Richie and Eddie are officially back on our screens, albeit in a documentary sense.

The beloved slapstick and manic sitcom 'Bottom' ran for three series on BBC Two between 1991 and 1995 and is now going to be featured in a new Ade Edmondson documentary titled Bottom: Exposed.

Bottom starred Rik Mayall as Richard "Richie" Richard and Edmondson as Edward Elizabeth "Eddie" Hitler.

Two unemployed, incompetent, pathetic and depraved idiots sharing a disgustingly run-down flat in London, where they derived great pleasure from scheming about having sex and inflicting excessive physical violence upon one another.

Edmondson will revisit the show on channel Gold’s Bottom Exposed, which features footage that has never been broadcast, stories from filming and a look at the relationship between the two lead actors.

The 67-year-old, who also appeared in The Young Ones with Mayall, said: “A long time ago, deep in the mists of time, two blokes – I was one of them, Rik Mayall was the other – decided to make a career out of beating the shit out of each other.

“It was a tempestuous, an anarchic and occasionally quite a dangerous time – we both required hospital treatment on occasion – but above all, it was bloody good fun. We made each other laugh and, luckily for us, we made audiences laugh.

“This programme seeks to get to the bottom of why it worked.”

"His death is a dreadful shock to the world"

Mayall died of a heart attack aged 56 in 2014. Edmondson later said in his autobiography: "His death is a dreadful shock to the world, and to me. My head fills with a kind of white noise. It's difficult to comprehend that he's dead."

Mayall was also known for the comedy series Believe Nothing and Filthy Rich & Catflap, with Edmondson, and black comedy Drop Dead Fred, about a girl’s imaginary friend that reappears when she is in an adult.

The Gold special will be narrated by presenter, comedian and actor Stephen Fry, who Mayall worked with in Blackadder when he played Lord Flashheart.

Former Bottom cast members Absolutely Fabulous actress Helen Lederer, Pirates Of The Caribbean film series star Kevin McNally, theatre actor Roger Sloman, The Bill actress Lisa Maxwell and EastEnders actor Paul Bradley will also talk about the show.

Recommended reading: 

Comedian Adrian Edmondson on his friendship with Rik Mayall

Bottom of the class! Ade Edmondson reads Tilly and the Time Machine to young ones

Ade Edmondson tucks into the best of British

Bottom producer and series director Ed Bye, who also worked on science fiction comedy Red Dwarf, is also among the contributors.

The 120-minute documentary will also see fans such as comedians Chris McCausland and Maisie Adam reflect on the show and its impact on the sitcom genre.

Executive producer Matt Crook, managing director of Studio Crook, said: “It was such a huge show and has never had a documentary until now, so we feel incredibly privileged and excited to be given this opportunity by UKTV to work with Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall’s estate to celebrate one of the greatest sitcoms of all time.”

Bottom: Exposed will air on Gold later this year.