Radio 4 to air previously unheard Rik Mayall footage

Part of a documentary to mark 10 years since his death

Previously unheard footage of Rik Mayall is to be broadcast as part of a major new tribute to the comedy star.

Rik Mayall, Panglobal Phenomenon – a nickname he gave himself – is to air on Radio 4’s Archive On 4 strand next month, just

And the hour-long programme features footage taken from 114 hours of recordings of conversations with his ghostwriter Max Kinnings.

The British Comedy Guide reports that most of the audio came from a two-year period when the pair were writing Mayall's 2005 spoof autobiography, Bigger Than Hitler Better Than Christ. But the recordings continued up until a few weeks before Mayall died, aged 56 of a heart attack.

Kinnings told the website: ‘A lot of it is simply Rik being funny, funny in a way that a lot of his fans and the viewing public have never seen before," he says. "He was so generous as a collaborator. And the way that he would riff on ideas, that's what we really wanted to capture.’

Producer Gareth Gwynn added of Mayall: ‘He put a lot of things between himself and his audience. I found it fascinating because I don't think I'd ever really thought of someone like him sitting down and coming up with ideas. You're hearing Rik absolutely firing on all cylinders here.’

The documentary - set to air on June 1 – also features Mayall talking about the early days of the alternative comedy scene and his colleagues on the circuit.

Thanks for reading. If you find Chortle’s coverage of the comedy scene useful or interesting, please consider supporting us with a monthly or one-off ko-fi donation.

Any money you contribute will directly fund more reviews, interviews and features – the sort of in-depth coverage that is increasingly difficult to fund from ever-squeezed advertising income, but which we think the UK’s vibrant comedy scene deserves.

Subscribe or donate here

Published: 10 May 2024