This week's guests are a pair of legendary comedians and actors who broke through on the alternative comedy circuit as a double act, going on to star in their own series and many other shows, including seven guest appearances on The Young Ones. One gave the order for Captain Blackadder to be shot in Blackadder Goes Forth while the other had his eye shot out by Eddie in Bottom. It's Mark Arden and Steve Frost, AKA The Oblivion Boys!

Mark and Steve chat with Ange, Paul and Mat about their start in comedy, working as a double act, improv, appearing the nations favourite sitcoms, why Lee Cornes stalks them and the world of comedy in general, in a riotous interview.

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May doing THREE events - two of which are with Young Ones director/producer Paul Jackson! Check out our socials and our linktree for details. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

Biblical references abound as a huge flood engulfs London, trapping the students in the house. Everyone will be fine as long as no one drinks Vyvyan's potion - a cure for not being an axe-wielding homicidal maniac.

Ange, Mat and Paul chat about Monty Python, hated chocolates, the hell of living with flatmates, biblical links, C.S. Lewis, Chekov's Coca Cola can and the brilliant Frost and Arden. Plus; a quiz where the concept of a quiz doesn't have to be explained!

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May doing THREE events - two of which are with Young Ones director/producer Paul Jackson! Check out our socials and our linktree for details. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

It's party time in the student house, an opportunity to impress the other students and trendy lecturer, play with a toy mouse and telescope and to kill the Hippy. It's The Young Ones episode "Interesting."

Mat, Paul and Ange talk parties, bringing a bottle, sexy press-ups, cool lecturers, studio injuries, tampons and "women's periods". Plus, contemporary reviews AND the fiendish Talking Bottom on The Young Ones quiz!

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May doing THREE events - two of which are with Young Ones director/producer Paul Jackson! Check out our socials and our linktree for details. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

"Well I'm going to tell Thatcher that we've got a bomb!" Cold War fears manifest when a large (undetonated, obviously) nuclear bomb lands right in the middle of the house. To make matters worse, the TV detector man is at the door and the boys don't have a TV license!

Paul, Ange and Mat chat about nuclear paranoia, house shares, rancid bathrooms and more, plus a great quiz! Apologies for some issues with sound in this episode due to an intermittently dodgy mic.

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May doing THREE events! Check out our socials and our linktree for details. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

Guys! Guys! Look at us! Squabbling, bickering, like children! What's happening to us? We never used to be like this! This week's episode is all about one of The Young Ones most exciting episodes; "Boring."

Ange, Paul and Mat chat about exciting things, making scripts come to life, censoring difficult language when it's being used for satire, Madness, fakes hands and playing monopoly. Plus, a quiz!

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May doing THREE events! Check out our socials and our linktree for details. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

"Neil! Your bedroom's on fire!" Rick, Vyvyan, Neil and Mile move into their new house and the apparent discovery of oil in the basement soon brings out everyone's true colours.

Mat, Ange and Paul discuss the show getting to full series, fighting over bedrooms, little white dots, oppressed workers and more as Talking Bottom takes on The Young Ones. Plus, a very numerical quiz!

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May doing THREE events! Check out our socials and our linktree for details. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

What a line up! (And we don't mean an identity parade alongside Maureen Hedgehog). We are returning to The Rik Mayall Comedy Festival with three Talking Bottom events... ruddy hell!

Saturday May 30th 3pm sees Talking Bottom Live back on stage at the Norbury Theatre, Droitwich, interviewing the Godfather of alternative comedy, the man Rik Mayall publicly thanked for his career, the producer/director who brought The Young Ones, Red Dwarf and Bottom to the screen - Paul Jackson!

Later, on Saturday 30th, we head over to the St Andrews Hotel, Droitwich for a 6pm screening of Rik Mayall's episode of Happy Families, introduced by Paul Jackson and followed by a Q&A.

On Sunday 31st May, the Talking Bottom Pub Quiz hits Droitwich's Old Cock Inn, (ooh err!) at 8pm, where question answers will be argued over, drinks will be had and prizes will be won!

The 2026 festival has a fantastic line-up featuring a host of comedy greats, including Nigel Planer, Alexei Sayle and Peter Richardson. Tickets for Talking Bottom events (and all the others!) can be booked via https://www.rikmayallcomedyfestival.com/

Once in every lifetime comes... a sitcom that redefines the genre, smashes away the old guard and puts a rocket up the establishment. Their house is dirty, their hair greasy, their clothes smelly... and they have no plan on going to lectures! It's Rick, Vyvyan, Neil and Mike... The Young Ones!

Talking Bottom returns to discuss the seminal, groundbreaking sitcom that starred Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson, Nigel Planer and Christopher Ryan, springing from the minds of writers Ben Elton, Lise Mayer and Rik Mayall and was brought to TV by the Godfather of alternative comedy; Paul Jackson.

Paul, Ange and Mat discuss the origins of the show and how it made it past the pilot, the characters and those who played them, reactions from critics and growing up watching the show.

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May doing THREE events! Check out our socials and our linktree for details. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom