episodes (2 series), 1981 - 1984. Stars Rik Mayall , Tracey Ullman , Miriam Margolyes , Roger Sloman , Ron Bain , Richard Stilgoe and Robbie Coltrane .

A Kick Up The Eighties Like this show Rik Mayall: Comedian and actor who helped revolutionise the British comedy scene as the punk poet and Cliff Richard fan, Rick | The Independent Rik Mayall: Comedian and actor who helped revolutionise the British comedy scene as the punk poet and Cliff Richard fan, Rick Monday 9 June 2014 23:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online When The Young Ones hit British TV screens in 1982 it revolutionised comedy in this country. Its anarchic slapstick rode the wave of alternative comedy that had crashed on to the shores of British popular culture at the end of the previous decade and helped wash away the comedic old guard. As Rick, the aspiring radical poet whose mouthy bravado failed to conceal a wimpy suburban Cliff Richard fan, Rik Mayall was in the vanguard of the comedy revolution. He went on to appear in other hit sitcoms including Blackadder, The New Statesman and Bottom. He was born in Harlow, Essex, the second of four children, to drama teachers. When he was three the family moved to Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, where he performed in his parents' plays.

He studied drama at Manchester University, where he met his future comedy partner Ade Edmondson, as well as Ben Elton and Lise Mayer, with whom he would write The Young Ones. He first created a stir with Edmondson at the Comedy Store in 1980 with their double act, "20th Century Coyote". Mayall developed his first comedy characters, Kevin Turvey and a pompous anarchist poet, Rick. The pair, along with the Comedy Store compere Alexei Sayle and other comedians on the way up, including Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Dawn then set up a club of their own, The Comic Strip, in the Raymond Revuebar in Soho. Mayall secured a slot for Kevin Turvey on the BBC Scotland sketch show A Kick Up the Eighties, which first went out in 1981. He and Edmondson, meanwhile, became The Dangerous Brothers, whose violence to each other prefigured their later partnership in Bottom.

Read more RIK MAYALL'S LIFE IN QUOTES, VIA LORD FLASHHEART AND THE YOUNG ONES When Channel 4 launched in 1982 they latched on to Mayall and Co, and The Comic Strip Presents... made its debut on 2 November, establishing a reputation for its anti-establishment humour, and parodies such as Bad News on Tour, a spoof rockumentary with Mayall, Richardson, Edmondson and Planer as a heavy metal band. A week later the BBC put out the first episode of The Young Ones. Mayall had written a script with his then-girlfriend Mayer, and when Elton came on board the show had been commissioned as a six-part series. Mayall maintained his double-act with Edmondson, who played the sociopathic punk Vyvyan, with Nigel Planer's hippie Neil and Christopher Ryan (as "Mike the cool person") the other flatmates. A second series was as successful. Mayall continued in The Comic Strip films, did more stand-up and starred with Edmondson as The Dangerous Brothers on Saturday Live, a British version of the American Saturday Night Live.

Having appeared briefly in the first Blackadder series, he returned for the second as the dashing, roistering Lord Flashheart In 1986, Planer, Edmondson and Elton joined Mayall in Filthy Rich & Catflap, in what was intended as a follow-up to The Young Ones. But viewing figures were poor and the series was never repeated on the BBC. In 1987 came what was perhaps Mayall second best-known character, the Conservative MP Alan B'Stard, in the sitcom The New Statesman (1987-94), written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. His philandering, egotistical and unprincipled character caught the imagination of a nation fed up with the flash new breed of careerist politician. In the early 1990s Mayall starred in adverts for Nintendo, and with the money he bought his house in London which he called "Nintendo Towers". In 1991, Edmondson and Mayall co-starred in the West End production of Waiting for Godot, with Mayall as Vladimir, Edmondson as Estragon and Christopher Ryan as Lucky.

The critical reception was poor, though it did give them the idea for Bottom – a cruder cousin to Godot, they said. It ran for three series (1991–95), with Mayall as Richard "Richie" Richard alongside Edmondson's Eddie Elizabeth Hitler. The slapstick ultraviolence brought the series gained a strong cult following and several national tours were hugely successful at the box office. On film, Mayall starred alongside Phoebe Cates in 1991's Drop Dead Fred as a troublesome imaginary friend, and in the critical and commercial flop Carry On Columbus (1992) with other alternative comedians. In 1993 Rik Mayall Presents, three individual comedy dramas, won him a Best Comedy Performer award at that year's British Comedy Awards. In 1995 he co-starred in a production of the Simon Gray play Cell Mates, which became unfortunately best known for Stephen Fry's nervous breakdown and flight to Belgium, causing the play to close.

