WHAT WAS THE "GUN INCIDENT" ABOUT?

Near the end of the Cell Mates run, Rik decided to bring some personal items home with him from the theatre one Saturday morning. He had his theatre dresser, Kirstin, with him, and they ended up on Endell Street in Covent Garden trying to catch a taxi.

He had some prop guns from the play with him, and without much thought pointed it at a nearby couple (who happened to be American tourists). As he pointed the toy gun he said, "do you want some of this, motherfucker?" to them.

Not knowing who Rik was, they called for the police. Within minutes four officers arrived, handcuffed Rik, and took him to the Bow Street police station. Both Rik and Kirstin were arrested, but no charges were filed. Rik was held for five or six hours before being released for his matinee performance later that day.

After the incident, Rik was asked to make some public statements about how dangerous his actions were. He also apoligized for his actions numerous times in interviews. Most of the time the apologies sounded a bit scripted, but that may have been for legal reasons. A good article about the incident can be read at Mayall "Sorry" Over Gun Joke that Misfired.

Rik's other brush with the law came in early 2003 when he was temporarily banned from driving after some speeding charges.