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 now in its 2nd edition and can be ordered here: https://wiltonsquarebooks.com/products/talking-bottom
Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and Youtube all @talkingbottom or drop us an email at 11mafekingparade@gmail.com (mailto:11mafekingparade@gmail.com)
https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom (https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom)
We jump back to the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival for a special bonus episode - the Q&A session with Paul Jackson after our screening of Rik's episode of Happy Families.
Mat, Paul and Ange joined Paul Jackson at the St Andrews Hotel, Droitwich, for this special screening of the Ben Elton-written sitcom that Paul J produced after The Young Ones and featured a wealth of cameos from the stars of alternative comedy.
Check out our socials and our linktree for the audiobook, previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic Bottom themed tea towels and now Talking Bottom t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom
30 Jul 2026
Paul Jackson - Live at The Rik Mayall Comedy Festival
Talking Bottom gets back on stage at the Norbury Theatre, Droitwich - joined by legendary producer and director Paul Jackson at The Rik Mayall Comedy Festival 2026 for a brilliant interview and selection of his favourite clips. FULL VIDEO VERSION HERE: https://youtu.be/anxCoVg07WE
Paul, Ange and Mat chat for over an hour with the Godfather of alternative comedy, the man who got The Young Ones, Bottom and Red Dwarf made and on TV, the man who gave Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson their big TV break and who Rik publicly thanked "for my life" when they both accepted honorary doctorates.
Paul Jackson shares stories of his career, working with Rik and Ade, getting The Young Ones on TV and discusses clips from a variety of shows. He also reacts to archive BBC letters and memos about The Young Ones and to extracts from the infamous essay that Lise Mayer, Rik and Ben Elton wrote for the BBC to "explain" the sitcom - all read for us by Lise Mayer!
Check out our socials and our linktree for the audiobook, previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic Bottom themed tea towels and now Talking Bottom t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom
23 Jul 2026
Rik Mayall Comedy Festival round up
What a festival! In advance of our EPIC on-stage interview with legendary Young Ones, Red Dwarf and Bottom producer/director Paul Jackson at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival dropping next week, including the video (yes, we've got a video!) version too, we run through what we got up to at the fest, where Talking Bottom hosted not one, not two, not four but three events!
Ange, Mat and Paul chat about their interview with Paul on stage in front of a sell-out crowd at the Norbury Theatre in Rik's home town of Droitwich, where they played out many of Paul's favourite clips, read excerpts from letters from Young Ones fans and BBC colleagues, plus shared videos of Young Ones writer Lise Mayer reading out parts of the infamous essay she had to write to keep the show on the air!
They also spill details of the Happy Families screening, complete with technical scares, and the Talking Bottom pub quiz at The Old Cock Inn (oooh errrrr.)
Check out our socials and our linktree for the audiobook, previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic Bottom themed tea towels and now Talking Bottom t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
53,239
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
10 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
62 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 48 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
41
Social presence
0
YouTube
85
Engagement
51
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