Mayall never seemed to have forgiven Fry, saying in 2007, "You don't leave the trenches." In April 1998, Mayall was injured after crashing a quad bike near his home in Devon.He was in a coma for five days. Doctors were close to switching off his life-support machine when he began to show signs of life. "I beat Jesus Christ," he later joked. "He was dead for three days at Easter." While he was in hospital the Comic Strip special "Four Men in a Car" featured a scene in which his character was hit by a car. Mayall and Edmondson joked about it in their Bottom stage show, Mayall referring to himself: "You must know him, that tosser who fell off the quad bike." His first post-accident acting job was in the 1998 Jonathan Creek Christmas special, as DI Gideon Pryke, a role he reprised in 2013. Voice-over work included the video game Hogs of War, and though he was cast as the poltergeist Peeves in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first of the franchise, in 2001, none of his scenes made the final cut .

In 2002, he teamed up with Marks and Gran again as Professor Adonis Cnut in the ITV sitcom Believe Nothing, but it lasted only one series; they reprised Alan B'Stard – by now a Labour MP – for the play The New Statesman 2006: Blair B'stard Project, which had a successful West End run and national tour. Following 2003's Bottom 5: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts tour, Ade Edmondson had said they were "too old" to carry on, but the pair remained close friends. Richard Michael Mayall, comedian and actor: born Harlow 7 March 1958; married 1985 Barbara Robbin (three children); died 9 June 2014. In pictures: Rik Mayall - BBC News BBC News Read more about sharing. Close share panel Comedian and actor Rik Mayall who has died aged 56 shot to fame playing Rick in The Young Ones. His comedy career included appearances in shows including Blackadder, Bottom and The New Statesman.

Image caption Early in his career, one of Rik Mayall's characters was the socially awkward Kevin Turvey who appeared on TV show A Kick Up the Eighties in 1981 Image caption Mayall [far right] appeared as Rick in anarchic sitcom The Young Ones - with Adrian Edmondson as Vyvyan, Nigel Planer as Neil, Christopher Ryan as Mike Image caption He played out-of-work actor Richie in 1986 BBC sitcom Filthy, Rich and Catflap Image caption Rik Mayall stole the show as the swashbuckling Lord Flashheart in Blackadder II Image caption He was back as flying ace Lord Flashheart in the World War One-set Blackadder Goes Forth in 1989 Image caption Mayall and Adrian Edmondson played Richie and Eddie in Bottom (1991) - the pair had a long-running comedy partnership Image caption Tributes to Mayall, seen here on Wogan in 1991, praise him as a pioneer of alternative comedy Image copyright AP Image caption Mayall, pictured here in 1999, survived an almost fatal accident a year earlier when a quad bike accident left him in a coma for several days Image copyright Getty Images Image caption

 Rik Mayall and Marsha Fitzalan posed as their comic 1980s TV characters Alan and Sarah B'Stard, launching the UK tour of the stage adaptation of The New Statesman in 2006 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption He was in good form at the British Comedy Awards at 2011 in London Image caption Mayall played DI Gideon Pryke in detective drama series Jonathan Creek - he is seen here in the 2013 episode The Clue Of The Savant's Thumb, with Sheridan Smith, Alan Davies and Joanna Lumley Rik Mayall - Bio, Facts, Family | Famous Birthdays Rik Mayall First Name Rik#1 About British cult comedian who is best known for his role on the television series The Young Ones and for his role as Fred in the film Drop Dead Fred.

Before Fame Rik Mayall | Biography and News | Contactmusic.com News Film Quotes RSS Biography Rik Mayall (born Richard Michael Mayall; 7 March 1958 - 9 June 2014) Rik Mayall was a British comedian best known for his partnership with Ade Edmondson in 'The Young Ones' and 'Bottom'. Net Worth: Rik Mayall's net worth was $5 million according to Celebrity Net Worth (2014). Childhood: Mayall was born in Harlow, Essex but later moved to Droitwich, Spa, Worchestershire. His parents were drama teachers John and Gillian Mayall. He attended The King's School, Worchester and then the University of Manchester in 1976 to study drama. Here he made friends with future comedy partner Ade Edmondson. He also met 'The Young Ones' co-writers Ben Elton and Lise Mayer. Comedy Career: Rik Mayall kicked off his comedy career with Edmondson at the Comedy Store in 1980, with whom he had a double act named 20th Century Coyote alongside his solo characters such as Kevin Turvey.

