And sometime by the end of July, it will re-open at a currently undisclosed city centre location.

Partners Molly McGrath and Leon Sledmore co-founded the restaurant in November 2022 after several years in a kiosk in the city known as Sloppy Burger, which became extremely popular.

They then opened the Nine Bar next door, which also went “from strength-strength” until the pandemic hit in 2020.

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Sloppy’s Bar and Kitchen opens at Acomb Wood Shopping Centre

The business continued with deliveries before becoming take-away only by operating from pub kitchens from January 2021 whilst they looked for premises. Venues they worked from included the Inn on the Green in Acomb and The Lighthorseman on Fulford Road.

The couple always had plans to open a restaurant and by chance they found their venue after a meal at the top-rated Italian restaurant Buongiorno, situated next door, attracted by its warm and welcoming staff and lovely food.

Whilst keen to start in the suburbs, Molly says the couple had always wanted to move to the city centre.

All being well, contracts should be signed next week, to allow for a relocated business to re-open “later in July.”

Molly McGrath and Leon Sledmore in front of their top-rated restaurant, which is to move. (Image: Pic supplied)

Molly told the Press: “We have had a great time here, but we had an opportunity arise. We have loved been in Woodthorpe and thank you to the locals. We can’t wait to welcome them to the new premises.”

Over the years, Sloppy’s Bar and Kitchen has gained a reputation for some of the best burgers in York. Lovers of messy food have given rave reviews on TripAdvisor and Google.

Google Awards 4.8 stars out of five, based on 134 Google Reviews.

TripAdvisor awards an even better 4.9 stars out of five, based on 214 reviews, ranking it 12th out of 798 York restaurants.

The most recent Google review awarded five stars and said: “Super friendly as soon as we walked in! Loads of choice on the menu. Our food came super quick and taste incredible! Can’t fault it. Will be back!”

The most recent TripAdvisor review also awarded five stars, praising its “amazing friendly service and something a bit different local to us!”

The review added: “Quick service, lovely friendly staff. American twist food, served hot and flavoursome. Quirky, great vibe with indie music. Great choice of cocktails.”

Have you eaten at Sloppy’s? What did you think? Will you be trying out their new venue in the city centre. Please share us your thoughts in the comments below.

Whilst most drugs disposed of from the bins are prescription medication, illicit substances are also itemised and gotten rid of

Belfast’s largest public park is to get a drugs disposal bin, which will be the only outdoor bin of its nature in the city.

Elected members at a Belfast City Council committee meeting this week unanimously approved the placement of a RAPID bin in Ormeau Park, South Belfast. Details of the exact location have not yet been decided, but council officers said there was a “deficit” of disposal facilities in the area.

The RAPID initiative, short for Remove All Prescription and Illegal Drugs, aims to remove illegal and prescription drugs, as well as so-called “legal high” substances from streets by providing drug disposal bins within communities.

READ MORE: Plan to have drug testing pilot scheme at big Belfast gigs blocked by Stormont

READ MORE: Sinn Féin attempt to have Irish signs along full length of North Belfast road branded “sectarian”

RAPID also provides information and support to individuals, families, local businesses and community organisations to raise awareness of the effects and risks of using and misusing illegal and prescription drugs.

A report for the council’s People and Communities Committee states: “The Belfast Drug and Alcohol Coordination Team have indicated that there currently exists a gap in relation to a RAPID bin in the Ormeau area and were keen to explore options alongside Belfast City Council for a suitable location within the vicinity of Ormeau Park.

“The current provision of RAPID bins within Belfast are all placed indoors, typically within a shopping centre, GP surgery or community facility. The success of a RAPID bin, that is, those with the greatest disposals recorded, are locations where there is heavy footfall, where members of the public can pass through and dispose of any drugs within a matter of seconds.”

It adds: “Although Belfast does not have any outdoor bins currently, several locations outside of Belfast have utilised bins in outdoor locations with great success, one of the most successful outdoor bins is situated with a car park in Newry, with no issues reported.

