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It's been said before, it'll be said again: so much of casting involves typecasting, where an actor lands a part not just for their ability but for their looks and overall vibe. Many's the occasion where a director has picked an actor for a role after just holding a general meeting with them or even after seeing them merely walk into an audition room.

Of course, for the actor, this can be a double-edged sword. Actors need to work, no doubt, yet they also want to be fulfilled by the work and not feel like they're doing the same thing over and over again. One such actor was the late Robbie Coltrane, who began his career proving his versatility on stage as well as in the alternative comedy series "The Comic Strip Presents." That versatility led to further roles in film and television, particularly as characters who were highly colorful; in other words,...

The Comic Strip is set to return with a new spoof focusing on Rebekah Brooks and the phone hacking scandal.

The Comic Strip Presents... The Red Top! - a working title - will star Maxine Peake as the infamous former tabloid editor, alongside Nigel Planer as Rupert Murdoch and Russell Tovey as Andy Coulson.

The show is described as the story of Rebekah, "an innocent and beguiling Northern girl" who through a series of accidental circumstances becomes Chief Executive of News International and gets tied up in a "'70s Watergate-style scandal".

A 75-minute "comic fantasy", the show follows in the footsteps of The Comic Strip's The Hunt for Tony Blair and will see Stephen Mangan reprise his role as the former Labour Prime Minister.

The new special will also star Johnny Vegas, Alexei Sayle, Harry Enfield and John Sessions.

Peter Richardson, who is behind the programme, said: "Like...

British comedian Rik Mayall has passed away at the age of 56, which was confirmed by his management company Brunskill Management. The cause of death has not been released, although Brunskill reps said he passed away at his London home this morning, and they would issue a full statement later.

Rik Mayall emerged as a rising comic talent through the 1982 TV series The Comic Strip Presents..., where he performed alongside Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Robbie Coltrane and his longtime friend and collaborator Adrian Edmondson.

Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson went on to star in and create The Young Ones and Bottom, both of which gained notable cult followings and featured slapstick humor that often involved fires and blows to the head. His roles as the outlandish Lord Blackheart in Blackadder II and Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman throughout the 1980s and 1990s helped solidify his cult status among comedy fans.

Rik Mayall has died at the age of 56.

The British comedy icon - best known for his roles in The Young Ones, Bottom and The New Statesman - passed away today (June 9), his management company has confirmed.

A statement from Mayall's management, Brunskill, said: "We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Rik Mayall who passed away this morning.

"We will be issuing a further statement in the fullness of time."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said officers were called by London Ambulance Service to a house in Barnes, south-west London at around 1.20pm, where "a man, aged in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene". He added that the death is not believed to be suspicious.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman also stated that they had been called to the house at 12.07pm.

Mayall began his career on stage in the late 1970s with long-term comedy partner Adrian Edmondson,...

There’s not a single other show in the history of television that has had as sporadic a run as The Comic Strip Presents.... It ran for five seasons: from 1982-1984 (two seasons), 1988, 1990, and 1993. In between those seasons, a series of TV specials and theatrical releases peppered the public consciousness keeping the show in mind, even as the stars that made it famous went on to wild success in shows of their own. At the heart of the show you’d find Adrian Emondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders, and Nigel Planer, though later on it was increasingly common for only a few of them to appear with recognizable faces such as Jim Broadbent, Miranda Richardson, Robbie Coltrane, and others as guests. The Comic Strip Presents... wasn’t your typical comedy show; it didn’t skip from one skit to the next, it didn’t have the...

This Saturday sees the continuation of Big Finish's weekly release schedule with the first part of Hothouse by Jonathan Morris. Starring Paul McGann as the Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller, Hothouse guest stars Nigel Planer (The Young Ones, The Comic Strip Presents..., loads more stuff) as rock star turned environmental activist Alex Marlow who has come into the ownership of a very dangerous piece of vegetation and the gorgeous Lysette Anthony as Hazel Bright. Somewhere in the...

LONDON -- U.K. sales and financier Intandem Films has teamed with producer Chris Chrisafis to relaunch the quintessentially British Carry On comedies, the company said Tuesday. The first project, in preproduction, will be Carry On London and is set to shoot in and around the U.K. capital in the summer. Led by director Peter Richardson, best known for the cult hit TV comedy project The Comic Strip Presents ... , the filmmakers have signed a bevy of British household names, headlined by Shane Richie (Flushed Away) and Vinnie Jones (Snatch), and also have secured the acting talents of former Miss Sweden, blonde bombshell Victoria Silvstedt (Boat Trip).