Rik Mayall: A Pioneer Of Alternative Comedy

A pioneer of alternative comedy, Rik Mayall was one of Britain's most loved and recognisable sitcom actors.

His comedy partnership with Adrian Edmondson helped propel him to fame in the 1980s, when his performances as pompous student and Cliff Richard devotee Rick in The Young Ones made him a regular fixture on TV screens up and down the country.

Together they went on to produce Bottom in the 1990s, with Mayall playing Richard 'Richie' Richard. The sitcom was later adapted for a series of successful UK tours.

The pair started on stage as a duo, The Dangerous Brothers, after meeting at Manchester University. They would go on to become two of the best-known faces of the Eighties.

Mayall's TV breakthrough came on A Kick Up The Eighties, which featured feckless investigative journalist Kevin Turvey.

His CV also includes appearances in Blackadder, Filthy Rich & Catflap and The New Statesman - playing conniving Conservative MP Alan B'Stard in the latter.

But it wasn't just the small screen where he made an impact.

Love for the 1991 film Drop Dead Fred, in which Mayall played the lead role of a mischievous imaginary friend, is such that it trended on Twitter following news of his passing .

He was voted into the top 50 Comedians' Comedians in 2005 - and later ranked number 91 in a poll of Top Stand-Up Comedians.

Mayall married Scottish make-up artist Barbara Robbin in 1985, and together they had three children.

In 1998 the family feared he would die after a quad bike crash. He recovered after five days in a coma.

His television career continued up until last year when he appeared in Jonathan Creek and the sitcom Man Down.