The duo, along with several other comedians such as French and Saunders, set up their own club called 'The Comic Strip' in a Soho strip bar. The club soon became the short film series 'The Comic Strip Presents...' Kevin Turvey became a regular character on the sketch show 'A Kick Up the Eighties' and was later the subject of mockumentary 'Kevin Turvey - The Man Behind The Green Door'. Punk sitcom 'The Young Ones' was Mayall's next big project which first aired in 1982. He played Cliff Richard fan Rik while Edmondson played an angry punk named Vyvyan. The cast of the series later performed with Cliff Richard in a rendition of his hit 'Living Doll' for Comic Relief in 1986. In 1986, Mayall featured in Art Of Noise's music video for the song 'Peter Gunn' as a Detective. Mayall and Edmondson performed stand-up once again on 'Saturday Live' with one of their old double acts The Dangerous Brothers.

Mayall starred as Mad Gerald in series one of 'Blackadder', while appearing as Lord Flashheart in 'Blackadder II', Squadron Commander Flashheart in Blackadder Goes Forth and Robin Hood in 'Blackadder: Back & Forth'. In the late 80s, Mayall starred as Richie Rich in 'The Young Ones' follow-up series 'Filthy Rich & Catflap', before starring once again with Edmondson on the highly criticised sitcom 'Hardwicke House'. He played Conservative MP Alan Beresford in the political sitcom 'The New Statesman', before narrating an ITV puppet series called 'Grim Tales'. In the 1990s, Mayall featured in comical Nintendo adverts which paid for his London home he later nicknamed 'Nintendo Towers'. Mayall and Edmondson starred in the 1991 West End show 'Waiting For Godot' before launching their hugely successful comedy series 'Bottom'. The show later toured on stage in 1993, but, due to the frequent slapstick violence, they often ended up hospitalising each other and themselves. Mayall and Phoebe Cates co-starred in 'Drop Dead Fred' in 1991.

Mayall played a woman's childhood imaginary friend who returned to her as an adult. Mayall also featured in 'Carry On Columbus' in 1992. Mayall voiced Froglip in the 1992 animated film 'The Princess And The Goblin', which was an adaptation of the 1872 children's story by George MacDonald. Mayall appeared in 'Rik Mayall Presents' in 1993 which won him an award at the British Comedy Award for 'Best Comedy Performer'. Mayall was in the play 'Cell Mates' along with Stephen Fry. Fry shortly had a nervous breakdown and went to Belgium causing the play to close early. From 1999, Mayall provided his voice for the animated television series 'Watership Down', playing seagull 'Kehaar'. Mayall also featured in some adverts for Virgin Trains in the later 1990s. Mayall played 'Lt Daniel Blaney' in 'Murder Rooms: The Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes', in the episode 'The White Knight Stratagem' in 2001.

The following year he starred as Professor Adonis Cnut in the short-lived ITV sitcom, 'Believe Nothing'. Mayall featured in the BBC program 'Showbox Zoo' voicing Edwin. Mayall released a semi-fictionalised autobiography 'Bigger Than Hitler, Better Than Christ' in 2005. Around this time, he starred in the ITV series 'All About George'. In 2006, Mayall played Alan B'Stard in the play 'The New Statesman 2006: Blair B'Stard Project'. After a successful run, Mayall had to pull out of further shows due to chronic fatigue and flu, to be replaced by his understudy Mike Sherman. He voiced King Arthur in the cartoon 'King Arthur's Disasters' alongside Matt Lucas playing Merlin. Mayall had a recurring role in remake of the drama 'Minder'. Mayall released the anthem 'Noble England' for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The song broke into the official UK charts, following Mayall's death in 2014.

Mayall featured in 'Let's Dance For Comic Relief' in 2011, where he hit Ade Edmondson with a frying pan in a performance of 'The Dying Swan ballet'. In April of that year, Mayall brought back the character of Alan B'Stard appearing in a satirical advert for the No2AV. The following May, Mayall became the 'Bombardier' in a TV advert for 'Bombardier Bitter'. The adverts breached the Ofcom code against alcohol and sexual attractiveness being linked to success. Mayall starred in 'The Last Hurrah' in 2012; an audio series that he co-wrote with Craig Green and Dominic Vince. The same year Mayall narrated children's books on the Me Books app, such as 'The Getaway' and 'Banana!' by Ed Vere. Mayall appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom 'Man Down in 2013. Mayall played the father of the protagonist, who was played by Greg Davies, despite just being ten years older. Personal life: Rik Mayall had a relationship with 'The Young Ones' go writer Lise Mayer in his early years.

