When We Were Young!

Once in every lifetime… comes a comedy that changes everything. here, creators and stars of The Young Ones look back.

- Ian MacEwan

NEW COMEDY

How The young ones changed comedy

Saturday, Gold HD, 9.30pm

In 1982, viewers used to watching cosy comedies such as To the Manor Born and Last of the Summer Wine got a sharp shock when The Young Ones exploded on to TV screens.

The series about four students sharing a house – hippy Neil (Nigel Planer), anarchist poet Rick (Rik Mayall), punk rocker Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson) and wide boy Mike (Christopher Ryan) – was cowritten by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Mayall’s then-girlfriend Lise Mayer.

Only 12 episodes were made, but The Young Ones left an indelible mark on British comedy. As Gold pays tribute to the show this week, the stars and creators share their memories of the cult classic...

HOW IT STARTED

Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer came up with the idea for