“Initial engagement with BDACT Connections colleagues suggests that the preferred location, deemed most likely to be successful, would be in the vicinity of the entrance to Ormeau Park, on Ormeau Road, facing the Ormeau Library. Other potential locations to be considered would include the alternative entrance on Ormeau Road, opposite Candahar Street, or Ormeau Recycling Centre, off Park Road.”

PSNI and BDACT staff empty the bins regularly and record the types and quantities of drugs found before they are destroyed. Whilst most drugs disposed of are prescription medication, illicit substances are also itemised and disposed of.

No personal details are collected but substances may be tested for identification or toxicity. Currently, the most successful bins in Belfast are in the Kennedy Centre and Tesco stores at Ballygomartin, City Side and Knocknagoney.

At the June meeting of the council’s People and Communities Committee, held this week, SDLP Councillor Séamas de Faoite said: “In our view we would want to try and find something that is a little bit more discreet, while making sure we are able to provide this service appropriately.

“I am certainly happy for it to be sited at Ormeau Park. Fundamentally the approach here is that they are trying to reduce the amount of needles, which I think all of us agree on.”

DUP Councillor Ruth Brooks said the value of the bins was “understated” and work had to be done around their communication and promotion. She said: “People have been confused, thinking these are needle exchanges, when they are not. I remember when these were first launched, and there was some really good marketing, it was around old prescriptions, and asked people if they had old prescriptions that were out of date, not to throw them into the bin.

“There is a stigma around bringing old prescriptions back to pharmacies. I think it would be really worthwhile if we could have a little bit more marketing on these, (including) a map of where they are, making sure that people realise this is in relation to prescription drugs that are out of date or are no longer needed. A refresh on that would be really good.”

She also asked the council to “scope out additional places within our communities where these could be dropped off.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats called for investigations Wednesday into renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the ongoing drama over the president’s problem-plagued, $16 million rehabilitation project continued to roil the capital.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate demanded answers about the saga that’s been highlighted in the news cycle for weeks, even as the White House has repeatedly blamed — without evidence — unidentified vandals for peeling paint and other problems. Six people have been arrested, President Donald Trump said, without providing details, and a local wildlife nonprofit conducted necropsies on dead ducks found near the Reflecting Pool. The president has said the pool may need to be drained once again for additional repairs.

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, challenged the Trump administration over no-bid contracts for work on the Reflecting Pool, saying they were awarded to vendors with previous relationships to Trump.

National Park Service projects undertaken at Trump’s behest in the Washington area “have been marked by blatant corruption, a shocking lack of transparency, disregard for legal requirements and apparent incompetence,” Blumenthal wrote Wednesday in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Jessica Bowron, the acting Park Service director.

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“Rushed no-bid contracts given to unqualified vendors with previous relationships to the president resulted in a reflecting pool more covered with algae than before, with freshly painted chunks of paint peeling from the bottom to float on the pool’s surface,” Blumenthal said.

The nation’s capital “will now celebrate America’s 250th birthday with an empty reflecting pool, a testament to incompetence and corruption,” he added.

Two contracts for Reflecting Pool repairs

Ohio-based Green Water Solutions was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.

Both contractors have ties to Trump entities, said California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

“Donald Trump’s disastrous renovation of our national reflecting pool is his latest failed vanity project,” Garcia said, calling the projects a waste of taxpayer money.

Trump pledged to beautify the century-old Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations, draining its water and directing the bottom to be painted a color he dubbed “American flag blue.” But since the site was restored, its water has been plagued by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating have appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Without evidence, Trump has repeatedly blamed the peeling paint on vandalism, including a “350-foot gash” in the liner, as the administration faces a self-imposed deadline to complete the renovation before July 4th. Trump also has said the federal government would release images to substantiate his claim.

Trump said Wednesday that “sick people” had used razors and box cutters to slice portions of the lining. He wasn’t sure if the pool draining would come before or after the July 4 holiday, during which tens of thousands of people will be at the National Mall.

