Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian, actor, writer, musician, television
presenter and director.
He came to prominence in the early 1980s and was part of the alternative comedy boom.
He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones
and Bottom, for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaborative partner Rik
Mayall.
Edmondson also appeared in The Comic Strip Presents... series of films throughout the
1980s and 1990s.
For one episode of this he created the spoof heavy metal band Bad News, and for another
he played his nihilistic alter-ego Eddie Monsoon, an offensive South African television star.
He played the lead role in the 1985 spin-off feature film, The Supergrass.
In the 2000s, Edmondson appeared in numerous TV programmes in more serious drama roles
including Jonathan Creek, Holby City, Miss Austen Regrets, as himself on Hell's Kitchen
and created the sitcom Teenage Kicks.
Since 2006 Edmondson has concentrated increasingly on music instead of acting, forming band The
Bad Shepherds and performing and writing for the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
In 2011 he presented a series of shows for ITV: The Dales, which focused on people working
in the Yorkshire Dales, and Ade in Britain in which he undertook a tour of numerous places
in Britain.
The series was so popular that a second series aired in spring 2012.
Edmondson has been married to fellow comedian Jennifer Saunders since 1985 and they have
three daughters and two grandchildren.
He lives in Devon and London.
Early life Edmondson, the second of four children, was
born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire.
As a child, he spent time living with his family in a variety of places including Cyprus,
Bahrain, and Uganda, where his father was a teacher in the armed forces.
Later, for a period in the mid-1980s, his father became the deputy headmaster at the
former Drummond Middle School in Manningham, Bradford.
Edmondson attended Pocklington School, East Riding of Yorkshire from 1968 to 1975.
In an interview with the Times Educational Supplement, he stated that he did not enjoy
his education at Pocklington.
Edmondson calculated that during his time at Pocklington, he received a total of 66
strokes of the cane as well as frequent slipperings.
By the time he was in sixth form, with his parents working abroad, Edmondson began to
enjoy himself, "which involved lots of drinking and smoking and petty acts of vandalism."
He made some good friends at the school and had a favourite teacher, Michael Aubrey.
Aubrey taught Edmondson for English and encouraged him to pursue drama, casting him in a number
of school plays, and allowing him to take time out of other lessons to do drama.
After Pocklington, Edmondson went to the University of Manchester to study drama, where he met
his future comedy partner Rik Mayall, and graduated with a 2:1 degree.
Edmondson and Mayall soon became best friends and before long found work on the burgeoning
alternative comedy scene.
Comedy career 1980s
Under the name 20th Century Coyote, Edmondson and Mayall became one of the star attractions
at The Comedy Store.
As their popularity grew, Edmondson, Mayall and other upcoming comedians, including Nigel
Planer, Peter Richardson, Alexei Sayle and French and Saunders moved from the Comedy
Store to The Comic Strip club.
The Comic Strip soon gained a reputation as one of the most popular comedy clubs in London
and soon came to the attention of Channel 4.
Edmondson and the others were commissioned to act in six self-contained half-hour films,
using the group as comedy actors rather than stand-up performers.
The series, entitled The Comic Strip Presents...
debuted on 2 November 1982.
The first episode to be broadcast was "Five Go Mad in Dorset", a parody of Enid Blyton's
Famous Five, which drew anger from some viewers for the way it mercilessly satirised a children's
classic.
Edmondson starred as one of the five.
By the same time as The Comic Strip Presents... was being negotiated, the BBC signed Edmondson,
Mayall, Richardson, Planer and Sayle to star in The Young Ones, a sitcom in the same anarchic
style as The Comic Strip.
The show revolved around the shared house where four students lived during their studies
at Scumbag College.
It was noted at the time of its first airing for its violent slapstick, with Edmondson's
character as the main instigator.
This is a trait which has stayed with him throughout his career.
The series captured public imagination and remains one of Britain's most popular sitcoms.
During this time, Edmondson also appeared in a bank advertisement in what was, basically,
his "Vyvyan" guise.
