Filthy, Rich And Catflap (BBC2, 1987)
This is another sitcom from the 80s that I don’t really remember from the time, but it is worth featuring. After the end of The Young Ones, three-quarters of the main cast reunited to try out something a little different. Filthy, Rich And Catflap was written by Ben Elton and was a parody of celebrity and showbusiness, proving that being famous isn’t sometimes all it seems.
Rik Mayall played Rich, an actor who lives in a rotten flat and has been in the business for a decade but was resting all the time. He thinks that he is a huge talent that should be on TV, but the most high-profile work he has had to date is being a continuity announcer on TVS (well he couldn’t have been any worse than Brian Nissen). One thing that Rich aimed for was to be showbiz pals with Brucie and Tarby. That’s what it seems he thought fame consisted of, and he had their pictures on his wall. 
Adrian Edmondson played Catflap, a friend of Rich, although he was completely useless, and gave him little encouragement in his fame quest. And Nigel Planer was Filthy, a sleazy agent who tried hard but constantly failed to find Rich any decent work. Throughout the episodes, Rich does finally get some TV work, including appearing on a game show very similar to Blankety Blank, and TV-am. 
Rich does spend most of his time though being rather frustrated, and this leads to random bouts of violence against Catflap, and several unfortunate milkmen. Rich also spends a lot of time down the pub causing a scene. By the end, Rich decides to become a journalist and ruin the careers of everyone who is famous with outrageous stories, meaning that he is the only one whose reputation isn’t damaged, and he really does now have all the TV shows to himself. Made it! 
Other elements of the show included characters looking into the camera, discussion of how good the jokes were (or weren’t), and saying “oo-er!” at what was mildly rude, which was just about everything. There were also some guest appearances from various comedy names, including Fry and Laurie, Hale and Pace, Chris Barrie, Harry Enfield, and Mel Smith. 
There was only one series of Filthy, Rich And Catflap, and it didn’t get that great a response from viewers and critics. Mayall and Edmondson would do much better though with their next sitcom Bottom, which was similarly anarchic. I think there was also a repeat run on Dave a while ago. The show has been released on DVD, and then there was a shinier re-release for the 25th anniversary.
ADAM'S NOSTALGIC MEMORIES 