The U.S. Park Police posted surveillance footage Wednesday evening and asked for help “identifying the individual depicted here in connection with a Destruction of Government Property investigation.” The grainy, 30-second video appears to show a person kneeling down, reaching into the reflecting pool and removing something from the water. Police said it was taken Friday afternoon.

A White House spokeswoman it’s “a shame that Democrats do not think the capital of the greatest nation in the history of the world deserves to be safe and beautiful.”

Trump “generously spearheaded the restoration of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which has long been plagued with algae and leaked 16 million gallons of water per year. The president’s efforts to beautify our nation’s capital are supported by Americans across the country and should be praised by both Republicans and Democrats,″ spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.

A spokeswoman for Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, said Wednesday the company uses devices called nanobubblers to infuse ozone into the water to kill algae and bacteria. The process is “functioning perfectly” and the water looked clear and blue Wednesday, after rain muddled it Tuesday, spokeswoman Erin Kramer said.

“The water is clear. What is visible is the sediment on the pool floor, a natural part of the remediation process when the algae dies,” she said. In a lake or river, that sediment is absorbed, but in a pool it needs to be vacuumed, she said.

The company is owned by John Cafaro, a Trump donor who lives near Mar-a-Lago, the president’s private club in Florida.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which spread blue sealant across the pool’s concrete floor, is owned by Curtis “Eddie” Wood. The company said this week it has identified some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs, adding that the work will done once the pool is drained. It was unclear when that will happen.

What’s next for Reflecting Pool remains murky

Amid the calls for investigations, Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado called for Trump to personally reimburse American taxpayers for the pool renovations, which he called “a national embarrassment.”

Americans expect their tax dollars “to fix roads, support schools and protect our public lands,” Hickenlooper wrote in a letter to Trump. “They do not expect to bankroll failed presidential vanity projects. The bill for this fiasco should only belong to you, Mr. President.”

___

Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this story.

A three year-old boy has died after becoming trapped in a car in Paris as France recorded the hottest day in its history.

The toddler slipped into the family car while his father thought he was sleeping but was unable to get out due to the child lock, public prosecutor Guirec Le Bras said.

The child’s mother was having a nap with the couple’s 18-month-old other child while the father worked in the garden shed, the prosecutor told French media.

“He apparently shut himself in and became trapped in the vehicle before being found unconscious by his parents,” the prosecutor said, adding that the mother is in hospital in a state of shock.

The death is the latest in a series of heat-related tragedies as the European heatwave claims dozens of lives.

On Monday, two young children aged two and four, died after being found in cardiac arrest inside their mother’s car in a residential car park.

Paris faced another sweltering day after temperatures in the French capital hit a June record of 40.9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday – the first time in 150 years temperatures in the capital surpassed 40C.

The city’s mayor told Parisians to slow down on Thursday as the deadly heatwave disrupted power supplies, and shut schools and cultural landmarks in large parts of western Europe.

French prime minister Sebastien Lecornu has activated the highest level of health services mobilisation in the face of a heatwave – which means non-urgent operations could be cancelled to focus on hot weather-related emergencies.

It is unclear exactly how many people died, but earlier this week authorities said 40 had passed away just from drowning.

Athough the heatwave is set to die down by next week, French authorities are now warning that the country could return to extreme heat in early July.

Minister for ecological transition Monique Barbut told FranceInter: “There is a strong probability that, starting the week after [some point after July 6], we will return to extreme heat… until July 14.”

Parts of southern England and Wales were facing another day of record-breaking temperatures, with a peak of around 37 C in some areas, after a new June high of 36.1 C was set in Hampshire on Wednesday.

More follows on this breaking news story…

David Brent and his colleagues from Wernham Hogg were last seen on our screens back in December 2003

Fans of the UK version of The Office have something new to look forward to as the BBC has announced a special programme to mark 25 years since the sitcom’s debut.

David Brent and his colleagues from Wernham Hogg were last seen on our screens back in December 2003, two years after it first aired in the summer of 2001, after two six-episode series were made, followed by a two-part Christmas special.

Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais, who also played the central character, and Stephen Merchant, The Office followed the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company.

This July marks 25 years since The Office debuted in the UK and the BBC have announced special episode of Remembers, to celebrate one of the most influential and acclaimed British comedies of all time.

The Office stars Martin Freeman and Mackenzie Crook – aka Gareth and Tim – will be reunited to look back at the groundbreaking series, sharing personal memories, behind the scenes stories and reflecting on its enduring legacy and cultural impact.

The BBC said: “It’s been more than 15 years since the pair last laid eyes on each other, but the ground-breaking comedy’s 25th anniversary has brought them together once again, sharing their memories of working, and laughing, alongside Ricky Gervais, co-writer Stephen Merchant, and their other leading office colleague Lucy Davis, who played the object of Tim’s affections, Dawn.”

The BBC added: “Amongst the anecdotes are the tale of how Martin initially auditioned to play Gareth, how Mackenzie embraced one of TV’s worst-ever haircuts, how Ricky came close to ruining filming on a daily basis, and what it was like to be at the heart of ‘Office-mania’ when the show was at its peak. On top of all that, Mackenzie and Martin share their views on the American version of the show and some of their personal favourite Wernham Hogg moments.”

Mackenzie Crook and Martin Freeman Remember…The Office will be broadcast on Wednesday, July 8, at 10pm on BBC Two and iPlayer

People should be aware of some simple mistakes that can cause their car to use more fuel

With the UK set to swelter in temperatures of up to 38°C this week, drivers are being urged to avoid a common air-con mistake that could see them burning through fuel unnecessarily. A few straightforward changes to your driving habits could help stretch your fuel further on those summer road trips.

Tim Rodie, Motorpoint’s resident driving expert, said: “While you might be planning on setting your air conditioning to full blast when driving in warm weather, it can really be a drain on your fuel. Motorists looking to go longer between filling up might think just opening the windows is an obvious alternative but, at higher speeds, this can make your car less aerodynamic – meaning you’ll be using more fuel.

“As a rule, opening your windows is best when driving around at lower speeds around town and air conditioning is more efficient if you’re on the motorway. So, keep this in mind and be sure to mix it up on long car rides.”

While climbing into a scorching hot car is far from pleasant, Tim warns against leaving the air conditioning running to pre-cool your vehicle before you get in, reports the Express. He said: “Idling is terrible for fuel efficiency, but there’s an even more important reason why you shouldn’t be leaving your car unattended with the engine running when cooling down – the risk of it being stolen.

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“Modern air-conditioning will cool your vehicle down quickly, so there isn’t really a need to let your car cool down before starting your journey. Not to mention that most car insurance policies have ‘keys in car’ or ‘vehicle left unattended’ clauses that mean motorists aren’t able to make a claim if their vehicle was stolen while unattended with the keys inside.”

Drivers who notice their air-conditioning feels “less powerful than normal” should have it inspected, as the car continues to consume fuel to run the system – even when it isn’t functioning correctly.

How to make cars more fuel-efficient this summer

Pack light:

Avoid stuffing your boot to the brim, as the lighter your vehicle is, the less fuel it requires. Tim noted this principle extends to accessories such as bike racks and roof boxes as well.

He said: “Unless you need the extra storage space, it’s worth travelling without them. They might be a pain to remove, but the increased drag and extra weight mean your car needs to work harder to get you where you need to go.”

Plan your routes carefully:

Vehicles can guzzle fuel when stuck in congestion, so it’s advisable to plan your journey before heading out. Should you find yourself at a standstill, and it’s safe to do so, consider turning your engine off or activating your car’s stop-start function to avoid wasting fuel while stationary.

Know where to fill up: One of the simplest ways to avoid overpaying for fuel is to seek out petrol stations with competitive prices. Motorway services will always charge a premium, so it’s worth planning your journey in advance to get a rough idea of where you’re likely to need to fill up.

