A roadside bench like that shown in the credits of TV sitcom Bottom is to be officially unveiled in London in memory of comedian Rik Mayall.
The unveiling on Friday follows an online campaign after the sudden death of the comedian in June this year, which has received 7,000 signatures.
Shortly before he died, Mayall told a radio interview he was sorry to see that the bench had been removed.
“It’s just my old bench, me and Eddie’s bench,” he said, referring to the character played by co-star Adrian Edmondson in the 90s sitcom about two flatmates living on the dole in Hammersmith, south-west London. “But the memory is still there.”
Hammersmith council has now replaced the bench, at the junction of Queen Caroline Street and Hammersmith Bridge Road, with the inscription:
In Memory of The Man, The Myth, The Legend.
Dr The Rik Mayall
Pan Global Phenomenon
Equality, Wisdom, Freedom & Love.
“Barbara: Love Is The Answer”
Rik Mayall fans, what else would you like the inscription to have said?
• This article was amended on 14 November to correct the spelling of Rik Mayall’s name.
