I remembered Rik Mayall's quad bike accident, but he got over it. The comedian and actor Rik Mayall is "seriously ill" in hospital after suffering head injuries in a quad-bike accident. Rik Mayall's wife has said a fit may have caused the comedian's sudden death at their home on Monday. When someone dies before they get in their 70's, it brings it home a bit. We just don't know.\"Mayall as MP Alan B'Stard in The New StatesmanIt is understood Mayall suffered from epilepsy after the 1998 accident which caused two brain haemorrhages and left him in a coma for five days.Speaking about the accident, Mayall said doctors had kept him alive on a life-support machine for five days and were about to turn it off when he began to show signs of life.He used to mark the occasion by exchanging presents with his wife and children and said the near-death experience changed his life.He said: \"The main difference between now and before my accident is I'm just very glad to be alive.\"It is not known when a post-mortem examination is due to take place.Starring alongside his good friend Ade Edmondson (L) in The Young OnesA Scotland Yard spokesman said officers were called by London Ambulance Service to a house in Barnes where \"a man, aged in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene\".He added the death was not believed to be suspicious.Mayall and Ms Robbin, who is a make-up artist, have been married since 1985 and have three children, Rosie, Sidney and Bonnie.Close friend and long-time collaborator Adrian Edmondson led the tributes to the star, saying he felt privileged to have shared \"carefree stupid days\" with Mayall at Manchester University, where the pair studied.He said: \"There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing. Rik Mayall may have died after fit in wake of bike accident. Selfish b*****d.\" Edmondson and Mayall gained their reputation at The Comedy Store, from 1980. But we just don't know until the coroner's report.\"Maybe he had a fit, maybe it was his heart. And now he's died for real. Without me. They were some of the most carefree stupid days I ever had, and I feel privileged to have shared them with him. Rik Mayall's wife, Barbara, says the cause of his death is unknown: "Maybe he had a fit, maybe it was his heart. It was the day before Good Friday in April 1998 that Rik had a quad bike accident which left him with a fractured skull and bleeding on his brain. Speaking about his 1998 quad bike accident last year, Mayall said doctors had kept him alive on a life-support machine for five days and were about … Rik Mayall cause of death: ... Actor Rik Mayall is asked to move on by police as he poses as his comic 1980's TV ... Mayall was left in a coma for several days after a serious quad bike accident. The world of comedy has paid tribute to … So I thought he would be around for another 20 years at least. Apart from performing in their double act, 20th Century Coyote, Mayall developed solo routines, using characters such as Kevin Turvey and a pompous anarchist poet named Rick. This led to Edmondson and Mayall, along with Comedy Store compere Alexei Sayle and other upcoming comedians, including Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, French and Saunders, Arnold Brown and Pete Richens, setting up their own comedy club ca… Rik Mayall's wife has said a fit may have caused the comedian's sudden death at their home on Monday.The world of comedy has paid tribute to the \"genius\" who shot to fame playing the poetry writing anarchist Rick in The Young Ones and went on to have a glittering television career.It is not yet known what caused the 56-year-old's death but Barbara Robbin suggested it could be related to a quad bike accident which nearly killed her husband 18 years ago.Speaking outside their home in Barnes, southwest London, Ms Robbin said: \"We don't know yet what happened.\"He had a strong heart so I don't think it was a heart attack. Tragic Rik Mayall is pictured walking near his house, just a day before he collapsed and died at the age of 56.. The star's family have been at his bedside Mr Mayall, the star of TV series such as Bottom and the New Statesman, was flown unconscious to Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, by police helicopter after the crash in south Devon on Thursday evening.