Stick to the speed limit and avoid flooring it:

Speeding doesn’t just put you at risk of a fine and points on your licence — it’s also dreadful for fuel consumption. Speed has a direct impact on how much fuel your car uses, meaning the faster you drive, the fewer miles you’ll get per tank.

No matter how eager you are to reach your destination, putting your foot down as though you’re on a drag strip will do nothing but guzzle fuel. Harsh acceleration burns significantly more fuel than steady, measured driving.

Check your tyres:

Keeping an eye on your tyres isn’t just about safety — it also helps keep your vehicle running as efficiently as possible. Underinflated tyres create greater friction, forcing your engine to work harder and burn more fuel.

At a minimum, check your tyre pressure at least once a month. The simplest way to do this is to use a pressure gauge to ensure your tyre pressure falls within the recommended range specified in your owner’s manual.

Emergency services were called to the scene of a house fire in Barry on Wednesday that closed a key road into the Welsh seaside town on the hottest day of the year. In an update on Thursday police say the fire uncovered a cannabis farm.

The A4055 Cardiff Road was closed in both directions to allow firefighters to tackle the blaze.

South Wales Police confirmed there was a house fire on Riverside Place in Barry and said road closures were impacting Cardiff Road and Palmerston Road. All roads have now reopened but emergency services remain at the scene.

Photos from the scene show the roof of the property has been completely wrecked by the fire.

A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: “We remain at the scene of a house fire in Riverside Place, Barry.

“Parts of Cardiff Road and Palmerston Road were closed yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, June 24) while emergency services dealt with incident.

“Evidence of a large-scale cannabis cultivation, spanning multiple rooms including the attic, has been found in the property.

“There was no-one in the house at the time of the fire, neighbouring properties were evacuated, and there are no reported injuries.

“A joint investigation is on-going with the fire service.”

BEIRUT (AP) — Shiite Muslims around the world on Thursday marked Ashoura, a holy day symbolizing sacrifice and martyrdom that holds special significance for many this year after months of war in Iran and Lebanon.

Ashoura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in A.D. 680 Imam Hussein was killed with his family and companions after refusing to pledge allegiance to the Umayyad caliphate.

The event cemented the schism between Sunni and Shiite Islam and remains a powerful symbol of resistance against oppression and injustice.

The holiest day in the Shiite calendar

This year, Ashoura comes after months of war in Iran and Lebanon, homes to two of the world’s largest Shiite populations. Iran and the U.S. this week launched talks aimed at finalizing a fragile ceasefire agreement.

On the first day of the war, on Feb. 28, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The 86-year-old Khamenei was not just Iran’s top political leader. He also had a final say on all religious matters and was revered by millions of Shiites worldwide. Ashoura comes just days before his funeral procession.

The war also spilled over into Lebanon, where Iran’s key ally, the Hezbollah militant group, has been battling Israeli troops for months.

Hezbollah entered the fighting days into the war by firing rockets into northern Israel in solidarity with Tehran. That sparked widespread Israeli aerial bombardment and a ground invasion that decimated large swaths of predominantly Shiite areas in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Ashoura comes as many of the more than one million displaced Lebanese people are trying to return to their villages in southern Lebanon. Cities and towns had held sermons and events in the buildup to the holy day surrounded by buildings reduced to rubble and ruins.

Ashoura is the holiest day in the Shiite calendar, marked by traditional mourning rituals that include chest-beating, elegies and lamentations. It is held on the 10th day of the month of Muharram.

Visitors arrive at Imam Hussein’s shrine

In Karbala, the southern Iraqi city holy to Shiite Muslims, security was tightened as visitors arrived. Religious banners flew from the walls of Imam Hussein’s golden-domed shrine and actors played out scenes from the 7th century.

“We see all kinds of people here and they don’t lack food, drinks or services, thanks to God, despite the massive gathering,” Redha Nouri, who traveled from Ahwaz in Iran, said. “There will be more crowds coming tomorrow, but the Iraqi people are here and will serve them.”

