Adrian Edmondson

Adrian Edmondson

Date of birth: 24-01-1957
The son of an armed forces teacher, Edmondson attended Yorkshire’s Pocklington School, before going on to study drama at Manchester University, where he met Rik Mayall and formed the partnership that was to become Twentieth Century Coyote. The pair took a show to the Edinburgh Festival in 1977 and on to London’s fledgling alternative comedy scene at the Comedy Store Comic Strip.

The comedians from that latter venue went on to make The Comic Strip Presents shows for the new Channel 4, and Edmondson starred in their 1985 feature film Supergrass.

That year, he also married fellow Comic Strip performer Jennifer Saunders and the couple now have three children: Eleanor, Beatrice and Freya.

His most famous role is of Vyvyan in The Young Ones, written by co-star Mayall, Ben Elton and Lise Mayer. And in 1983, Adrian toured with Mayall in Kevin Turvey and The Bastard Squad, and their double act The Dangerous Brothers was also a regular strand of Saturday Night Live.

Other credits with Mayall include Filthy, Rich and Catflap, three series of Bottom and the subsequent live tour and in 1991 appeared in the West End production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot.

And solo he appeared in Lawrence Marks and Maurice Gran's Snakes and Ladders, Doctors and Nurses and Jonathan Creek. In 2005, he joined the cast of hospital drama Holby City.

In 1996, he wrote his first – and so far only – novel The Gobbler. And he has directed pop videos for The Pogues’s Fiesta, Zodiac Mindwarp’s Prime Mover and 10,000 Maniacs’ Like The Weather.

He has more latterly been touring the UK with his band The Bad Shepherds; and in 2014 appeared in the West End play Neville's Island.

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Well, the formula worked for Mortimer and Whitehouse...

Adrian Edmondson and Samuel West to make a birdwatching series

Adrian Edmondson is to go out on a series of weekend birdwatching trips around Britain with actor Samuel West in a new three-part series for broadcaster 5.

Sam & Ade Go Birding, which is still a working title, follows the two friends as they travel to West Cornwall, North Norfolk and the Somerset Levels in search of native and visiting species including choughs, geese, kingfishers, egrets and bitterns.

In a brief that seems heavily influenced by Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, the show is said to mix ‘exquisite photography and breathtaking landscapes [and]  is as much about friendship as it is about wildlife.

Between sightings, Sam and Ade share thoughtful, funny, and Moving Conversations on everything from obsession and ageing to acting, childhood memories, losing a parent and the geeky hobbies that have captivated them over the years.’

West, known for his roles in All Creatures Great and Small and Slow Horses, has been an enthusiastic birder for two decades and has recorded more than 400 British species.  He is also an ambassador for the RSPB, 

Comic Edmondson takes the opposite role — a relative newcomer who has lived in the countryside for more than 20 years but wants to learn more about the birds around him.

Edmondson said: "‘I don’t know how I got to be this old without knowing more about birds. It feels like a huge hole in my education. Sam is going to fill me in. And…we get to go to the pub!’

West added: ‘Watching birds is a simple pleasure. At heart, it’s an invitation to connect with the natural world. All you need is a desire to look, listen and enjoy. A pair of binoculars helps; a friend to share it with makes it even better (especially when they’re as much fun as Adrian Edmondson).   

‘I’m thrilled that we get to invite the 5 audience along with us on our travels; they’ve already proved how tasteful and clever they are by liking All Creatures Great and Small so much.  Welcome to the gentle art of noticing.’

The series – set to air at some point later this year – was commissioned by  Kit Morey at 5.

She said: ‘Sam & Ade Go Birding is one of the most heartwarming pieces of televisual joy I’ve had the good fortune to be part of.  Whilecelebrating Britain’s beautiful birdlife, Sam and Ade share their equally beautiful friendship and remind us that it really is the simple things in life that can bring the greatest happiness.'

Jamie Balment, executive producer at programme-makers Frank Films added: ‘This has been so genuinely lovely to make it and hasn’t felt much like the preceding 20 years of my career.’

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Published: 11 Mar 2026

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