THE YOUNG ONES has received a trigger warning for its ‘racist and homophobic’ content – but what happened to the sitcom’s stars?
The fortunes of the former students of Scumbag College could not be more different.
Forty years on from when the cult show first aired in 1982, we look back at what happened to the main cast.
Neil – Nigel Planer
The alternative comedian played hippy Neil who became so popular that he scored a number two hit as the character with a cover of A Hole in My Shoe.
Neil would probably consider the actor’s complicated love life to be ‘hea-veeeey’.
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Nigel has two sons, Stanley, 29, and Harvey, 18, from his marriages to model Anna Leigh and actress Frankie Park.
Now he is wed to his former landlady Roberta Green, who is 13 years older than him.
Nigel, 69, said: “We have a competition over who we think will die first. She’s older but women tend to live longer than men, so I tell her I’ll go first. It’s a little morbid.”
Recently the actor has played a spymaster in Grantchester and starred in the BBC comedy Mandy.
Rick – Rik Mayall
With his sneering smile the outrageous actor was born to play a baddie – and did it to devastating effect.
This son of two drama teachers was perfect as the insecure and spiteful poet Rick in The Young Ones – and even better as scheming Tory MP Alan B’stard in The New Statesman.
But Rik, who also scored hits with Blackadder, Bottom and The Comic Strip Presents, had a brief flirtation with Hollywood which failed when his 1991 black comedy Drop Dead Fred flopped.
The show business world was in mourning in June 2014 when Rik died of a heart attack at the age of 56 after coming back from a jog.
Rik was survived by make-up artist Barbara Robbin and their three children, Rosie, Sidney and Bonnie.
Vyvyan – Ade Edmondson
Adrian Edmundson has ditched the punk rock attitude of Vyvyan to enjoy a far more mainstream career.
The comedian recently played Captain Peavey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, took a regular role in EastEnders and was crowned the winner of Celebrity Masterchef in 2013.
He has been married to second wife Jennifer Saunders since 1985 and they have three daughters.
The 65-year-old actor was incredibly close to Rik, having met him at university, and starred alongside his pal in the slapstick comedies Bottom and Filthy Rich & Catflap.
Ade said: “Rik and I were like brothers. We were family.”
Mike – Christopher Ryan
The 5ft tall actor was the heartthrob of The Young Ones, playing ‘cool guy’ Mike.
Now aged 72, Christopher has continued to work on and off, occasionally with his former cast members.
He popped up in Bottom with Rik and Ade as Dave Hedgehog and played one of Edina’s unloved ex-husbands in Absolutely Fabulous opposite Jennifer Saunders.
Christopher also appeared in Only Fools and Horses as Tony Driscoll, lent his voice to a SpongeBob SquarePants character and is a regular on the stage.
The actor, who is single and lives in London, where he was born, said: “I’ve worked consistently for almost 50 years and I’ve never planned anything – nor have I pushed or hustled.”
Alexei Sayle – the landlord
The Marxist comedian has been accused of antisemitism despite being Jewish.
He was one of many left wing activists who signed a letter two years ago criticising Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long Bailey’s decision to agree to a series of pledges aimed at combating prejudice against the Jewish community within the party.
Alexei, 69, whose parents were both Communist Party members, also claimed in 2017 that allegations of antisemitism among supporters of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn “were fabricated”.
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In The Young Ones the stand-up comedian played a number of characters, mainly from the Balowski family, who were the Eastern European landlords of the student house.
After The Young Ones the big screen beckoned, with roles in Gorky Park and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade among his appearances.
