Comics UK

The BBC have just announced that Rik Mayall has died, aged just 56. Very sad news. His style of humour wasn't always to my taste, but he was a very talented man, and that is no age at all. No confirmation as yet of the cause.

Just seen this on BBC and am really depressed. I first saw him doing Kevin Turvey and while I was never a fan of that character, I did laugh my socks off to his next incarnation as Rick with a silent P in The Young Ones. We've lost a good one.

I was never really a fan of The Young Ones or Bottom, but I did like him as the gloriously named Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman.

Kevin Turvey, Young Ones, Comic Strip, especially Bad News, Filthy, Rich and Catflap, Blackadder and Bottom, I absolutely loved. Rik was a colossus of my kind of comedy. RIP a Dangerous Brother. Quite quite brilliant.

Very sad news! The nerdish Kevin (or 'Kivin') Turvey, with his weirdly surreal monologues, was my all-time favourite Mayall character - though I loved him in The Young Ones, Blackadder and Jackanory too.

- Phil R.

Gutted!

56 is nothing these days.

If Rik did die of complications arising from his Quad bike accident, then it may be that we've been very lucky to have him around for the last 16 years (as of course are his widow and kids). His appearance as Greg Davies's dad last year was a match made in Casting Director heaven.

Although I blame 'alternative Comedy' of the early 80s for ushering in the dreaded 'Political Correctness' which I partly blame for the Pythonesque society we today find ourself saddled with, to me the Young Ones was easily the best UK comedy of that decade [especially Series 2] and Rik was the funniest character/actor in it.

I also enjoyed the New Statesman in it's merciless lampoon of UK politics.

After a show on CBBC which he narrated (called Who Let the Dogs Out) there was a dedication to him.

I was never a big fan of his stuff, but it is a tragic loss.

I liked Kevin Turvey & Young Ones was great when it first arrived, but most of it is very dated now, and a loath the monsters that comic relief created with its hypocrasy (eg Ben Elton) and political correctness.

Never liked the New Statesman (esp as the MPs it lampooned thought the show a compliment) and Bottom was poor copy of older Young Ones.

One of his best talents was storytelling which he did so well on various Channel 4 shows and on Jackanory.

For some reason I keep thinking of Rik and death, I think of his attempted suiside with laxatives on the Young Ones!