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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.

'It's easier to identify birds if you’re with someone who knows what one is'

Ade Edmondson on the returns of his birding show with Sam West

Ade Edmondson has reunited with his friend Sam West for a second series of the 5 show Sam & Ade Go Birding, set to start at 8pm on Thursday October 1. Here he talks about the show…

How long did it take for you to say yes to a new series?

We were almost angling for another series as soon as we were making the first. We thought three was a very puny number of episodes to make - we’d make the show all the time if we could.

How pleased were you with the response to the first series?

The response was terrific. I joined my local birding group after the first series and we went on a day trip to Lundy. Lots of different birding groups club together to hire a boat and sail out of Appledore to reach Lundy.

There must have been about 400 people on the boat and I didn’t hear a negative comment. Most people, when they have nothing positive to say, will just leave you alone, but everyone came up to me to make positive comments. That was terrific.

I think it captured two people genuinely interested in looking at birds, which I don’t think they feel they’ve seen for a long time.

Did you join a group so you could go out with local birders if Sam wasn’t around?

I feel it’s much easier to identify birds if you’re standing next to someone who knows what one is. If you’re out on your own - and I’ve tried going out into the woods with a pair of binoculars - you see things rustle about, but you can’t find them.

You need experts nearby pointing at them, telling you what they are and explaining their behaviour. Everyone who is in a group like that is very keen to share their knowledge.

How have your solo missions panned out?

I always have my binoculars in the car and I drive down to London quite a bit, so I’ve nearly covered all the recognised sights within a mile or two of the A303.

Where do you visit in the new series?

We went to mid-Wales, where we saw some rather big birds. We saw ospreys and quite a lot of kites, as there’s a big kite breeding programme down there. We saw all these big, famous, and frightening birds, but we also saw a yellowhammer, which I’ve never seen before and it’s delightful.

The yellowhammer was hanging onto a tiny little reed in a very strong wind, and it was very comical. I know there aren’t many ospreys, but they know how to look after themselves. I’d never seen a reed warbler before either, and we saw one of those. I think the warbler and yellowhammer are more exciting than ospreys and kites.

We went back to Yorkshire and up to Bempton Cliffs, as well as Bridlington. We saw lots of seabirds - oh, the gannets! The use of their name is so undeserved.

We all think of a gannet as a big fat greedy slob, but it’s the most beautifully coloured bird. The gannet is mostly white with a yellowish-alabaster crown to its head, and they have a great way of diving into the sea where they tuck up their wings like a jet fighter and launch into the water like an arrow. Phenomenal.

I can’t think of any bird that isn’t hungry and wouldn’t eat everything, so I don’t know why the gannet has that reputation.

Do you suggest any of the locations or does Sam climb into the car and tell you where you’re going?

I go where people tell me there’s going to be birds. That said, I think in the next run of three we’re going to be closer to home and visiting Dartmoor and the River Dart. I’d be interested to see what is there, because when I go out I can’t really see anything at all.

I know there are skylarks and stonechats up there, because I’ve heard them on the Merlin bird app, but I don’t think I’ve seen them.

In the new series, Sam wakes you up very, very early for the dawn chorus - are you a middle-of-the-night person?

I used to be a bit of an insomniac, but I cured that about 10 years ago. Yes, it’s a shame the birds are generally around in the very early morning and in the evening. In the middle of the day, when I like to roam around, they’re all lying down and resting. That seems a very odd thing for them to do, because you think they’d make use of the daylight.

The dawn chorus is sort of weird. I sent a cartoon to our WhatsApp group and it’s of a guy listening to his CD of relaxing bird sounds, but there’s an inset of the birds and one’s actually shouting: ‘Somebody ate my babies!’ I think that’s what the birds are doing.

The dawn chorus is birds desperate to find a mate and desperate for food - they’re not just singing for the love of the world, they’re singing to survive.

How important is using the show as a platform to draw attention to the problems facing some species, like curlews?

I would say the best way to preserve our bird life is just to enjoy it. The more we can get people like me into birding, the other part of it, like rescuing species, will follow.

I don’t think you can make a programme with the single aim of saving the curlew. That’s too earnest and our show is a lot less earnest than that, and the better for it. We don’t want to be an issue-led programme, I don’t think. This is an entertainment show, and we entertain people and show how extraordinarily lovely it is to see a curlew down the end of your binoculars.

What is it about spending time with Sam you most look forward to?

A friend is someone you can spend time with and not worry about filling in all the gaps, where conversation naturally tumbles along. Never having to work, that’s the secret.

• Sam & Ade Go Birding is expected to start on Thursday October 1 at 8pm on 5

Published: 22 Sep 2026