Still Game is a Scottish sitcom produced by the Effingee Productions, The Comedy Unit and BBC Scotland. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who played the lead characters, Jack Jarvis, Esq and Victor McDade, two Glaswegian pensioners. The characters first appeared in the pair's previous TV sketch show Chewin' the Fat, which aired in Scotland for 6 years from January 1999 until December 2005.
Following its debut on 6 September 2002, 62 episodes of Still Game were aired, including the Christmas and Hogmanay specials in addition to the almost 50 live shows. The first three series were broadcast only on the BBC One Scotland channel, although five episodes selected from the first two series were later broadcast throughout the UK on BBC Two in January and February 2004. From the fourth series onwards, Still Game was broadcast across the UK on BBC Two.
After series six had aired in 2007, the production of Still Game ended due to Kiernan and Hemphill experiencing burnout. The Scottish media initially reported rumours that a feud between the two had occurred, but they have since denied this. The two eventually returned to write and star in the seventh series, which debuted in October 2016 on BBC One. It was announced on 13 July 2018 that a ninth and final series would be produced, which would see the characters go into "comedy retirement". The final day of production was 14 September 2018, and it premiered on 24 February 2019 as one of the first programmes to be broadcast on the brand new BBC Scotland channel.
Still Game was acclaimed by audiences and critics, and is considered a classic in its native Scotland. In a 2020 poll, readers of The Scotsman voted Still Game as the best Scottish television programme of all time.
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History
Still Game started as a stage play featuring three characters: Jack Jarvis, Victor McDade, and Winston Ingram. Due to a broken lift, the three men are stuck in Victor's flat and discuss a variety of subjects ranging from death to sex. The stage play toured Scotland, England, Ireland and Canada before returning to Glasgow, where the show was filmed at the Cottiers Theatre in 1999 and released on video on 22 November 1999. A DVD of the show was later released on 2 December 2002. It is available on YouTube, as of January 2022. A small number of revisions accompanied Still Game's transition from stage to television. Gavin Mitchell, who originally played Winston (and was replaced by Paul Riley for later performances), played the part of Boabby in the series. Characters mentioned in passing were later fleshed out into supporting characters.
In 1998, Jack and Victor appeared in a number of skits in a tongue-in-cheek documentary about Scottish pop music called Och Around the Clock. In these, they are shown to be watching while sitting in Victor's flat. Their skits centred on the duo's disparaging comments about the performers. The characters reappeared in Kiernan and Hemphill's sketch show Chewin' the Fat, nearly every episode of which featured Jack, Victor, Tam and Winston, with minor differences from their counterparts in the series. By the time Still Game became a show in its own right Winston's physical appearance had changed significantly, but he was still played by Paul Riley. As the show evolved, supporting characters assumed greater prominence. Jack and Victor made their final appearance on Chewin' the Fat in the 2002 Hogmanay Special.
For the show's first three series, the broadcast of Still Game was limited to BBC One Scotland. The show was then moved to BBC Two for the fourth series and shown throughout the UK. On 28 December 2005, the first Christmas special was shown on BBC One, the first UK wide broadcast of the show on the channel. A fifth series of the show started filming in February 2006 and was shown the following June on BBC Two. As of 2006, series three had not been shown across the whole of the UK, and only five episodes from the first two series were shown on BBC Two from 17 January to 14 February 2004. The second series was shown UK wide from 10 July 2008. This meant it was listed as a new series in TV listings, even though it was not new for Scottish viewers. In the first three series, the episode titles were all Scots words that were related to the episode. Starting from series four, the episodes were titled using standard English, so that international audiences could understand them.
Production
Still Game is set in the fictional Craiglang area of Glasgow, using the Maryhill district and other areas of the city as filming locations. In the series premiere, "Flittin", Jack resides in an unnamed area of Glasgow prior to moving in with Victor at Osprey Heights; these scenes were filmed in the Nitshill area of Glasgow. The block of flats that doubles as Osprey Heights is located at Collina Street in the Maryhill area of the city. The Forth and Clyde Canal and its locks are often seen in the background, along with the nearby high-rise tower blocks, including Collina Street. The shops featured in the series, including the exterior location of Harrid's, can be found near the centre of Glasgow in Townhead.
For the first three series, The Gimlet pub in Ruchill served as the exterior of the fictional Clansman pub. Between series three and four, the building was demolished; a reproduction exterior set was constructed by the production team in the Glasgow North Media Park, Maryhill for filming, beginning with the fourth series.
Scene interiors (Jack and Victor's flats, hallways, and the interior of Harrid's) were constructed sets in the warehouse of a complex, now a Maryhill industrial estate and part of Craigmont Studios. Navid's shop interior was a set built in Hillington Industrial Estate. Scenes from several episodes were also filmed in the Knightswood area, including exterior shots in the episode "Courtin" and the golf course scenes in the episode "Tappin".