He married Barbara Robbin in 1985 and the pair had three children together. Their relationship started out as an affair, as Mayall was with Lise Mayer at the time. Mayall stated that Mayer had forgiven him in 2002. Mayer suffered a quad bike accident in 1998, fracturing his skull which resulted in him being in a coma for several days. In June 2014, it was announced that he had died at home following an acute cardiac event. Biography by Contactmusic.com RIP Rik Mayall: His Greatest Roles | Anglophenia | BBC America RIP Rik Mayall: His Greatest Roles Rik Mayall (Press Association via AP Images) Copy the link below By Fraser McAlpine | 3 years ago Rik Mayall (Press Association via AP Images) The comedian and actor Rik Mayall has died, aged 56. His manager confirmed the news earlier today, telling BBC News : “We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Rik Mayall, who passed away this morning.” No single figure better personified the explosive arrival of alternative comedy in the late ’70s and early ’80s than Rik Mayall.

As co-writer and star of the BBC’s riotous The Young Ones—alongside comedy partner Ade Edmonson, with Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan and Alexei Sayle, he helped to bring the vitality, irreverence and black humor of punk rock to a mainstream TV audience—and became a huge star in the U.K. as a result. The British comedians that do not regard that show (and Rik in particular) as a direct influence are few and far between. The Young Ones were the comedy Sex Pistols, and Rik was Johnny Rotten.

<noscript><iframe width="500" height="375" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></noscript> At around the same time, he was appearing in the sketch show A Kick Up The Eighties as Kevin Turvey, investigative reporter from Redditch, near Birmingham: <noscript><iframe width="500" height="281" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></noscript> Never short of a self-aggrandizing quip or a charismatic aside, he went on to upstage everyone in BlackAdder II (repeating the trick in Blackadder Goes Forth), starring as Lord Flashheart, and taking just three minutes to steal the girl, destroy a wedding and Elizabeth I’s palace, shout a lot and manfully handle an appalling moustache malfunction: <noscript><iframe width="500" height="375" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></noscript> Then there was The New Statesman, in which Rik played the self-serving Conservative Member or Parliament Alan B’Stard.

There are entire episodes available on YouTube , but this outtake speaks volumes about his constant need to act up, in as charmingly gross a manner as possible: <noscript><iframe width="500" height="375" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></noscript> At the same time as The New Statesman, Rik and Ade Edmonson were creating these insane sketches for ITV’s Saturday Live, appearing as the Dangerous Brothers: <noscript><iframe width="500" height="375" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></noscript> He played a variety of roles in The Comic Strip Presents, a series of one-shot comedies that included the Clint Eastwood parody “A Fistful of Traveller’s Cheques” ( see clip ) and “Bad News Tour,” in which he played heavy metal bass player Colin Grigson. The sequel saw the band genuinely playing on stage at the Donington Masters of Rock festival, and going down quite badly (on purpose). He even got to star in his own movie, Drop Dead Fred, in which he appeared as Phoebe Cates’ childhood imaginary friend.

Still charming, still gross: <noscript><iframe width="500" height="375" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></noscript> And then there was Bottom, his return to slapstick with Ade Edmonson. While still essentially the violent losers of old—pummelling each other with whatever household items came to hand—his character in particular developed a note of melancholy and life-weariness that echoed that of Tony Hancock, 25 years previously. <noscript><iframe width="500" height="375" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></noscript> Most recently, he had appeared in a new sitcom called Man Down, starring as Greg Davies’ embarrassing dad. Some things never change: <noscript><iframe width="500" height="281" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></noscript> John Lloyd, producer of Blackadder, told BBC News: “It’s really a dreadful piece of news. He was the most extraordinarily good actor as well as being an amazing stand-up comic.

Apart from being great company, he was a great professional.” Little Britain star David Walliams was among those paying tribute on Twitter , saying, “I am heartbroken that my comedy idol growing up Rik Mayall has died. He made me want to be a comedian.” Edgar Wright added : “Shocked and saddened that a comedy hero is gone; for those who grew up on The Young Ones, Rik Mayall was one of funniest performers ever.” Now watch some of Rik’s greatest hits on Hulu:

Question: Which comedian played Kevin Turvey in the British tv sketch series ‘A Kick Up the Eighties?
Answer: Rik Mayall