In a former life, Edmondson used to have darts thrown at his head but now investigating provincial eccentricities is his thing
The more acutely observant among you may have noticed something slightly disquieting over the past few weeks. Quietly, without warning or public consent, Ade Edmondson has emerged as the face of Great Britain. Yes, that Ade Edmondson. The Ade Edmondson who trashed the set of University Challenge as Vivian in The Young Ones. The Ade Edmondson who regularly had darts thrown into his head as Eddie Hitler in Bottom. The Ade Edmondson who, to all intents and purposes, is the screaming Peperami sausage. And now he's the smiling face of Britain; a role he's flung himself into with aplomb, appearing on both ITV's Ade In Britain and BBC1's That's Britain! at the same time.
This sort of career diversion is nothing new, of course. Often when comedians reach a certain age and fall out of step with the zeitgeist, they'll find a pet subject to mine. Bill Oddie has wildlife, for instance, and Griff Rhys Jones has either ruined architecture or boats, depending on his mood. And then there's Jasper Carrott, who briefly showcased his love of impossible to understand sphere-based daytime gameshows as the presenter of Golden Balls.
But it's different with Ade Edmondson. He had a whole range of secondary careers open to him. He could have continued being a serious actor, following his stint on Holby City. He has a band that he seems to like being in. But no, it appears that investigating provincial British eccentricities is his thing now.
It's just a shame that neither vehicle for this new-found love is very good. That's Britain!, in particular, is terrible – it's a sort of nightmare hybrid of The One Show, The Great British Weather and Noel's HQ, presented by Nick Knowles and Julia Bradbury in a studio so small that the audience have to cluster around them like hungry zombies. Edmonson is merely a reporter on That's Britain!, and spent the first show of the series following a suitcase around an airport. That wasn't the highlight of the episode, though – that came when Barry off EastEnders spent six full minutes mournfully wondering why buses don't have conductors any more.
But while Edmondson is only a fragment in the horrific mosaic that is That's Britain!, he has to shoulder all of Ade In Britain himself. Now in its final week of daily hour-long shows, it's a sort of vaguely food-centric travelogue where Edmondson cures ham, holds sheepdogs, drives steam trains, wears a flat cap and generally acts like the precise opposite of Vivian or Eddie Hitler or the Peparami sausage.
It's all quite well put together – even if it is on at the same time as BBC2's identical Hairy Bikers' Best Of British – but it's difficult to understand why Ade Edmondson, once the poster boy for hilarious anarchy, is in charge of it. One can only assume it's because his name lends itself better to puns than, say, Rory McGrath or Fred Dineage. And if that's the case, we should probably start looking out for shows like First Ade (Ade Edmondson travels around the country in an ambulance, treating the minor injuries of local eccentrics) or Lime Ade (Ade Edmondson travels the country in a giant lime, visiting our most picturesque quarries) in the future.
Still, you can't blame Edmondson for elbowing his way to the front of the pack to claim all lightweight shows about Britain as his own. He's found his niche now, and he's not going to give it up without a fight. He's taken to it with such hunger that you half expect to see tourists entering this country for the Olympics being greeted with a giant picture of Edmondson, eating a Peperami and stroking a sheepdog with a dart sticking out of his face at a jaunty angle. And that wouldn't be such a bad thing.
