TELLY THROWBACK
Iconic 80s actor unrecognisable as he returns to set of hit TV show for first time in almost 40 years
The Young Ones focused on the lives of four students, who were studying at the fictional Scumbag College
AN ICONIC 80s actor looked unrecognisable as he returned to the set of a hit TV show for the first time in almost 40 years.
Nigel Planer, now 70, starred as Peace Studies student Neil Pye in The Young Ones, which centred on the fictional lives of four undergraduates.
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The comedy hit was set in north London but a house at the top of Codrington Road in Bishopston, Bristol, was used for exterior shots of their home.
Nigel hadn't been back to the property since filming ended in the 1980s before fan of the show Ben Hill, 45, made contact.
The pair returned last month and talked about their memories of the programme.
Nigel said: "It's interesting to look back on it now and see it was possible for everyone to be fun and have a laugh.
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"It was years ago but of course a lot comes flooding back when you go back to this house where you spent a lot of formative time.
"[The Young Ones] wouldn't be made today - no question.
"The younger generation are very different now, there's a lot more responsibility on their shoulders.
"You wouldn't be making something now that's four guys shouting at each other.
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"I don't think it was a golden age. There was a load of c*** made then, you just don't remember the rubbish ones."
The show, written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer, focused on the lives of four students, who were studying at the fictional Scumbag College.
Voted as number 31 in the BBC's Best Sitcom poll in 2004, it is widely held as an icon of British culture in the 1980s.
Nigel says he believes The Young Ones existed at 'the right time'.
He said: "Whenever I'm asked I try to defend modern comedy - there's lots of good comedy at the moment.
"I think it's thriving, every now and then there's something extraordinary and it turns another corner and I guess The Young Ones was there at the right time.
"There was window of opportunity for working class people, being a student was free when The Young Ones was made, it was the last generation of people who didn't need to pay loans and fees."
Alongside the main cast of Nigel, Mayall, Adrian Edmondson and Christopher Ryan, the programme also featured a variety of guest appearances from comedians, actors and singers.
Planer claims not to remember much from the actual filming of the show but could recall the catering trucks and bands including Madness, The Damned and Dexys Midnight Runners.
And he says one guest appearance sticks out in his mind - the rockstar Lemmy.
Planer said: "Lemmy was unbelievably professional - on each occasion [I worked with him] he was definitely Lemmy, but he knew what he was doing.
"He wasn't professionally wild, - he was completely professional every time."
Nigel is currently working on projects including comedy science fiction books and poetry gigs.
He's also produced a Christmas release as the character Den Dennis from band Bad News - a fictional four-piece which was originally created for Channel 4 show The Comic Strip Presents....
The song, Axogram, will be released on December 15 and was originally written for a Bad News album released in 1987.
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But he claims producer Brian May - of Queen - told him at the time it wasn't the right fit.
Nigel also released a collection of poems in August this year - Making Other Plans - and the first book of a time-travel fantasy trilogy, Jeremiah Bourne In Time.
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