Adrian Edmondson

Adrian Edmondson was born in Bradford, Yorkshire. He went to Manchester University to study drama. Whilst he was there he met Rik Mayall, and the pair began performing as 20th Century Coyote. The act continued after university when Adrian & Rik moved to London, and they became two of the leading lights in the new 'alternative comedy' scene, performing at the newly established Comedy Store, and setting up their own club, The Comic Strip, with 'Peter Richardson', Nigel Planer, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, and Alexei Sayle. This spawned two 1980s TV series: The Young Ones (1982), and The Comic Strip Presents... (1982) In the 1990's Ade & Rik continued their partnership with a new series called Bottom (1991), which ran for three seasons and became a major success on the live circuit. It was basically a live sitcom, liberally sprinkled with slapstick humour, and the pair did 5 long tours between 1993 and 2003. Simultaneously, Adrian established himself as an actor, doing two improvised TV films under the Screen One and Screen Two umbrella, with director Les Blair: Screen Two: Honest, Decent and True (1986), and Screen One: News Hounds (1990) (winner of the BAFTA for best single drama). He was a regular in the hospital drama Holby City (1999) from 2005 - 2008. He took the lead in a drama documentary about the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in the series Surviving Disaster (2006), and appeared as Henry Austen in the TV movie Miss Austen Regrets (2008), the film Blood (2012), and the drama series Prey (2014). But his most notable dramatic role to date is that of Count Rostov in the BBC series War & Peace (2016).

Filmography (159 Appearances)

Ade at Sea

TBA

Codes

TBA

Sam & Ade Go Birding

2026

Alien: Earth

2025

Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story

2024

Bottom: Exposed

2024

3 Body Problem

2024

imagine... French & Saunders: Pointed, Bitchy, Bitter

2023

Toad & Friends

2023

A Spy Among Friends

2022

The Best Birthday Ever

2022

The Trick

2021

The Pact

2021

Letters Live from the Archive: Union Chapel

2021

King Rocker

2020

Out of Her Mind

2020

Between the Covers

2020

Completely Bad News

2019

The Rizen: Possession

2019

Cheat

2019

Celebrity Catchphrase

2018

How The Young Ones Changed Comedy

2018

Save Me

2018

RSC Live: Twelfth Night

2018

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

2017

Bancroft

2017

Richard Osman's House of Games

2017

Interlude In Prague

2017

The Rizen

2017

Genius

2017

Urban Myths

2017

One of Us

2016

Upstart Crow

2016

War and Peace

2016

Rocky Horror Show Live

2015

Ronja, the Robber's Daughter

2014

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled

2014

Prey

2014

Catchphrase

2013

Gadget Man

2012

Five Go to Rehab

2012

Blood

2012

Britain Beware!

2012

The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff

2012

The Great Sport Relief Bake Off

2012

Ade in Britain

2011

Death in Paradise

2011

Monte Carlo or Bust

2010

Let's Dance for Comic Relief

2009

Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments

2008

Rocky Horror Tribute Show

2008

Teenage Kicks

2008

Miss Austen Regrets

2008

The Dangerous Brothers - Dangervision

2008

If It Ain't Stiff: The Stiff Records Story

2007

The Making of 'The Young Ones'

2007

The Alan Titchmarsh Show

2007

Would I Lie to You?

2007

Britain's Got More Talent

2007

The Graham Norton Show

2007

The One Show

2006

Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - 40th Anniversary Celebration

2006

School's Out

2006

Great British Menu

2006

Surviving Disaster

2006

The Comic Strip - A Retrospective

2005

Twisted Tales

2005

Bottom Mindless Violence

2004

Doctors and Nurses

2004

Celebrity Mastermind

2003

Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour

2003

Spine Chillers

2003

Comic Relief Does Fame Academy

2003

The Best of French & Saunders

2002

Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity

2001

Four Men in a Plane

2000

Guest House Paradiso

1999

Big Bottom Live - The Best of Bottom Live

1999

The Making of 'Guest House Paradiso'

1999

The Man

1999

Holby City

1999

Jack and the Beanstalk: The ITV Pantomime

1998

Four Men in a Car

1998

Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island

1997

Captain Star

1997

Jonathan Creek

1997

Midsomer Murders

1997

Bottom Fluff

1996

Bottom Live 2: The Big Number 2 Tour

1995

Look at the State We're In!

1995

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye

1995

French and Saunders' Christmas Carol

1994

Ready, Steady, Cook

1994

If You See God, Tell Him

1993

Bottom Live: The Stage Show

1993

Demonella

1993

Gregory: Diary of a Nutcase

1993

Space Virgins from Planet Sex

1993

Absolutely Fabulous

1992

Holy - Bottom: Christmas Special

1992

Red Nose of Courage

1992

Pebble Mill

1991

Bottom

1991

The Pope Must Die

1991

Rita Rudner

1990

News Hounds

1990

Les Dogs

1990

Oxford

1990

South Atlantic Raiders: Part 2 Argie Bargie!

1990

South Atlantic Raiders: Part 1

1990

GLC: The Carnage Continues

1990

Snakes and Ladders

1989

Press Gang

1989

Just Like That!

1989

The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball

1989

An Audience With Victoria Wood

1988

This Morning

1988

The Yob

1988

Mr Jolly Lives Next Door

1988

More Bad News

1988

The Strike

1988

Eat the Rich

1987

Going Live!

1987

French & Saunders

1987

Hardwicke House

1987

Filthy Rich & Catflap

1987

Filthy Rich & Catflap

1987

The Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Rude Video Live

1986

Honest Decent & True

1986

Saturday Live

1986

Private Enterprise

1986

Dangerous Brothers Present: World of Danger

1986

The Dangerous Brothers

1986

Consuela (or, The New Mrs Saunders)

1986

The Supergrass

1985

Happy Families

1985

Happy Families

1985

Slags

1984

Eddie Monsoon - a Life?

1984

Gino: Full Story and Pics

1984

A Fistful of Travellers' Cheques

1984

Susie

1984

Dirty Movie

1984

Five Go Mad on Mescalin

1983

Natural World

1983

Blackadder

1983

Summer School

1983

Bad News

1983

The Beat Generation

1983

War

1983

Dead on Time

1983

The Young Ones

1982

Five Go Mad in Dorset

1982

The Comic Strip Presents...

1982

Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind the Green Door

1982

The Comic Strip

1981 Debut

Boom Boom... Out Go the Lights

1980

An Audience with...

1978

The Secret Policeman's Ball

1976
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