Talking Bottom - podcast cover

Talking Bottom

Talking Bottomtalkingbottom.podbean.com
The Bottom podcast - three foxy stoats discuss and appreciate the world’s greatest sitcom, courtesy of Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, over an Esther Rantzen cocktail and pickled onion sandwich. From Paul Tanter, Mat Brooks and Angela Pearson. The book TALKING BOTTOM: A GUIDE TO THE CULT SITCOM is published July 3rd 2025 and can be pre-ordered here: https://t.co/G677or4Xgw Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all @talkingbottom or drop us an email at 11mafekingparade@gmail.com
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Episodes

100%... inside a y̶e̶a̶r week! Talking Bottom book FUNDED

Oh God, oh God... this is real. In less time than it takes to read up to chapter one, sentence three in War and Peace, we have hit the funding target! Thank you to everyone who has backed the book and get to soddery everyone who hasn't. It's not too late to get your name in it and some additional t̶a̶t goodies at https://unbound.com/books/bottom/ Right, we're off down the Maserati showroom. Book available HERE: https://t.co/G677or4Xgw...

Jul 05, 20214 minEp. 32

Talking Bottom book update: 75% funded. Splice my sausages!

At this rate it's going to be longer than War and Peace and with more pics than The Joy of Sex! Thank you to everyone who's resisted the temptation to take their cash to Dr O'Grady's Personal Organ Enhancement Clinic and instead backed the book. You'll get far more long-term enjoyment with this investment (not actual investment advice). Book available HERE: https://t.co/G677or4Xgw

Jul 03, 20213 minEp. 31

Talking Bottom Book 50% funded! Wait until Norris Mcwhirter hears about this!

And on the second day, the Lord said "let the book reach fifty ruddy percent funding already!" And then He backed the top tier that guaranteed Him a SIGNED first edition paperback of "Talking Bottom: A guide to the cult sitcom", a Lamb and Flag pub menu tea towel, a t-shirt, a mug, an invite to the pub crawl, an ebook AND his name printed in the book as a supporter. And then He had a wangle. Ta muchly to all you top Bottom fans getting us this far. If you're after a gift for the comedy fan in yo...

Jun 30, 20213 minEp. 30

Talking Bottom Book update: 25% funded already!!

We didn't think we'd be posting this after ONE DAY! Thank you so much to everyone who has backed the book already on Unbound and started snapping up the exta goodies available. You've got us to 25% funded already, which is a fantastic start and we're sure it's all downhill from here. Check out https://t.co/G677or4Xgw to find out more about the book, how to support it and what else is available. Right, we'd better pull our fingers out and get writing "Talking Bottom: A guide to the cult sitcom"....

Jun 29, 20212 minEp. 29

Talking Bottom the BOOK (a guide to the cult sitcom)

All right Dickens, get on with it! We're proud to announce that we've been commissioned to write a book about Rik and Ade's best ever sitcom - Bottom. It'll be a chance for us to expand on what we've learned during our podcast in order to create the first ever unofficial guide book to the show, delving even deeper into Bottom (oo-er) and chatting with the cast and crew, looking at first draft scripts and previously unseen photographs as well as essays on each episode. First, though, we're crowdf...

Jun 28, 202122 minEp. 28

Guest House Paradiso

Rik and Ade finally bring Bottom to the big screen, playing Richard "Richie" Thwaite (pronounced Twat) and Edward "Eddie" Elizabeth Ndingombaba (in other words it's Richard Richard and Eddie Hitler), who run the Guest House Paradiso - the worst hotel in the world. Excitement arrives in the form of Italian movie star Gina Carbonara, seeking refuge from her ill-tempered fiance Gino Bolognese. As Richie and Eddie do their best to keep the place running, their proximity to a nuclear power plant mean...

May 21, 20201 hr 23 minEp. 27

Bottom Live 3: Hooligans Island

Richie and Eddie have been on a desert island for three years, following an ecstasy binge and a turn on a cruise liner as "The Great Arsehole and Norman", a job procured for them by theatrical impresario Sir "Pervy" Leslie McBlowjob. Now Eddie's on the Sake and Richie's got a load of shit up his back. Now they just have to deal with Cannibals, food poisoning and a massive French nuclear bomb. Angela, Paul and Mat discuss the fourth series of Bottom that never happened, Rik and Ade's set design, ...

