Colin Gilbert he began working as a producer and director. His credits during this period include "A Kick Up the Eighties" with Tracey Ullman, Miriam Margolyes Roger Sloman, Ron Bain and Robbie Coltrane, "Naked Radio", "Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee" with Robbie Coltrane and John Sessions, "Naked Video" with Gregor Fisher, Jonathan Watson, Helen Lederer, John Sparkes, Andy Gray, Tony Roper and Elaine C Smith, "I Lovett" with Norman Lovett, "Kevin Turvey the Man Behind the Green Door" which he co-wrote with Rik Mayall, "City Lights" with Gerard Kelly and "Rab C Nesbitt" with Gregor Fisher, created and written by
The Black Seal billed as "Himself"); as with his appearances as Kevin Turvey in "A Kick Up the Eighties" (1982), Mayall liked to experiment at this time with a form of performance which blurred the boundaries between fact and fiction and encouraged the audience to believe the action was really happening. His appearance marked his first collaboration with Rowan Atkinson and it was noted that their work together took on a competitive edge; Mayall would dominate the set and preferred to rewrite his own lines. The competitiveness continued into their next Blackadder appearance together when Mayall played the role of the overbearing womaniser,