The Young Ones - where stars are now from Spongebob to Star Wars and tragic deaths

The Young Ones is widely held up as an icon of British culture. In 2004, it was voted number 31 in the BBC's Best Sitcom poll.

It launched the careers of Nigel Planer, Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, and Christopher Ryan and saw them transform into unforgettable characters: Rick, Vyvyan, Mike, and Neil.

Each episode featured a variety of guest appearances from comedians, actors, and singers, a musical interlude by a pop favourite at the time (or Motorhead as it once was) as well as Alexei Sayle playing various members of the landlord's slightly psychotic family.

Despite only 12 episodes being made between 1982 and 1984, it left a mark on TV comedies that live on today.

Here is what happened to the cast once The Young Ones had forever changed the comedy landscape on television.

Nigel Planer

Nigel Planer made his name playing the peace-loving hippie Neil in The Young Ones. As his Neil character, he went on to score a number two hit in the charts with a cover of A Hole in My Shoe.

He was kept off the top spot in 1984 by Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Cold War epic, Two Tribes.

A string of sitcoms followed The Young Ones, with Nigel starring in Filthy Rich & Catflap, Roll Over Beethoven and The Grimleys, among others.

In 2006, Nigel voiced the character of Dr Marmalade in Spongebob Squarepants and the now 68-year-old has also enjoyed a stellar West End career, with turns in Chicago and We Will Rock You among many others.

Now 71, Nigel is on tour this week delivering poetry written from his life experiences, including Waking Up Without You from his book Making Other Plans , which takes him back to a time when his marriage had broken down and he was not living with his son.

“It's such a powerful poem, and the feelings that it evokes take me back to that time, and the audience can really feel the emotion, as it was the hardest time ever, waking up in a house without my son," he tells The Mirror.

Touring the UK with Henry Normal, co-writer of The Royle Family and producer of Gavin & Stacey, the poem also reminds him why he found the charity Families Needs Fathers (FNF).

FNF is marking its 50th anniversary this week with a House of Lords celebration hosted by Lord David Blunkett, who, like Nigel, is a patron.

The charity has helped 120,265 children over the last half-century, has 32,760 service users per year and 33 regional groups, and last week its members voted to change its name to Both Parents Matter; this will take effect from next month.

Rik Mayall

Rik Mayall was probably the best known of the cast after his portrayal of student poet Rik in the BBC comedy. He was also one of the co-writers of the show with Ben Elton and Lisa Meyer.

He has a stellar career in which he played notable comic characters in Blackadder and The New Statesman, as well as teaming up with some of The Young Ones cast for Filthy Rich & Catflap.

Rik enjoyed a longstanding slapstick comedy partnership with Adrian Edmondson which took them from comedy clubs to The Young Ones and onto the beloved sitcom, Bottom.

On June 9, 2014, Rik died suddenly and unexpectedly at his home from a heart attack after he had been out jogging. He was aged 56 at the time.

Adrian Edmondson

Adrian Edmondson has made a career at playing slightly archaic characters with slapstick and physical comedy.

From punk anarchist Vyvyan in The Young Ones to Eddie in Bottom, Ade know his way around a prop chair to smash over someone's head.

His acting career took him to Hollywood, where he starred as Captain Peavey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017 .

The 67-year-old comedian also had a musical career with his folk punk band, The Bad Shepherds, before going on to be crowned the winner of Celebrity Masterchef in 2013.

Adrian has been married to Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders since 1985 and they have three kids together.

It hasn't all been sitcoms, though, as Adrian was also seen on Albert Square when he played Daniel Cook in EastEnders, and 3 Body Problems

On his Desert Island Discs episode, he movingly recalled how, after Mayall’s death in 2014, he wrote to Rik’s mother.

She wrote back to tell him how she cherished a memory of the pair of them sitting on deck chairs in her garden, "just laughing and laughing and laughing”.

Christopher Ryan

Christopher Ryan played the 'cool guy' Mike in The Young Ones, and he mostly tried to distance himself from the house shenanigans.

It was originally meant that The Comic Strip members would take the roles in the show, but Peter Richardson pulled out at the last minute, and Christopher took on the 'straight man' role.

He had a varied career since The Young Ones, appearing in Santa Clause: The Movie in 1985 and playing the dubious Dave Hedgehog in Bottom.

More recently, Christopher, 74, played one of Edina's un-loved ex husbands in Absolutely Fabulous opposite Jennifer Saunders, and in Doctor Who, the podcast.

Alexei Sayle

Alexei Sayle played a number of characters, mainly from the Balowski family, who were the Eastern European landlords of the student house.

His role seemed to often by a sideshow from the storyline and embraced stand-up comedy as well as puppetry and leftfield monologues amid the chaos of the sitcom.

After The Young Ones, the big screen beckoned with roles in Gorky Park and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade among his appearances.

He had a Top 20 hit in 1984 with 'Ullo John, Got a New Motor' and was a vocal supporter of Jeremy Corbyn during his general election campaigns to become Prime Minister.

More recently, he had a series on Radio 4 - Strangers on a Train which deigned to ‘break the golden rule of travelling by train' and see Alexei 'actually talk to his fellow passengers'