May 14, 20201 hr 19 minEp. 26

Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour

"Have a wank!" Bottom tours the UK once more, filming Rik and Ade's performances at the Apollo Theatre Oxford. This time Richie and Eddie are planning on meeting the Queen when her procession traverses Mafeking Parade. But a combination of getting their todgers out and a massive explosion sees them banged up and sentenced to 350 years in jail. Now they must evade Geoffrey Nasty the Psychopathic Penis-Remover's boss, Horace Big (who is built like a donkey AND has a really enormous knob) long enou...

May 07, 20201 hr 21 minEp. 25

Series 3 round up

Ok we're actually back really this time, look I haven't got my fingers crossed or anything. Talking Bottom returns with the season 3 round up! Mat, Paul and Angela talk about what they've discovered about the show, Jiffy condoms, humourous riots, Mafeking, people's reaction to the podcast and the passion many have for the final series. We're back with a shorter series from next week while the world hunkers down. Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom available here: https://t.co/G677or4Xgw...

May 01, 202023 minEp. 24

April Fools Episode - Catastrophe

Bonk! April Fools! Sorry... this was a wind up. There are, sadly, no series 4 episodes knocking about the place. Richie and Eddie return via unusual and messy means, finding the flat in disgusting condition and the toilet still blocked with Eddie's medical experiment. A visit to the Lamb and Flag sets them right and they quickly alight on a money making scheme to keep their new landlord off their backs. But Richie's family history soon comes back to haunt him with Eddie proposing only one soluti...

Apr 01, 20201 hrEp. 23

S3E6 - Carnival

It's the annual carnival/riot and all of Hammersmith is ablaze. Richie and Eddie use the distraction to nip out and steal a king's ransom of Malibu and a BBC TV camera. Richie has a plan: use the camera to achieve fame and fortune, first as a daytime chat show host but soon deciding that some hilarious video accidents will pry some cash out of Beeeadle. But a discovery of a nudie sex tape of the Prime Minister means a new blackmail opportunity: sandWICHES! Paul, Mat and Angela bollock on about r...

Nov 29, 20191 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 22

S3E5 - Finger

Richie and Eddie acquire psychopathic Welshman Cannonball Taffy O’Jones’ car keys following a cricket match playing for the Shepherd’s Bush Spudulike Irregulars (second eleven). This is their chance to steal his honeymoon weekend and see how much booze they can put away at the Marveloso Splendido Hotelo. There’s only one drawback - they have to pose as a newly married couple. Mat, Paul and Angela mull over British holidays, odd title choices, swanky posh hotel names, nazi-based sitcoms, Richie a...

Nov 22, 20191 hr 4 minSeason 1Ep. 21

S3E4 - Dough

Eddie has been holed up in his room for days and Richie has nearly wanked himself blind through boredom. But the fruits of Eddie's labours are worth it: he's been forging money. With Spudgun and Hedgehog in tow they head to the Lamb and Flag to test out the pornagraphic doodles, soon finding themselves in the firing line of forger Skullcrusher Henderson. There's only one solution: enter the pub quiz and cheat! Angela, Paul and Mat talk about Richie's reading habits, Star Wars actor Mark Hamill l...

Nov 15, 201959 minSeason 1Ep. 20

S3E3 - Break

Richie and Eddie are planning their holiday to sunny Doncaster - all Richie has to do is lose a shitload of weight. Luckily they got a Luftwaffe book of exercises and a vacuum cleaner for some DIY liposuction so Richie can fit snugly into his thong. Soon, Eddie is legless - first thanks to a chainsaw wielded by Richie and later because he's in the pube with the holiday monkey. Will they build up enough strength to lift the fridge off the floor and get a look at Des Lynam's todger? Paul, Mat and ...

