ADE: I’VE QUIT TV FOR GOOD
Star says industry has hit rock Bottom
COMEDY legend Ade Edmondson says he has quit TV for good.
He made his name in small screen hits including Bottom and The Young Ones but says bosses in the industry are now a nightmare to work with.
Ade, 60, said: “I’ll never talk to another television executive again. They’re all so tedious and boring. It’s also too expensive to start a sitcom off now, it’s a trial and error to give it a real go.
“Everything with them is far too success-led these days. They don’t give us a chance.”
Ade made his name playing punk Vyvyan in The Young Ones in 1982, inset. His next comedy series Bottom, in which he starred alongside pal Rik Mayall, shocked viewers with its lewd humour.
Ade is convinced a show like that wouldn’t have a chance of being commissioned nowadays.
He said: “You need to give it at least two series. The first season of Dad’s Army was awful. Blackadder was awful when it first came out. You have to have faith or these things just won’t happen.” After breaking down boundaries in alternative comedy, Ade proved himself as as a serious actor. He landed roles in primetime hits such as Jonathan Creek and Holby City.
He has also presented travel documentaries as well as tackling reality shows including Hell’s Kitchen and Celebrity MasterChef. But these days he prefers working on the stage and is currently involved in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Twelfth Night.
Ade said: “Theatre is the last dangerous space.
“You can go out on a limb in theatre in a way you can’t on telly. People are too scared on television.
“I’ve always loved theatre audiences, they’re a lot more honest.”
In recent years the most popular television comedies have been criticised for being too tame and family-friendly.
Mrs Brown’s Boys and Citizen Khan are regularly re-commissioned and given prime spots in the TV schedules.