Following the success of The Comic Strip Presents... and, to a greater extent, The Young Ones,
Edmondson and Mayall returned to their "Coyote" dynamic in the double act "The Dangerous Brothers"
with Edmondson as "Sir Adrian Dangerous" in Saturday Live.
In 1983, he appeared as the lead singer "Vim Fuego" in the spoof heavy metal band called
"Bad News" with his Young Ones co-stars Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson
of "Comic Strip Presents...".
On 11 May 1985, Edmondson married fellow Comic Strip actor Jennifer Saunders, with whom he
has three daughters: Eleanor, Beatrice and Freya.
Edmondson's university nickname of "Eddie Monsoon", a play on his surname, inspired
the name of Saunders' character, "Edina Monsoon" in Absolutely Fabulous and his own characters
"Eddie Catflap" and "Eddie Hitler".
Edmondson and Saunders jointly established their own production company called "Mr and
Mrs Monsoon Limited".
Also in 1985 Edmondson starred with Saunders in Happy Families, a rural comedy drama written
by Ben Elton which appeared on the BBC and told the story of the dysfunctional Fuddle
family.
In 1987, Edmondson reunited with Planer and Mayall to star in Filthy Rich and Catflap,
a comic attack on showbiz, again written by Elton.
He played a character called "Edward Catflap", a coarse and drunken minder of light entertainment
nonentity "Richie Rich".
In this show Edmondson displayed the same slapstick characteristics as Vyvyan in The
Young Ones but was closer in personality to his later character "Eddie Hitler" in Bottom.
The show received critical acclaim but poor viewing figures and was cancelled after one
series.
Edmondson also co-starred in 1987 with Mayall in the ITV sit-com Hardwicke House.
Due to the adverse reaction of both press and viewers, however, ITV withdrew the series
after two episodes and the remaining episodes have never been shown.
In 1988, he released a follow up to How To Be A Complete Bastard called The Bastard's
Book of the Worst.
In 1989 he made an appearance in an episode of Blackadder Goes Forth as The Red Baron,
nemesis to Mayall's character, Lord Flashheart.
1990s
Edmondson played Brad Majors in the 1990 West End run of The Rocky Horror Show, alongside
Tim McInnerny as Frank-N-Furter and Ed Tudor-Pole as Riff-Raff.
He also appears on the soundtrack album of the production.
In 1991, he teamed with his comedy partner Rik Mayall once more, this time co-writing
and co-starring in their own sitcom, Bottom.
Edmondson starred as "Edward Elizabeth Hitler" opposite Mayall's "Richard Richard".
The series featured the slapstick and crude humour for which the pair had become famous
but with more in-depth character analysis.
Mayall and Edmonson have said that Bottom was aimed to be more than just a series of
toilet gags, but a cruder cousin to plays like Waiting for Godot about the pointlessness
of life.
Edmondson played Estragon to Mayall's Vladimir in Samuel Beckett's play in the West End,
in a production that opened at the Queen's Theatre on 30 September 1991.
Bottom became very popular, but it was criticised for its often vulgar humour.
Edmondson was also censured for essentially reprising the same character he had been playing
for his entire career.
The show was also turned into five UK stage tours.
The violent nature of these shows saw both Edmondson and Mayall ending up in hospital.
In 1993, Edmondson starred alongside Richard Briers in a black comedy called If You See
God, Tell Him.
Edmondson played Gordon Spry, whose uncle is paralysed and has a greatly reduced attention
span.
His erratic behaviour causes problems for Gordon.
The series comprised four episodes, each 45 minutes long, and only broadcast once.
The BBC has not repeated the series, although one episode was broadcast on BBC Four on 3
December 2007.
Since 1993 Edmondson has been voicing The Animal in adverts for Peperami.
September 1995, Edmondson released his first novel, The Gobbler.
In 1996, he played the role of Ace Face/Bellboy at The Who's performance of Quadrophenia at
London's Hyde Park.
