Rik Mayall, who helped plant Hammersmith on the TV comedy map, has died aged 56.
The actor and comic was known for many iconic roles in a 34 year career, including playing Richie Richard alongside his longtime collaborator Ade Edmundson in Bottom which was set in the town.
Mayall's death was announced earlier today (June 9) by his manager. The cause is unknown at the time of writing.
Born in Harlow, Essex, Mayall studied drama at the University of Manchester in 1976 where he first met Edmundson. The pair starred together in The Young Ones in 1981 - where he played the obnoxious anarchist Rick - and went on to appear in Blackadder and later The New Statesman, where he played fictional MP Alan B'Stard.
Bottom's opening sequence featured Mayall and Edmundson on a bench in Hammersmith. The show enjoyed three series in the early to mid 1990s and in 1995 took to the stage. Due to its slapstick violence 'taken to new extremes', the both actors ended up in hospital at various points.
