Writers of a companion to the cult sitcom were left out of pocket by publisher's collapse

The authors of a book about Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson comedy Bottom were left thousands of pound out of pocket by the collapse of the publishing company that released it.

However another firm has now stepped up to make the title, Talking Bottom, available again. 

Paul Tanter, Mat Brooks and Angela Pearson originally released their book via Boundless – a company set up from the wreckage of another crowdfunding publisher, Unbound.

Unbound collapsed in March owing  £2.5million to creditors, including more than £600,000 to its authors. Just five months later Boundless, which writers had hoped would be a lifeboat for their project, also sank. 

Tanter and Pearson raised enough interest for their definitive companion to Bottom to sell out its first print run – but today revealed they ‘didn’t earn a penny’ from  its publication.

Pearson told Chortle: ‘It goes without saying that we were hugely disappointed by Boundless folding - it meant leaving hundreds of our backers without a copy of the book.

’In fact we had to personally pay nearly £4,000 to the warehouse to post out the remaining 500-plus books to our original backers who had crowdfunded it.’

But she remained sanguine about the situation, saying: ‘We were not the worst done to out of some of the authors who literally lost their livelihoods as a result of the debacle.’

And their story has a relatively happy ending as another publisher, Wilton Square Books, has picked upTalking Bottom, and will release it in paperback from Thursday.

Its chief executive Will Atkinson said: 'We are absolutely delighted to bring Talking Bottom back into the market. 

‘The first print run sold out instantly, showing how much love there is for this iconic piece of television and how excellent the book is. Paul, Angela and Mat have done an amazing job bringing the show back to life."

Pearson added: ‘We’re of course immensely grateful for Wilton Square coming to our rescue - they have done so for many other authors who were left high and dry!’

She also has a podcast, also called Talking Bottom, with her fellow authors, which they started after the death of Mayall in June 2014, at the age of 54. They have made 74 episodes so far.

In a statement, the trio said: ‘'We wrote the book for fellow comedy fans to enjoy and we are thrilled that, thanks to Wilton Square, it’s been reborn like a phoenix from the flames of Richie’s Sprouts Mexicane!’

Talking Bottom: A Guide To The Cult Sitcom can be ordered from Amazon  for £11.44 or from uk.bookshop.org, below, which supports independent bookstores.  

Published: 3 Nov 2025