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Adrian Edmondson鈥檚 surprising journey from stand-up to children鈥檚 author 鈥� via The Young Ones, Bottom and Star Wars

15 June 2018

Adrian Edmondson’s career has encompassed a little bit of everything.

He started in – and remains best known for – comedy, most notably his partnership with university friend Rik Mayall.

Thereafter, he moved into more serious, dramatic acting. And then music (with his band The Bad Shepherds). And then even some television presenting.

Now, the “silly old man” has added children’s author to his CV.

Adrian Edmondson鈥檚 journey from The Young Ones to children鈥檚 author

Via Bottom and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, among other endeavours.

How he got his part in Star Wars

“The reason I’m in,” Adrian explained, it is that Rian [Johnson, writer and director of The Last Jedi] is a fan of Bottom.

“When he was a student, he got a book of the scripts of Bottom before he got the videotape.

“With his friends, he made an episode. He won’t send it to me!”

People wanted to fight him in the 80s

Adrian’s relationship with his fans has, at times, drawn parallels with the issues currently facing the cast and crew of Star Wars.

During his years on The Young Ones, “there was a time when people used to want to fight me ’cos I was ‘Vyvyan off the telly’.”

“It was a bit sticky because, basically, I’m just a middle-class, ordinary person.”

Celebrities, he explained, are just “human beings” and not “gods”.

Why and how he branched out into writing books for children

Some of his other surprising career moves

A wannabe MasterChef

And a ballet dancer (for Comic Relief)

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