Fans of tragic comic Rik Mayall are petitioning a council to erect a memorial bench in his honour – at the same spot featured in the opening credits of BOTTOM.
The hilarious opening scenes of the iconic British comedy show Rik Mayall punching partner Ade Edmondson in the groin while sitting on a bench outside a Tube station.
Now more than 1,500 people have called for Hammersmith and Fulham Council to erect a permanent bench on the same spot, after the original was removed.
The petition began last Friday after an imitation blue plaque appeared on railings in west London stating: “Rik Mayall. 1958-2014. Punched his friend in the balls on a bench near this spot.”
Bottom’s opening credits saw Rik, who died last Monday aged 56, and comedy partner Ade Edmonson sitting on a bench in Hammersmith, west London, where the BBC comedy show was set.
The credits see Richie, played by Rik, punching Eddie, portrayed by Ade Eddie (Ade) in the groin before being hit repeatedly with a newspaper and suddenly disappearing.
In 2010, Rik told the BBC: “Hammersmith is my stomping ground I suppose. And one of the great opening credit sequences was for the telly show Bottom, where you had Richie and Eddie – me and Ade – sitting on a bench.
“If you were to come to the end of King Street where it meets the big roundabout to get to the Hammersmith Apollo, you’d find that same bench on a traffic island – until one day they took it away and put a pelican crossing in its place.
“That for me is the worst journey I ever made, discovering what had happened to that bench.”
A council spokesman said: “The council is interested in this idea to mark the talented comedian’s link to Hammersmith and would like to speak to his family at an appropriate time to discuss if they would like him honoured in this way.”
Young Ones star Rik scored a posthumous top 10 hit on Sunday after fans campaigned for people to download his 2010 World Cup song ‘Noble England’.
