Adrian Edmondson, the son of a peripatetic geography teacher, was born in Bradford in 1957 and brought up in Cyprus, Bahrain and Uganda.

After studying drama at Manchester University he moved to London where he became one of the leading lights of the burgeoning comedy scene, helping to establish the reputation of the original Comedy Store and Comic Strip clubs.

Starring as Vyvyan in the award-winning television series The Young Ones, he was also one of the original The Comic Strip Presents ... team, notably creating the spoof heavy metal band Bad News. He starred in two improvised films for television, Honest, Decent and True and Newshounds, winner of the 1990 BAFTA for best single drama, and played Brad in the West End revival of The Rocky Horror Show, and Estragon in the first West End production of Waiting for Godot.

In 1991 Adrian teamed up once again with his longtime comedy partner, Rik Mayall, and created Bottom, their most popular sitcom to date. Adrian Edmondson is married to Jennifer Saunders, lives in Richmond, and has three children. The Gobbler is his first novel.