An outdoor market in Possilpark was used in the episode "Cauld" where Winston buys several electric heaters. The bingo scene in "Courtin" was filmed at the Gala Bingo hall in Possilpark and was a scene that coincidentally brought two old friends together, as Paul Riley (Winston) and Joe Houston (the Gala Bingo caller featured in filming) were friends in their youth. The scenes where Jack and Victor visit Barbara at her workplace were filmed in Clydebank, a town eight miles west of Glasgow. The interior of the shop was also filmed on site in a local charity shop which is still in use today. Other locations near Glasgow double as the city, such as the interior of the bakery in the episode "Recipe" which was filmed in the Tunnocks factory and bakery in Uddingston, Lanarkshire. The courtroom scenes in the same episode were filmed in Court No. 2 of Hamilton Sheriff Court.
Certain episodes involve trips outside of Craiglang for the characters. For instance, the late eighteenth-century Ardgowan House at Inverkip, Inverclyde, was used as the setting for the fictional Blairtunnoch Estate in the episode "Fly Society". The bar seen in "Hootenanny" was The Red Hoose in Dunipace, Falkirk, chosen by producers for its "old world" qualities, fitting that of a pub in the Scottish Highlands. The fictional town of Finport, as seen in the fifth series episode "Saucy", was filmed on location in the Ayrshire towns of Largs and Saltcoats, both of which were once popular seaside resorts with Glaswegians. Real-life locations in Saltcoats seen in the episode include its promenade, sea wall and the Melbourne Café. In Largs, locations include the Royal Oak pub, while the bed and breakfast where Jack and Victor stay overnight is located at the north end of the town's promenade.
Theme music
The theme music used on the original TV broadcasts of the show is an excerpt from "Cuban Boy", as recorded by The Cuban Boys, which is itself based on a sample of Frank Chacksfield's track of the same name from the album West of Sunset. The opening and ending theme tune was changed to an entirely different theme on the BBC DVD and Netflix releases: the reason behind this is still unexplained, however licensing could be a possibility. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra recorded an updated version of the theme tune for the seventh series onward, which is also used on the corresponding DVD releases.
Comic book adaptation
In August 2024, it was revealed the series would be brought back in comic book form. The first volume, titled He Who Hingeth Aboot Getteth HeeHaw!, released in September 2024, which was adapted from the first series. The second book, titled Hurdy Gurdy Gurdy in the Windae Boxes!, released on 31 October 2025. The third and final book, titled People Huv Tae Know!, will release on 18 September 2026.
Reception
Still Game has received acclaim from audiences and critics and is considered a cultural phenomenon in its native Scotland. Referring to the fifth series' finale, Scottish tabloid newspaper the Daily Record heralded for Still Game to be added to the ranks of the "greatest sitcoms ever". They called the episode "classic comedy" and said it was "a perfect mix of empathetic friendship, laugh-out-loud gags, real feeling in the acting and genuine warmth and chemistry between the characters". The Daily Record also reported that Still Game had higher ratings than rival comedies The Catherine Tate Show and Steve Coogan's Saxondale with 300,000 and 700,000 more viewers respectively. Creator and star Ford Kiernan said of the ratings: "I am absolutely delighted. The figures have gradually increased – episode after episode." TV Today praised the show for being "refreshing" in the age of dying sitcoms. It said the show was funny in a "straight down the line way". Ahead of its finale in 2019, Megan Wallace of The Guardian deemed it "Scotland's best-loved sitcom." The show has won awards in both the 2004 and 2005 BAFTA Scotland awards and was named as the winner in the Best Broadcast category at the 2004 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards. In 2006, the show was once again nominated for a BAFTA Scotland award for the "Most Popular Television" category, beating contenders including Rebus and Taggart. Paul Riley, who plays Winston, was also awarded for his role in the show.
Still Game has attracted celebrity attention; in addition to many Scottish celebrities (including Robbie Coltrane, Sylvester McCoy, Lorraine Kelly, Amy Macdonald and Billy Boyd) making cameo appearances in the show, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and actors Sean Connery and Bill Nighy are reported to be fans. Nighy has even cited the programme as inspiration for his Scottish accent in the role of Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.
However, the series has received criticism. It was criticised for its "reliance on expletives" by Teddy Jamieson, television critic for The Herald. He also commented that the sitcom "paints [Scotland] in broad strokes", through its use of stereotypes.
The series revival from 2016 to 2019 was also met with some negative reviews; Julie McDowall, writing for The National, said of the first episode "You're going to hate me for saying this. I already hate myself for even daring to hold these thoughts, but I need to be honest with you: this was a disappointment." She later said of the series, "I fear this once brilliant sitcom is turning into Mrs. Brown's Boys. Just like an auld yin in The Clansman, its teeth have been removed and it's gumsy and ineffectual and a bit of a bore." A review in Chortle said "I suspect a lot of new viewers will wonder what all the fuss is about, as this episode seems clunky and dated," going on to say "in truth no one here appears to be a great actor" and that "it seems to be a little crudely edited, too, with the timing of cutaways off the pace. And when you start to notice things like that, it's got to be a sign that something's wrong."