Nov 08, 20191 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 19

S3E2 - Terror

Trick or ruddy treat! It's Halloween and for Richie and Eddie this means an opportunity to don fancy dress and make some cash (no sweets) to fund a party. But they can't even keep their meagre haul of apples with razor blades in due to the local kids robbing and kicking the shit out of them, and a faulty cattle prod soon means Richie is down to his last pair of tights. But things look up as the party gets into full swing complete with homebrew, exploding carrots, sprouts mexicane and an attempt ...

Oct 31, 20191 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 18

S3E1 - Hole

Richie and Eddie are back and have reached their three quid limit with a ride on the tallest ferris wheel in western Europe. But they've been annoying, vomiting on and stealing the clothes of the other fairground users and soon find themselves trapped 350 feet in the air with hardly any booze left and the ride scheduled to be blown up in the morning. Can they attract attention and make it to the other side of this one? Heck, maybe even raise some kids? Angela, Paul and Mat discuss Bottom returni...

Oct 24, 20191 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 17

Series 2 round up

With series 3 starting next week, Talking Bottom takes a look back at series 2; what we learned, emails from listeners and reflecting on our interview with the legend Ed Bye. Plus several non-series 2 discoveries including why Richie's belt misses his front trouser loop and a reading from the original script for the episode Apocalypse, complete with its original title! The book Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom available is here: https://t.co/G677or4Xgw...

Oct 17, 201929 minSeason 1Ep. 16

Ed Bye interview

Talking Bottom is honoured to be joined by the legendary Ed Bye, no less than the director and producer of Bottom series 1 & 2! His CV reads like the cream of British comedy, with credits including The Young Ones, Filthy, Rich and Catflap, The Full Wax, The Detectives, Kevin and Perry Go Large, Canned Carrot, Lenny Henry in Pieces, The Vicar of Dibley, Not Going Out, My Family, Absolutely Fabulous, French and Saunders and 40 (forty!) episodes of Red Dwarf. We probe Ed about, amongst many oth...

Jul 25, 20191 hr 20 minSeason 1Ep. 15

Bottom Live - The Stage Show

"Fucking hell... a line from the play!" Rik and Ade take the behemouth that is Bottom around the country, performing on stage to packed-out audiences. Cameras recorded their show at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton and the result was this record-selling performance on VHS. Yes, VHS! Remember those? For 100 minutes Richie and Eddie bicker, fight, knock out teeth, forget lines, argue with the audience, seduce blow up dolls, dial phones incredibly fortuitously, cut off penises with hacksaws and g...

Jul 18, 20191 hr 13 minSeason 1Ep. 14

S2E6 - 's Out

Series two concludes with the episode that didn't screen in the UK until several years after it was made. Richie and Eddie lose a bet and find themselves roughing it for a week in deepest darkest Wimbledon Common with just a tin opener, a packet of chocolate hob nobs and a World Ranger Storm Buster IV Tent to keep them alive. Luckily, nature provides all they could need: a fresh water supply with delicious fish, dog shit everywhere the eye can see and a particularly keen flasher. Soon, hunger ov...

Dec 28, 20181 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 13

S2E5 - Holy

MERRY BLOODY CHRISTMAS! It's the season of goodwill and peace on Earth in 11 Mafeking Parade. Naturally, Eddie has left a series of booby traps out for Richie, who starts the day masquerading as Santa Claus in order to get at the sherry. Before you can say "half past eight and all's crap", Richie severs his finger preparing the food while Eddie decorates the flat. With the arrival of Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog and the incineration of the turkey, potatoes and Christmas pudding, it's time for tradi...

Dec 21, 20181 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 12

S2E4 - Parade

After a busy morning scamming the police for eight quid each, Richie and Eddie retire to The Lamb and Flag, where they are able to swindle free drinks by pretending to be Health and Safety Inspectors. Soon, Richie's fictional war stories get him in trouble with a genuine Falklands war veteran, but his severe beating is interrupted by drunk bookie Tight Mouth Larry spilling not only his guts but the name of a dead cert in the 3.30 at Chepstow. Now the residents of Hammersmith just need to acquire...

