Rik Mayall 'superfan' thrilled to see the return of Droitwich comedy festival in his memory
The Rik Mayall Comedy Festival gets underway today (29 May) to honour the actor and comedian who grew up in the town
A Rik Mayall 'superfan' has said she's been looking forward to the return of the Droitwich comedy festival in his name which is set to get underway today (29 May) for the "entire year".
The Rik Mayall Comedy Festival was held for the first time last May in memory of the actor and comedian who grew up in the town and worked and performed at the Norbury Theatre.
This year's event will run across nine days and see over 300 performances in different venues take place throughout.
Ellie Henderson from London was one of those who attended for the entire festival last year and is going to be doing the same again this time around.
The 24-year-old 'superfan' said she first came across Rik's work in her teens through watching him role in The Young Ones and has been interested in it ever since.
"I found out about the festival because I've been drawing Rik and I've been making art about comedy stuff online for quite a while," she said.
"So I've been in like online comedy circles and I found out about the festival through that and as soon as I heard it I was like, I need to be there.
"I went to the festival by myself and it was a bit of like a learning curve for me just to see whether I could do it, and I did, and it was one of the best weeks of my life."
The festival aims to celebrate the work of Mayall who passed away in 2014 at the age of 56.
Ms Henderson said the event also gave her an opportunity to make new friends and she's delighted it's back.
"I'm so happy, last year was one of the best weeks I think I've ever had just from meeting people and being able to have this shared interest with everyone," she said.
"It's been like the thing I've been looking forward to the entire year and I really hope that it keeps going on."
The festival runs from the 29 May until the 6 June.