A video game called Animal, featuring Peperami's "the animal", was released the same year,
with the character being voiced by Edmondson.
From 1997 to 1998 he voiced engine stoker Jones, a major character in the animated series
Captain Star.
In the 1998 ITV pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, Edmondson played Jack's mother Dame Dolly
alongside Neil Morrissey, Denise Van Outen, Paul Merton, Julian Clary and Julie Walters.
The show was broadcast on 25 December on ITV1 and continues to be shown every year around
Christmas.
Following the 1997 Bottom stage tour, Hooligans Island, Mayall and Edmondson worked on the
idea of a Bottom film in which Richie and Eddie run a hotel.
The two had been working on the script together and were set to co-direct.
In 1998 Mayall was seriously injured and spent a few days in a coma.
Edmondson found this time very difficult.
When Mayall came around he helped Edmondson complete the script while still in hospital.
The film became Guest House Paradiso.
In December 2004 the Daily Mirror newspaper quoted Edmondson as saying: "It's definitely
time to stop.
We're getting too old.
We both realised that the show wasn't as engaging as it used to be.
We were starting to look a bit ridiculous.
[...] We're both nearly 50 and we're starting to feel slightly undignified talking about
wanking and knobs constantly."
Rik Mayall repeatedly said that they would work together again, they just needed "a good
idea."
2000s Edmondson appeared regularly in Series 4 of
the BBC mystery series Jonathan Creek, broadcast in 2003–2004.
He had a lead role playing an NHS doctor in the comedy series Doctors and Nurses first
broadcast in early 2004.
In Surviving Disaster, a BBC docudrama about the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, broadcast at
the start of 2006, Edmondson played the role of Dr Valery Legasov.
In 2005 he appeared as a celebrity model on Star Portraits with Rolf Harris.
That year, he also competed on "Comic Relief Does Fame Academy" where he made it to the
finale and came in 3rd place.
From 2005 to 2008 he appeared as Percy "Abra" Durant in the medical drama Holby City.
In 2008 he played Henry Austen in the BBC produced film Miss Austen Regrets and Vernon
in the ITV sitcom Teenage Kicks.
In April 2009 he appeared on the cooking show Hell's Kitchen, where he reached the final,
coming second to Linda Evans.
Edmondson played the role of Captain Hook in the Canterbury Marlowe Arena pantomime
during its Christmas 2009 run.
2010s In April 2010, he said to the Daily Express
that he had quit comedy, stating that his interest in it has declined for many years
and that he wanted to focus more on his band, claiming it is "more fun than doing comedy".
He also played down the idea of a potential reunion with Rik Mayall, saying it is "very
unlikely".
In an August 2010 edition of Radio 4's Chain Reaction programme he said to Lee Mack that
he had not really quit but was focusing more on music and farming.
He also said that he and Mayall often spoke of a reunion when they are old men, or in
fifteen years time.
Mayall appeared during Edmondson's winning performance of The Dying Swan on BBC One's
Let's Dance for Comic Relief on 5 March 2011.
On 28 March 2011, ITV launched the documentary series The Dales, hosted by Edmondson, in
which he followed a number of families who live and work in the Yorkshire Dales.
The show was produced by Shiver Productions for three series, before it was announced
axed in January 2014.
In September 2011, Edmondson appeared on the Sunday morning cooking show Something For
The Weekend and told presenter Tim Lovejoy that he and Rik Mayall were planning to reunite
and make another series of Bottom, set in an old people's home.
Edmondson presented the ITV series Ade in Britain, which was broadcast from 7 November
to 2 December 2011.
The series consists of Edmondson travelling around to different parts of the United Kingdom
in a Mini Countryman towing a small caravan, and giving a programme on that part of the
British Isles; it consists of Edmondson informing people about interesting features of the part
which he has visited, and often involves him meeting folk singers who sing folk melodies
from that part of Britain.
On his trip to Sussex, Edmondson met members of the RAF Air Training Corps Air Cadets who
played as part of their marching band.
