[4] Mayall and Edmondson had worked together since the mid-1970s, and developed Bottom as an extension of their own relationship and their on-screen characters in The Young Ones and Filthy Rich & Catflap, their earlier BBC sitcoms.
In addition to the series, the pair completed five stage show tours between 1993 and 2003, and adapted the sitcom into a feature-length film, Guest House Paradiso, released in 1999.
A proposed spin-off series featuring various Bottom characters, Hooligan's Island, was cancelled in 2013 before production.
Whenever tensions hit a breaking point, Richie and Eddie end up fighting (albeit in a comical, Tom and Jerry-style, with adult themes).
Despite being a penniless slob, he occasionally projects a pompous sort of snobbery in an attempt to impress others and boost his self-esteem; he is sexually frustrated and obsessed with losing his virginity.
Eddie's friends, the gormless Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog, both fear Richie, believing him to be psychotic.
After the latter ended in 1987, the pair "drifted away" for a period before reuniting after they caught the attention of producer and executive Paul Jackson, who had also worked on The Young Ones, and pitched initial ideas they had for a new sitcom.
Episodes were developed around improvisational writing, and Mayall recalled Edmondson "did the typing and he allowed me to go to the off licence to buy all the drinks.
"[12][13] Upon delivering their scripts, the BBC expressed concern that the show could not sustain itself with two characters alone, to which Mayall and Edmondson used Tony Hancock and Sid James as an example, and got their way.
Mayall said that the BBC was too focused on the show's content being "morally sound and politically correct", but gave the green-light on the series.
"[12] It started as a joke until they learned that Alan Yentob, then head of BBC2, disliked the title which convinced the pair to stick with it.
[7] After the first series had been recorded, Mayall ranked Bottom as their best work and marked "a new chapter" in his relationship with Edmondson.
[citation needed] Mayall supported this view, saying they took the show as far as it could go on television while continuing the franchise with stage tours and home video releases, preferring to retain full creative control over the characters.
[20] Mayall and Edmondson held five nationwide theatre tours of Bottom between 1993 and 2003, adapting the original series into a stage show.
During the Hooligan's Island tour in 1997, Mayall and Edmondson sought ways of spending time before the night's performance and began to develop ideas for a script that involved Richie being a hotel manager.
The story involves the pair operating a grotty remote guesthouse next to a nuclear power plant and feeding their guests radioactive fish, causing massive amounts of vomiting.
In late 2004, surrounding the release of their Mindless Violence DVD, Mayall hinted that he and Edmondson may possibly be returning with another tour in the future.
"[24] In 2010, Edmondson confirmed that he had quit comedy, stating that his interest in it has declined for many years, and wanted to focus more on his band.
[27] In March 2011, the duo made a surprise reunion when Edmondson took part in Let's Dance for Comic Relief.
[34] In February 2024, pay television channel Gold announced Bottom: Exposed, a 2-hour documentary on the making of the sitcom, featuring exclusive behind the scenes footage and insights from Edmondson, Paul Jackson, director/producer Ed Bye, the cast and production crew, and celebrity fans.