Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Rik Mayall cause of death: Post-mortem will be carried out to determine how comedian died

The results are not expected for release until Friday 13 June

Ella Alexander
Thursday 12 June 2014 08:54 BST
Comments
Rik Mayall stars in 'The Young Ones', 1981
Rik Mayall stars in 'The Young Ones', 1981

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A post-mortem will be carried out today, Thursday 12 June, to determine how Rik Mayall died, West London Coroner's Court has confirmed.

The results are not expected to be released before Friday 13 June when the coroner will decide whether or not to launch an inquest.

The comedian died 9 June, aged 56.

His cause of death is still unknown, although friend and former colleague Peter Richardson has said that it could have been a “seizure of some sort”.

His son was “happily chatting” to the Blackadder and The Young Ones actor only half an hour before his death.

In 1998, Mayall was left in a coma for several days after a serious quad bike accident. He recovered, but was left with epilepsy – for which he took daily medication.

His wife, Barbara Robbin – with whom Mayall had three children – also confirmed that no reason for his death had been found.

“We don't know yet what happened,” she said. “He had a strong heart, so I don't think it was a heart attack. But we just don't know until the coroner's report.

“Maybe he had a fit, maybe it was his heart. We just don't know.”

Mayall has entered the Official Top 40 this week, with his ‘lost’ World Cup anthem, entitled Noble England. The track currently stands at 38 in the chart and is expected to rise as the week continues, following a social media campaign launched by fans to revive the song.

Noble England failed to make an entry upon its initial release in 2010.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in