The previous evening mourners had gathering at the shrine of Imam Ruhollah Khomeini south of Tehran in a ceremony attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian and other officials, Iranian state media reported. Khomeini led the 1979 revolution that ushered in Iran’s Islamic republic.

In a social media post laden with an apparent message of resistance to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, Pezeshkian noted how Hussein taught people to stand against oppression, the temptation of power and the pursuit of self-interest.

“We should neither oppress, nor accept oppression, nor remain silent before it,” he wrote.

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, Gen. Esmail Ghaani, invoked the “spirit of Ashoura” in warning Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon or face defeat.

The annual ceremonies came as Iran’s leadership continues to draw on Ashoura’s language of sacrifice and resistance at a time of deep political and economic pressure.

The faithful in Lebanon attend sermons and visit graves

Families in the Lebanese coastal city of Tyre who lost relatives fighting with Hezbollah or working as paramedics wept during a sermon on the third day of Muharram. A cleric, who sat between portraits of current Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Kassem, compared the struggles the modern-day leaders faced in the war to that of Hussein and his companions in Karbala.

Banners in red and black bearing Hussein’s name were hung on every street.

In Beirut’s southern suburbs, many flocked to the grave of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024.

Security is raised in Pakistan to protect the Shiite minority

Elsewhere, Pakistan deployed thousands of police and paramilitary personnel across the country following intelligence reports warning of possible militant attacks on Shiite Muslims, a minority in the predominantly Sunni country.

Although most Sunnis and Shiites live peacefully alongside one another, militant groups have repeatedly targeted Shiite communities, mosques, and religious gatherings in sectarian attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives.

As members of Pakistan’s Shiite minority prepare to take part in mourning processions, mobile phone service in some areas is expected to be suspended temporarily to help prevent attacks.

“Imam Hussein is a symbol of the highest struggle and sacrifice,” said Saadia Shah, 33, as she entered a congregation hall in the eastern city of Lahore with her two children. “His name gives us the courage to stand up to tyranny, to say what is right and oppose what is wrong.”

___

Associated Press journalists Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Ali Sadiq in Karbala, Iraq, contributed to this report.

The anarchic Rik Mayall was a perennial joker and the funniest man in whichever room he was in. But a new film shines a heartbreaking new light on his life and his friendship with Adrian “Ade” Edmondson.

On stage, or at public events, he was the effervescent funnyman, taking it upon himself to ensure he put a smile on everybody’s faces throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, through raucous TV shows The Young Ones and Bottom and rip-roaring live tours with his co-star and close friend Edmondson.

In the Sky documentary Rik Mayall: Magnificent B’stard, we discover new insights into Mayall and Edmondson’s early starts, including a double act called Flash Rick and Deaf Ade, which might have changed the very fabric of British comedy if they’d managed to sell it. We see unseen sketches and hear audio testimonies from the man himself; close your eyes, and it’s like he’s in the room with you.

However, the documentary also reveals that, out of the spotlight, the self-conscious comic would be crippled by worries and concerns that being just himself wasn’t enough.

His public-facing image, as an endless well of laughter, was perpetuated by the man himself, who would “immediately stand taller, puff out his chest and really make a show of it” the moment he was around members of the public.

This behaviour was a “dichotomy”, according to his daughter Rosie Richardson, as people would view him as a carefree comedian who had no problems of his own. The opposite was true. “He loved that sort of attention; on the other side, it’s exactly who he wasn’t,” TV director Bob Baldwin said.

In fact, his other daughter, Bonnie, said “people would probably be quite surprised to know about his anxieties”, caused by the belief that, if he didn’t crack a joke, he wasn’t “interesting or debonair enough”.

“He wanted to be always the funniest, best version of himself, which tended to be a character ‘cause that’s what he felt most comfortable with,” his daughter explained.

Things took a dark turn in 1997, when Edmondson noticed Mayall was “secretly drinking” while preparing their third Bottom tour, Hooligan’s Island.

