Planer also spoke of the “long shelf live” of his character Neil and how he had gone on to become a huge star, releasing Neil’s Heavy Concept Album and Neil’s Book of the Dead, while also featuring on Band Aid and supporting Madness.
“I milked it basically,” Planer added. “He got bigger than me.”
The Rik Mayall Comedy Festival is currently being held at and around the Norbury Theatre in Droitwich Spa, where Mayall was raised and first performed.
It first took place in 2025 and aims to celebrate the legacy of the late comedian, who died in 2014 at the age of 56.
When asked if Mayall would have liked the festival, Planer said: “I think this would have suited him quite well.
“He would be performing every show he could do and, probably, nobody else would be allowed on.”