As my final interview for my July Challenge this year it’s an honour to go out on a high and talk to Angela Pearson about Talking Bottom. It’s showing your age if you remember watching it first time round on television, long before the catch-up television days. Let’s find out more about what the show has in store.

Where did the inspiration or ideas come from for your show/production?  

Our production is a live podcast all about the BBC 90s hit sitcom Bottom, written by and starring comedy gods Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson. We are three comedy fans first and foremost and we met through a mutual love of the show. We began the Talking Bottom podcast in 2018 in order to celebrate our favourite sitcom and, since the world sadly lost Rik Mayall in 2014, it was another way to keep Rik Mayall’s memory alive. He was a true comedic genius and as generations move on we don’t want that fact to end up sidelined. We never dreamed that one day we’d be taking our nerdy conversations to the next level recording in front of a live audience with a star guest at the Edinburgh Fringe. The first Rik Mayall Comedy Festival earlier this year invited us to push ourselves to do a live podcast for the first time and we had the fantastic Bottom Director/Producer Ed Bye join us for a brilliant chat about his work on the show with Rik and Ade. For Edinburgh, we’re delighted that we will be joined by Lee Cornes AKA Bottom’s pub landlord Dick Head to answer questions on his work in Bottom as well as many other huge British comedies including Blackadder, Red Dwarf and The Young Ones. Lee Cornes performed as MC in the very first days of The Comedy Store and we’re very excited to pick his brains and uncover gems from the time British alternative comedy was born – he was instrumental in the new wave of acts that blossomed on the circuit at that time. It’s going to be fantastic fun chatting to him with a crowd and throwing questions out to the audience, along with playing his favourite clips from Bottom and getting his unique perspective on his time working on the show. 

What do you plan on doing to relax and get some “time out” during the Fringe? 

We’re dipping our toe into Fringe by only doing one show so it’s a bit of a stretch to day we’ll need time out during our stay. We’re arriving in the final week and intend to pack in as many shows as we can around prepping for the live show on the final Sunday but compared to everyone doing the full run we hope we’ll be bringing some fresh energy to the last weekend.  

How do you deal with stage nerves before each performance, if you have them?  

There’s no set way to get rid of nerves, we’ve found preparation is the main way to handle nerves before a performance. Make sure your tech’s rehearsed, you each know what you need to be doing at any one time and having three of us up there to support each other definitely helps rather than flying solo. As podcasters we’re not used to being on stage for all to see so it’s a bit of a step out of our comfort zones (although we’ve all had jobs that have required playing to a crowd in various forms in the past) to have a live audience watching but with our questions pre-planned and focusing on making Lee Cornes comfortable that’s the main thing – we want it to be a relaxed, fun occasion for the crowd too. The brilliant thing about being in a room with a live audience is that you never know what will happen but that’s part of the excitement – if we can manage to turn any nerves into anticipation then hopefully we’ve won the battle!  

Where are you staying during the Fringe? Did you find accommodation quite easily?  

In a word – no! We’ve each had to find our own way between staying a good 50 mins out of the centre, sofa surfing and relying on the kindness of friends to put us up for the days we’re in town. Thankfully for one date only that’s not been too much of a stretch but for anyone playing the entire run it’s such a huge outgoing/exhausting to be staying outside the city centre.  

What obstacles have you faced preparing for the Edinburgh Fringe this year?  

Costs are always a challenge, transport and accommodation are the biggest hurdles but we haven’t faced anything too insurmountable just yet! Arriving just a couple of days before our show is daunting as we won’t have much time to flyer so we’re hoping word will spread via social channels and anyone looking for a fun way to round off their final Sunday afternoon will be keen to see us. 

What has been the highlight of your career so far?  

As there are three of us it’s hard to answer this succinctly. As a group we all say doing the Talking Bottom podcast and writing the companion book Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom has been a source of great pride. It’s not personal ego we’re feeding in doing these live podcasts – it’s all to spread the love of Rik and Ade’s work amongst fellow fans. Meeting comedy fans who are passionate about the same things you are is one of the biggest highlights of doing the podcast and stepping out together at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in Droitwich on the very stage Rik Mayall first performed on at the Norbury Theatre was truly ‘pinch me’ moment for us all. The love in the room for Rik and Ade’s work and the laughter shared while classic clips from Bottom were played was truly special. 

Why did you decide to the Venue you are using?  

We’re at the Underbelly Bristo Sq in the superb Ermintrude venue! It’s a 200 seater which is exciting and daunting in equal measure. Ange worked for Underbelly’s Press Office in 2023 and of course loved all their spaces and the teams work so hard behind the scenes. When we pitched our show we figured why not aim big – we’d had a successful sell out show at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival – but we were staggered that the wonderful programming team at Underbelly gave us the green light to host our live podcast in one of their bigger rooms. We can’t wait to get in there.  

Favourite and worse thing about performing?  

Mat and Ange have both done stand-up comedy and Paul’s a Film&TV director so usually there’s a set script you’ve planned / need to put into action. With this show we can prepare questions but there’s a lot of unknowns about what’ll happen in the room / what topics will come up so flying by the seat of your pants without a tangible safety net is one of the ‘worst’ things about performing but it adds to the fun ultimately. The energy from the crowd is definitely something you can’t replicate in any other medium – the live experience is the best thing. 

In one sentence why should someone come to see your show?  

Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson were the greatest comedy double act to write and perform a sitcom – we are all lucky enough to have witnessed it in our lifetime – so if you’re already a fan, you’ll love hearing Lee Cornes’ memories; if you’ve never seen Bottom, come along and find out why it should be your favourite show.   

Name one other show that you plan on seeing at the Fringe?  

Oooh one is tough to choose but we’ll have to say the fantastic sketch duo Maddy and Marina Bye in Siblings: Dreamweavers at Pleasance Courtyard. https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/siblings-dreamweavers

Where are you taking your show next?  

We’re hoping to do another Talking Bottom Live podcast in London before the end of 2025 but plan to see how Edinburgh goes first – walk before we run (more than likely with the dogs set on us!)  

Show Title, time and Venue.  

Talking Bottom Live 

3.10pm 

Underbelly Bristo Square, Ermintrude

https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/talking-bottom-live

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/talking-bottom-live

https://talkingbottom.podbean.com/e/the-book-launch-also-the-edinburgh-festival-fringe-live-show/