A second series was aired in early 2013.
Edmondson appeared on the BBC One television series That's Britain! which was broadcast
from 23 November-14 December 2011.
In each episode his task was to report as an "insider" in how a region of Britain works.
A one off special, Britain Beware, about the history of British public information films,
was hosted by Ade and aired on ITV on 7 May 2012.
On 23 August 2012, the BBC announced that Edmondson and Mayall's characters of Richie
and Eddie would be returning in 2013 in Hooligan's Island, a television adaptation of their 1997
tour of the same name.
However on 15 October 2012 Ade announced during an interview with BBC radio presenter Mark
Powlett that he had pulled out of the new series of Hooligan's Island stating that he
changed his mind, and wished to pursue other interests.
Edmondson also starred in the film Blood.
Edmondson and Saunders reunited with their former Comic Strip colleagues in 2012 for
a Famous Five sequel, Five Go to Rehab.
It aired on 7 November on Gold.
Edmondson won the 2013 BBC One cookery series of Celebrity MasterChef after beating fellow
celebrities Les Dennis and Janet Street-Porter.
In spring 2014, Ade presented Ade at Sea, a factual six-part programme for the ITV network
which follows Ade in Britain.
In 2014, Edmondson played DCI Warner in the three-part mini-series Prey.
He played the role of Gordon in the 2013 Chichester Festival Theatre production of Neville's Island.
In 2014 it was announced that he would reprise the role for the show's West End run.
Filmography Television
Film Music career
In 1984, Edmondson formed the spoof Heavy Metal band Bad News as part of The Comic Strip
Presents... series with Comic Strip regulars Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson.
The band proved popular, and they released two singles and two studio albums.
They also played a series of small gigs around the country, culminating in their performance
at the Monsters of Rock festival in 1986.
In 1986, Edmondson achieved a number one hit in the UK singles charts 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.
Edmondson has directed pop videos for "Fiesta" by The Pogues, "Prime Mover" by Zodiac Mindwarp,
"Like The Weather" by 10,000 Maniacs, "Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness" by Sandie
Shaw and "Hourglass" by Squeeze.
In 1991, Edmondson formed The Bum Notes, who were a jazz instrumental band and conceived
exclusively to perform theme music for Bottom.
A fan of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Edmondson performed vocals with them as part of their
2006 reformation and countrywide tour.
He also contributed vocals and writing for their 2007 album Pour l'Amour des Chiens.
Together with Maartin Allcock, Andy Dinan and Troy Donockley, Edmondson founded the
band The Bad Shepherds in 2008, performing punk and new wave classics on traditional
folk instruments.
The band have released three albums and first toured in 2009, playing at places such as
the Trowbridge Village Pump Festival.
The Bad Shepherds also headlined the first ever Looe Music Festival in 2011.
In 2010 he founded The Idiot Bastard Band with Simon Brint, Rowland Rivron, Neil Innes
and Phill Jupitus.
The Idiot Bastard Band perform original comedy songs as well as cover versions, and their
shows often feature guest performers.
The group have continued to perform following the death of Brint in 2011.
Discography Albums
Non-album songs Personal life
Edmonson is married to comedian Jennifer Saunders and they have three daughters, Ella, Beattie
and Freya.
They have houses in Devon and London.
On 27 August 2012, Edmondson and Saunders became grandparents when their daughter Ella
gave birth to a baby boy, Fred.
In 2014, Ella gave birth to another son, Albert Rafferty.
Edmondson is a supporter and current season ticket holder of League 2 football team Exeter
City F.C. and often watches them at home and away matches and follows them on Twitter.
When Rik Mayall died in June 2014, Edmondson was one of the pallbearers at Mayall's funeral.
References
External links Ade Edmondson at the Internet Movie Database
Edmondson remarks on his Wikipedia page Adrian Edmondson biography and credits at
the British Film Institute's Screenonline Adrian Edmondson at BBCi
Jonathan Creek at BBCi Ade's personal website