Biography
Adrian Edmondson is primarily famous as a comedian and actor, best known for his long-time partnership with Rik Mayall and his iconic roles in sitcoms The Young Ones and Bottom, as well as The Comic Strip Presents... series. However, in addition to comedy, he has also turned his hand to dramatic roles, television presenting and music, among others.
Adrian was born on 24 January 1957 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. His father was a geography teacher in the Armed Forces, so the family lived in exotic locations including Cyprus, Bahrain and Uganda when Adrian was a child. Back in England he attended Pocklington School, a public school in East Yorkshire, where he became interested in acting. He went on to study Drama at the University of Manchester, where he met his friend and comedy partner Rik Mayall. The pair teamed up under the name 20th Century Coyote, eventually moving to London and finding work at the Comedy Store.
Rik and Ade began making a name for themselves at The Comic Strip club, alongside other comedians including Alexei Sayle, French and Saunders, Peter Richardson and Nigel Planer. This led to the group being offered a series, The Comic Strip Presents..., on Channel 4. Ade appeared in a total of 30 Comic Strip films over the years, playing numerous parts. He also wrote and directed several, including the two films about heavy metal band Bad News, who in real life released two albums and toured the UK, even playing the Monsters of Rock festival.
Ade's most iconic role is arguably that of Vyvyan the punk in The Young Ones, which ran for two series from 1982-1984 and made him a star. After this, he and Rik Mayall revived their earlier stage act, The Dangerous Brothers, for the Saturday Live sketch show. They also went on to star in Filthy Rich & Catflap (one series, 1987) and followed this up by co-writing and starring in Bottom, which ran for three series from 1991-1995. Ade played Eddie alongside Rik's character Richie, two losers sharing a flat. Bottom was extremely popular and its success also transferred to the stage; Rik and Ade did five live tours between 1993 and 2003. They even made a film, Guest House Paradiso, in 1999, which Ade directed.
Outside of his partnership with Rik, Ade has had many other interesting roles, both comic and dramatic. He starred in two Les Blair directed TV films, Honest Decent and True in 1986 and News Hounds in 1990. He starred alongside Richard Briers in the 1993 sitcom If You See God, Tell Him. He has made guest appearances in Jonathan Creek and played maverick surgeon Abra Durant in Holby City between 2005 and 2008. He played the role of Valery Legasov in the 2006 BBC docudrama Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, appeared in the 2008 period drama Miss Austen Regrets and was most recently seen in ITV's three-part mini-series Prey, to name just a few. He is also no stranger to the stage. He played Brad Majors in the 1990 West End production of The Rocky Horror Show, and he and Rik Mayall starred in Waiting For Godot at the Queens Theatre in 1991.
Apart from acting, he has many other strings to his bow. He directed several music videos in the 80s, including Hourglass by Squeeze, for which he won an MTV award. In 1996 he wrote his first novel, The Gobbler. In the last few years, his main focus has been music. In 2008 he formed The Bad Shepherds, who play punk and new wave songs on folk instruments. Ade sings and plays mandolin in the band. They have released three albums to date and have toured all over the UK and abroad, playing numerous festivals along the way including Glastonbury, and have built up a loyal following. Ade has also been a member of The Idiot Bastard Band, who play comedy songs, alongside Neil Innes, Phill Jupitus, Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron. He has also written and performed with The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. In 2005 he finished third in Comic Relief Does Fame Academy.
Ade has also presented several documentary series for ITV in recent years: The Dales (2011-2013), Ade in Britain (2011) and Ade at Sea (2014).
In addition to all this, he is a talented cook, winning Celebrity Masterchef in 2013 and finishing runner-up in Hell's Kitchen in 2009.
Adrian has been married to fellow comedian Jennifer Saunders since 1985. They have three daughters, Ella, Beattie and Freya, and two grandsons. They live in London and Devon.
Adrian was born on 24 January 1957 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. His father was a geography teacher in the Armed Forces, so the family lived in exotic locations including Cyprus, Bahrain and Uganda when Adrian was a child. Back in England he attended Pocklington School, a public school in East Yorkshire, where he became interested in acting. He went on to study Drama at the University of Manchester, where he met his friend and comedy partner Rik Mayall. The pair teamed up under the name 20th Century Coyote, eventually moving to London and finding work at the Comedy Store.
Rik and Ade began making a name for themselves at The Comic Strip club, alongside other comedians including Alexei Sayle, French and Saunders, Peter Richardson and Nigel Planer. This led to the group being offered a series, The Comic Strip Presents..., on Channel 4. Ade appeared in a total of 30 Comic Strip films over the years, playing numerous parts. He also wrote and directed several, including the two films about heavy metal band Bad News, who in real life released two albums and toured the UK, even playing the Monsters of Rock festival.
Ade's most iconic role is arguably that of Vyvyan the punk in The Young Ones, which ran for two series from 1982-1984 and made him a star. After this, he and Rik Mayall revived their earlier stage act, The Dangerous Brothers, for the Saturday Live sketch show. They also went on to star in Filthy Rich & Catflap (one series, 1987) and followed this up by co-writing and starring in Bottom, which ran for three series from 1991-1995. Ade played Eddie alongside Rik's character Richie, two losers sharing a flat. Bottom was extremely popular and its success also transferred to the stage; Rik and Ade did five live tours between 1993 and 2003. They even made a film, Guest House Paradiso, in 1999, which Ade directed.
Outside of his partnership with Rik, Ade has had many other interesting roles, both comic and dramatic. He starred in two Les Blair directed TV films, Honest Decent and True in 1986 and News Hounds in 1990. He starred alongside Richard Briers in the 1993 sitcom If You See God, Tell Him. He has made guest appearances in Jonathan Creek and played maverick surgeon Abra Durant in Holby City between 2005 and 2008. He played the role of Valery Legasov in the 2006 BBC docudrama Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, appeared in the 2008 period drama Miss Austen Regrets and was most recently seen in ITV's three-part mini-series Prey, to name just a few. He is also no stranger to the stage. He played Brad Majors in the 1990 West End production of The Rocky Horror Show, and he and Rik Mayall starred in Waiting For Godot at the Queens Theatre in 1991.
Apart from acting, he has many other strings to his bow. He directed several music videos in the 80s, including Hourglass by Squeeze, for which he won an MTV award. In 1996 he wrote his first novel, The Gobbler. In the last few years, his main focus has been music. In 2008 he formed The Bad Shepherds, who play punk and new wave songs on folk instruments. Ade sings and plays mandolin in the band. They have released three albums to date and have toured all over the UK and abroad, playing numerous festivals along the way including Glastonbury, and have built up a loyal following. Ade has also been a member of The Idiot Bastard Band, who play comedy songs, alongside Neil Innes, Phill Jupitus, Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron. He has also written and performed with The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. In 2005 he finished third in Comic Relief Does Fame Academy.
Ade has also presented several documentary series for ITV in recent years: The Dales (2011-2013), Ade in Britain (2011) and Ade at Sea (2014).
In addition to all this, he is a talented cook, winning Celebrity Masterchef in 2013 and finishing runner-up in Hell's Kitchen in 2009.
Adrian has been married to fellow comedian Jennifer Saunders since 1985. They have three daughters, Ella, Beattie and Freya, and two grandsons. They live in London and Devon.