Helen Lederer 'fraternised deeply' with Rik Mayall

Helen Lederer once had a fling with Rik Mayall.

The 67-year-old actress - who played Catriona in sitcom 'Absolutely Fabulous' - acted out a sex scene with her fellow comic in a 1992 episode of the sitcom 'Bottom', but admitted she "wasn't nervous" because she had "already had that".

She said: "It’s interesting when you look back, because I took myself very seriously in those days and because I was always on my own I would just turn up and try to do the job. I’d already connected with Rik before, off screen, from Edinburgh so I knew him in that way, so it was a case of just being professional.

"I didn’t think, ‘Oh, lucky me, I’ve got a sex scene,’ because I’d already had that."

The comedy star then went on to explain that Rik - who died in 2014 at the age of 56 - wasn't shy when it came to his past, describing him as a "modern man".

She told the 'Talking Bottom' podcast: "What I loved about Rik was that he was a very modern man, a sort of gentleman and he would just give a nod and a wink to any past. He wouldn’t hide anything, whereas some men would. He was just so open."

Helen claimed that she first "connected" with Rik - who was known for his comedy partnership with Jennifer Saunders' husband Ade Edmondson - early on in their careers at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

She said: "We got on, we connected, we talked about comedy a lot, we fraternised deeply at that festival. He was at his height, queues round the block, I think he did his Kevin Turvey thing, I got to see it and the audience went crazy. That was a total moment in comedy of what people wanted and what they were given by him."

Helen then went on to explain that she is writing a memoir, but is finding it "difficult" because of the state of the world.

She said: "I want the memoir to try and tell my story. I think a memoir and talking about oneself is quite hard because you’re trying to be truthful and because you represent a lot of things to a lot of people, it’s not a free world at the moment so I’m working out how to express things. It’s very difficult.”