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“My little office was overlooking a pub, and then I’d start to see him going in for a quick couple of shorts before he came in to write,” he recalled. “Strange, as we used to enjoy alcohol so much together.” Rosie realised something wasn’t quite right a year later when, during a trip to Devon, she discovered he’d packed his briefcase with miniature bottles of alcohol.

“He just kept getting these little bottles out the bag,” she said. “I said: ‘What are you doing, darling?’ He said: ‘Just don’t tell your mother,’ knocking them back.” When they arrived at the farmhouse, Mayall decided to ride his new quad bike. The last thing he remembered was sending his daughter back inside after noticing drops of rain on his arm, thinking: “This isn’t very safe.”

Moments later, Mayall nearly died after flipping the bike. His son Sid recalled: “There was a huge pool of blood around his head – it fractured his skull – and he was completely unconscious. There was bleeding inside the skull and in the brain, so they had to put him into a coma, so that he could heal.”

When he awoke, he was, according to those closest to him, forever changed. He was left with seizures and was told by doctors he had to stop drinking, which only heightened his anxieties surrounding social engagements.

Edmondson also noticed a change in his co-star’s personality. Deciding against another tour, the pair instead focused on making a film, the slapstick comedy Guest House Paradiso. During this time, Edmondson realised that his friend “was never exactly the same person” and found him “bizarrely more emotional”.

They eventually went back on tour together, for a fifth time, but Edmondson called time on their partnership on the final night in 2003. However, a tearful Mayall found it difficult to accept the news.

“Endless touring did us in. I kind of realised we couldn’t really do it anymore, and we never really got to an understanding about that, which makes me very sad,” Edmondson recalled.

They eventually hit the stage once again in 2001, and again in 2003 – but the writing was on the wall for Edmondson who believed “endless touring” had ruined their friendship. On the final night, he ended their 27-year partnership.

“I kind of realised we couldn’t really do it anymore, and we never really got to an understanding about that, which makes me very sad,” Edmondson said.

Rosie remembered her dad saying to her: “I don’t know what I’ve done wrong, I don’t know why this has happened.”

She continued: “I think he just felt like the carpet had been pulled from underneath him, and he was just sort of left going, ‘Well, now what?’ I just think that my dad deserved more, so much more. But then again, Adrian was completely entitled to do what he needed to do as well, for his own mental health.”

Edmondson said he particularly struggled with his grief after Mayall’s sudden death as “we never kind of repaired what our relationship was”. Mayall died aged 56 on 9 June 2014 after suffering a sudden heart attack.

“So I’ve had to explain the later part of our relationship in some ways, because people want to know,” he said. “It is obvious that something went a bit awry, but I think we should mostly remember that he was a f***ing genius.”

Rik Mayall: Magnificent B’stard airs on Sky Documentaries on 25 June.

The jury is charged with reaching findings including how Noah came by his death.

The jury at the inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe have been told to reach their findings based on the evidence they have heard in court.

Coroner Mr Justice Rooney started his charge to the jury of eight men and two women on Thursday, on the 21st week of the inquest, which started in January.

Noah, a pupil at St Malachy’s College, was 14 when his naked body was found in the storm drain tunnel in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he left home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city. A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was drowning.

The jury is charged with reaching findings including how Noah came by his death.

Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe, who has led a high profile campaign for answers around his death, has been present at Belfast Coroner’s Court for every day of the inquest.

Mr Justice Rooney told the jury his charge would be lengthy as it covered almost six months of evidence.

He said the inquest had heard from 76 witnesses, and statements from a further 42 people, and considered maps, video footage, photographs, police logs and expert reports.

He also reminded the jury the process was a fact-finding inquiry into how Noah died, and not a criminal trial where someone is found guilty of an offence or found liable to pay damages, and not about finding fault, attributing blame or apportioning guilt.

“Your findings must be based solely on the evidence that you have heard or have seen in this court, you must ignore everything else other than this evidence. It is irrelevant,” he said.

“We are here because this inquest is required by law. You must not suppose that this automatically means that something went wrong that contributed to Noah’s death, you must not lose focus on the question we are here to consider, that is how Noah came by his death.”

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