''Only an Excuse?'' is an annual Scottish comedy

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

that was broadcast on BBC One Scotland on

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots language, Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 ...

from 1993 to 2020. It starred the actor and comedian Jonathan Watson and featured impressions of some of Scottish football's great characters such as

Denis Law Denis Law (24 February 1940 – 17 January 2025) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchest ...

, Tommy Burns, Barry Ferguson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Frank McAvennie, Walter Smith and

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit. A midfielder, Souness achieved his greatest period of success as an integral part of the Liverpool team of the late 19 ...

, as well as caricatures of the "stereotypical"

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

fan.

History

''Only an Excuse?'' was first broadcast as a one-off special on

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...

, prior to the 1987 Scottish Cup Final. It was a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of the five-part

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

television documentary ''Only a Game?'', which had aired in Scotland prior to the 1986 World Cup Finals and comprehensively documented the history of Scottish football. The documentary was narrated by Scottish novelist

William McIlvanney William Angus McIlvanney (25 November 1936 – 5 December 2015) was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet. He was known as Gus by friends and acquaintances. McIlvanney was a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works ''Laidla ...

, whose distinctive voice was expertly mimicked by Jonathan Watson for the radio spoof. After further occasional radio specials including ''Only Another Excuse?'', ''A Tale of Two Seasons'' and ''Only a World Cup Excuse'', all of which were released on cassette by

, the show switched to television in 1993, retaining its original

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act, often highlighting differences in their characters' ...

of Rangers fan Watson and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

fan Tony Roper. The first episode replaced

Rikki Fulton Robert Kerr "Rikki" Fulton (15 April 1924 – 27 January 2004) was a Scottish comedian and actor best remembered for writing and performing in the long-running BBC Scotland sketch show, ''Scotch and Wry''. He was also known for his appearances ...

's long-running annual comedy sketch show ''

Scotch and Wry ''Scotch and Wry'' is a Scottish television comedy sketch show produced by BBC Scotland and starring Rikki Fulton and a revolving ensemble cast which over the years included Gregor Fisher, Tony Roper, Claire Nielson, Juliet Cadzow and Jo ...

'' in the

television schedules. The show has also been performed at the theatre, with the most recent performance of ''Only An Excuse?'' taking place at the

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket ...

in September 2004. The scripts of the early theatre shows, written by Philip Differ, were published in the book ''Only an Excuse?: The Scripts'' by

Mainstream Publishing Mainstream Publishing was a publishing company in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1978, it ceased trading in December 2013.Charlotte WilliamsMainstream to cease publishing 1 March 2013, The Bookseller.com' (Retrieved 30 December 2016) It was as ...

in 1995. In December 2020, it was confirmed that the 2020 episode would be an hour long programme and that Watson and Differ would not be making any further episodes.

Spin-offs

Jonathan Watson appeared in a spin-off called ''Only a Wee Excuse'' on Tam Cowan's weekly '' Offside'' programme. Up until the last series, Watson's slot was a scaled-down version of the full show, but from the last series onward saw Watson appearing in the studio without costume to perform his impersonations (as in his theatre performances). Another noticeable difference is that Watson starts each segment in his own voice and sets the context and then ends again in his own voice saying, "And that Tam was the week that wisnae." Watson appeared in a sketch in the BBC's Children in Need 2008

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

being interviewed by

Adrian Chiles Adrian Chiles (born 21 March 1967) is a British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–2011) with Christine Lampard. He was also the chief presenter for fo ...

Regular cast

* Jonathan Watson (1993–2020) * Tony Roper (1993–1994) * Ross Stenhouse (1993) * Grant Smeaton (1993-1994, 1997, 1999-2010) * Juliette Gilmour (1993-1994) *

Alistair McGowan Alistair Charles McGowan (born 24 November 1964) is an English impressionist, BAFTAaward winning comic, actor, pianist, poet, and writer. He starred in '' The Big Impression'' (formerly '' Alistair McGowan's Big Impression''). He has also wor ...

(1995–1998) * Greg Hemphill (1995-1996) * Lewis MacLeod (1995) * Gordon Kennedy (1995-1996) * Susan Nisbet (1997-1998) * Laurie Ventry (1998) * Geoff Boyz (1999) * Iain Davidson (1999-2000) * June Brogan (1999) * Fiona Henderson (1999) * Paul Reid (2000–2001) * Gabriel Quigley (2001) * Tom Urie (2002–2005) * Elaine M. Ellis (2003–2005) * Marj Hogarth (2005) * Matt Costello (2006-2010) * Jordan Young (2006) * Julie Austin (2006-2010, 2012-2013) * Gerard Kelly (2006) * Clare Waugh (2007, 2011, 2015) * Paul-James Corrigan (2007, 2009-2010) * Johnny Austin (2008) * Heather Reid (2009) * Adam Smith (2011) * Scott Fletcher (2011) * Gerry McLaughlin (2011–2014) * Amanda Marment (2011–2014) * Chris Forbes (2012, 2014, 2018) * Robert Yates (2012) * Josh York (2013) *

Sally Reid Sally Reid (born in Perth, Scotland) is a Scottish stage, radio and television actress who trained at Langside College, Glasgow and with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the Second City Training Center in Chicago. Appearances Theatre Rad ...

(2014, 2016) * Charlene Boyd (2014) * Ryan Fletcher (2015–2018) * Louise McCarthy (2015–2019) * James Young (2015) * Moyo Akandé (2017) * Fiona Wood (2018) * Mark Cox (2019) * Joy McAvoy (2019-2020) * Alex Norton (2019)

Guests

Figures from Scottish entertainment regularly appeared, as themselves. These included Hazel Irvine, Kelly Dalglish, Gordon Brewer, Catriona Shearer, Reevel Alderson, Jackie Bird, Cathy MacDonald,

Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy (born 23 March 1976) is a former Track cycling, track cyclist and racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympics, Great Britain at the Olympic Games, Olympic and World Championships and Scot ...

Kirsty Wark Kirsteen Anne "Kirsty" Wark (born 3 February 1955) is a Scottish television presenter and journalist with a long career at the BBC. Starting on BBC Radio Scotland, where she became a producer, Wark switched to television, presenting ''The Late ...

, Judy Murray, Muriel Gray, Michelle McManus and Judith Ralston.

References

External links

* * {{New Year 2000s Scottish television series 2010s Scottish television series 2020s Scottish television series 1993 Scottish television series debuts 2020 Scottish television series endings BBC Scotland television sketch shows Cultural depictions of association football players Football mass media in Scotland Hogmanay New Year's television specials Scots-language mass media Scottish Premiership on television Sports television in Scotland Television series by Banijay