Dec 13, 20181 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 11

S2E3 - Burglary

Richie's planned evening with scrabble and a fish supper start badly when Eddie spends the dinner money getting drunk on Old Spice, then gets worse when 11 Mafeking Parade is burgled. Managing to take the thief prisoner, they soon find themselves in possession of a large amount of valuable swag - this could finally be their chance to live the high life in the Bahamas. But what to do with the burglar? There's only one solution: murder him. Mat, Angela and Paul talk murder, Live and Kicking, the c...

Dec 06, 20181 hrSeason 1Ep. 10

S2E2 - Culture

After falling behind with the rent for the TV due to Eddie purchasing some magic beans and Richie squandering the cash on a trip to Doctor O'Grady's Personal Organ Enhancement Clinic, the pair wallow in the depths of boredom with crosswords, a custardy pants tournament and Put a Bit of Sellotape on the Fridge. Inspiration strikes and an evening of chess with improvised pieces, Esther Rantzen cocktails and smoking jackets turns into an all nighter finishing off the industrial strength floor clean...

Nov 29, 20181 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 9

S2E1 - Digger

Talking Bottom returns with Richie devising the perfect way to get his end away and marry into royalty - joining a dating agency and getting matched with a Moldavian Viscountess by the name of Lady Natasha Letitia Sarah Jane Wellesley Obstromsky Ponsonsky Smythe Smythe Smythe Smythe Smythe Oblomov Boblomov Dob, played by the wonderful Helen Lederer. Eddie takes the role of butler for the evening and prepares a dinner of squashed potatoes and caviar. But the stakes are high as the evening has bee...

Nov 22, 20181 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 8

Series 1 round up

With series 2 starting next week, Talking Bottom takes a quick look back at series 1; the reaction to the show, what we learned and confirmation of Steptoe and Son as an influence. Plus Angela reveals the answer to the question of if a Young Ones reunion in Bottom was ever intended - having asked Ade Edmondson directly! The book Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom available is here: https://t.co/G677or4Xgw

Nov 15, 201810 minSeason 1Ep. 7

S1E6 - Accident

Talking Bottom reaches the end of the first series with Richie’s birthday episode. Comrade Richie is another year older and excited about his impending party. Eddie’s gift of a red hot tip pays off and ensures enough booze for the thousands of birds anticipated to attend. Unfortunately, a freak accident leaves Richie’s leg in plaster and wheelchair bound. Luckily Eddie’s pals Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog are on hand to join in with a game of sardines and get through the Emmerdale Farm compilation. ...

Aug 09, 20181 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 6

S1E5 - s'up

Eddie’s Sunday afternoon watching Big Jugs is scuppered when Mr Harrison the landlord appears, needing cover for the shop downstairs as his stupid mother has selfishly died. Richie jumps at the chance for some power and a white coat while Eddie can’t wait to get stuck into the snacks. But a series of difficult customers persuades the lads to skive off to the roof to watch the cricket; a flawless plan just so long as Richie’s rain dance doesn’t work and the thieving locals don’t notice the shop i...

Aug 02, 20181 hr 1 minSeason 1Ep. 5

S1E4 – Apocalypse

“Thieving bastard ***os!” Yes it’s the one with THAT dub! Richie’s plan to con his auntie out of some much needed cash takes a turn when the old bag dies, leaving him £600. A celebratory trip with Eddie to the funfair results in them blinding a Carni and a curse being bestowed upon Sir Richard Richard VC; he’ll be dead in three days. Can Richie survive that long without visiting the lav? Who ate the Taiwanese ranch style jumbo fishburgers? And what time is Neighbours on? Paul, Mat and Angela go ...

Jul 26, 20181 hrSeason 1Ep. 4

S1E3 - Contest

Richie’s got a great plan to guilt trip his best friend into buying him a drink; a suicide attempt. But Eddie’s spent all his savings on some vintage porn and a bet on Miss World. If only they can last the evening without beating each other up or destroying the TV. Mat, Angela and Paul discuss the episode shot as the pilot before the rest of the series and muse on Eddie and Richie’s relationship and how they may have originally met. Plus: a reading of some deleted dialogue from the original scri...

Jul 19, 20181 hrSeason 1Ep. 3
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