Legendary comedians Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson’s hit sitcom Bottom first landed on BBC2 in 1991. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the creators of popular podcast Talking Bottom are set to release a companion book to delve deeper into the making of Bottom and honour its comedy legacy.

Crowdfunding publisher Unbound today [Monday 28th June] launches its reader-funded campaign - meaning comedy fans must pledge their support to make the book, ‘Talking Bottom: A guide to the cult sitcom’, a reality.

In return, all dedicated followers of Rik and Ade’s work can become a part of Bottom history by getting their names in the first ever unofficial guide to the much loved nineties sitcom - as well as a range of additional rewards on offer in exchange for their support including exclusive artwork and attendance at a one-off pub crawl in Hammersmith to celebrate the book's publication. 

Available in paperback and digital formats, the book will take readers through the three series of the BBC2 hit sitcom, its five Live tour shows and the feature film Guest House Paradiso.

The book will also provide Bottom devotees with a chance to explore first draft scripts of the TV episodes, contain original artwork, previously unseen pictures and feature essays on topics such as the inspirations for Bottom and its thematic similarities with works such as Waiting For Godot by playwright Samuel Beckett.

There will also be material drawn from exclusive interviews with the Bottom cast and crew, including director Ed Bye, unearthing fresh discoveries about the series three decades on. 

The podcast Talking Bottom launched in 2018 and quickly became a regular in the iTunes podcast chart top ten, as Bottom fans old and new united in their appreciation of the much loved sitcom.

Listeners enjoyed warmly remembering the cult British comedy classic, with high praise for the podcast ranging from ‘Nostalgic, funny and informative’ (*****), ‘Fantastic podcast from obvious super fans’ (*****) to ‘Not bad.’ (*)

Co-author and presenter Paul Tanter says, “We are three comedy obsessives who grew up watching Bottom and endlessly quoted the show in school, often to the detriment of our education. We are tremendously excited that we are finally able to put that hard work to use and share our Bottom knowledge with fellow fans.

“Thanks to various streaming platforms, Bottom continues to delight and disgust new audiences and our podcast Talking Bottom regularly found itself in the iTunes Top 10 – much to our surprise! 

“We decided to make the podcast for fun but our listenership has grown year on year and that’s testament to the affection people around the world still hold for Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson’s incredible writing and performances. 

“The book is a chance for us to give comedy fans even more than we explored in the podcast as we are convinced there is a continued shared appetite from other Rik and Ade lovers to learn about Bottom.

“Our mission is to guide both the new reader and the devoted fan through the seedy lives and hilarious universe of Richard Richard and Edward Elizabeth Hitler, where the gas man gets attacked with a frying pan, cattle prods are essential for trick or treating and your chess games comprise of frozen prawns and an assortment of household items.’

“We can’t wait to see other Bottom aficionados get involved and we hope to meet as many as possible at the book launch – which will only happen if the crowdfunder is a success. Please pledge and we promise we won’t squander it all on art pamphlets.”

Talking Bottom: A guide to the cult sitcom is available for pre-order now via Unbound.com, with additional supporter rewards also available including exclusive artwork, mugs, t-shirts, tea towels, signed copies and a publication day pub crawl where pledgers will be invited to meet at the Rik Mayall memorial bench in Hammersmith.

Talking Bottom is written by Mat Brooks, Angela Pearson and Paul Tanter, three die-hard fans who also produce the podcast of the same name. Ange is a comedy publicist and journalist, Paul is a film and TV director and Mat is a stand up comedian. But Talking Bottom is not about them; it’s about honouring what they consider to be the world’s greatest sitcom...ever. 

For further information or to pledge visit: https://unbound.com/books/bottom/ and you can follow @TalkingBottom on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.