Only Child | |
---|---|
Screenplay by | Bryce Hart |
Directed by | Al Campbell Holly Walsh |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Neil Webster |
Producer | Ursula Haworth |
Production company |
|
Original release | |
Network | BBC Scotland |
Release | 21 November 2024 – present |
Only Child is a 2024 British comedy sitcom series starring Gregor Fisher and Greg McHugh. It was released on BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer on 21 November 2024 and BBC One on 22 November 2024.
Richard Prichard, an actor, returns from London to visit his recently widowed father Ken in his family home in Forres in Moray. [1]
The six-part series is a Happy Tramp North production. It is written by Bryce Hart and directed by Al Campbell and Holly Walsh. The producer is Ursula Haworth and the executive producer is Neil Webster. [2] [3]
The cast is led by Gregor Fisher and Greg McHugh, which McHugh described working closely with Fisher as a "dream come true". [4] [5] McHugh also said the character of Richard is "the closest I have played to myself in terms of a character. I sometimes find him a bit annoying. Although, people might say that about me who know me." [6] The cast includes Forbes Masson, Amy Lennox, Clare Barrett, Robin Laing, Paul Rattray and Jennifer Saunders in a voice role. Themes developed in the series include mortality, ageing, parent-child relationships and intergenerational differences. [7]
The series began filming in Scotland in July 2024. [8] Filming locations including Glasgow, Whitecraigs Railway Station and Barrhead. [9]
It premiered on BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer on 21 November 2024 and on BBC One 22 November 2024. [10]
Alison Rowat in The Herald praised the humour in the series and said "the best thing about Only Child, however, is the casting… Individually, Fisher and McHugh are class acts. Together, they are a dream ticket. It’s as if they’ve been together for years." [11] Rachel Aroesti in The Guardian also praised the humour saying "I laughed out loud five times during the first three minutes.. Bryce Hart’s script is meticulously dense with gags, delivered with exemplary timing by its two leads. In other words, it’s pretty funny". [12]
Gregor Fisher is a Scottish comedian and actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the comedy series Rab C. Nesbitt, a role he has played since the show's first episode in 1988. He has also had roles in films such as Without a Clue (1988), Love Actually (2003), The Merchant of Venice (2004) and Whisky Galore! (2016).
Rab C. Nesbitt is a Scottish comedy television series that originally aired between 1988 and 1999. The show returned for a one–off special in 2008, before being re-commissioned in 2010. Its second run was broadcast from 2010 to 2014. The series has been described as "Glasgow's greatest ever sitcom" by BBC Two.
Elaine Constance Smith is a Scottish actress and comedian. She is known for her roles in the BBC Scotland sitcoms City Lights (1984–1991), Rab C. Nesbitt (1988–2014), and Two Doors Down (2013–2023), winning a BAFTA Scotland award for the latter.
Jonathan Watson is a Scottish actor best known for his comedy sketch show Only an Excuse?, which parodied people and events from the world of Scottish football, as well as roles in the BBC comedies Bob Servant Independent in which he appears with Brian Cox, and as Colin in the acclaimed Two Doors Down (2013–present). In the 1980s he was also a regular cast member of the Scottish sitcom City Lights and the sketch show Naked Video.
The Tales of Para Handy is a Scottish television series set in the western isles of Scotland in the 1930s, based on the Para Handy books by Neil Munro. It starred Gregor Fisher as Captain Peter "Para Handy" MacFarlane, Sean Scanlan as first mate Dougie Cameron, Rikki Fulton as engineer Dan Macphail and Andrew Fairlie as Sunny Jim. These four made up the crew of the puffer Vital Spark which was employed by the Campbell Shipping Company, headquartered in Glasgow and run by Andrew Campbell, Para Handy's brother-in-law and owner of the Vital Spark.
John Gerard Beattie, MBE was a Scottish actor and stand-up comedian whose career spanned over six decades. He appeared on shows including the sketch show Scotch & Wry and the sitcom Rab C. Nesbitt, and later appeared in more dramatic roles including Malcolm Hamilton in the soap opera River City.
Ford John Kiernan is a Scottish actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his work with Greg Hemphill on the BBC Scotland sketch comedy series Chewin' the Fat (1999–2005) and the sitcom Still Game. He also starred as Archie Henderson in Dear Green Place (2007–2008) and as Colin Holliday in Happy Hollidays (2009).
Tony Roper is a Scottish actor, comedian, playwright and writer.
Snoddy was a six-part Scottish television sitcom, written and created by Johnny Crawford, that first broadcast on BBC One Scotland on 13 March 2002. The series, which aired at 10:35pm on Wednesdays, starred Gregor Fisher of Rab C Nesbitt fame as DCI Samuel J. Snoddy, the head of Scotland's Elite Crime Squad, who is obsessed with spending more time playing golf abroad rather than fighting crimes.
There are several types of mass media in Scotland: television, cinema, radio, newspapers, magazines, game design and websites. The majority of Scotland's media is located in Glasgow, the countries largest city, which serves as the HQ for much of the countries major media employers such as broadcasters BBC Scotland and STV, radio services including BBC Radio Scotland, Clyde 1 and Pure Radio Scotland. Game design and production company, Rockstar North, has its international offices in the countries capital city, Edinburgh.
Ron Bain was a Scottish television actor, director, producer, comedian, and stage actor who in the latter part of his career focused primarily on directing. He is known for his work with comedian Rikki Fulton, with whom he first worked while performing Molière's The Miser at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in 1971 and for his productions spotlighting Fulton's character 'the Reverend I. M. Jolly'.
Steven McNicoll is a Scottish actor, director, playwright and television presenter.
Barbara Rafferty, is a Scottish actress. She was credited as Barbara Ann Brown in her early acting career. She is known for her roles as Ella Cotter in the long-running BBC Two sitcom Rab C Nesbitt, then firstly as Shirley Henderson and then as Bernie O'Hara in BBC Scotland soap opera River City. She played Agnes Meldon in mystery series Hamish MacBeth and Grandma Mainland in the CBeebies comedy Katie Morag.
Colin Gilbert, born 1954, is a Glasgow-born television producer and former senior creative director of The Comedy Unit.
Greg McHugh is a Scottish actor and writer. He is the creator, writer and star of the BBC1 comedy series Gary: Tank Commander. He also played Howard in the Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat.
Events from the year 1990 in Scotland.
Iain McColl was a Scottish film and television actor, best known for his roles on British television series. McColl starred on City Lights, a BBC Scotland sitcom, from 1984 to 1991. He then co-starred on the BBC Two sitcom, Rab C Nesbitt during its first run (1988-1999). He rejoined the cast of Rab C Nesbitt again when the show was revived in 2008. Additionally, he appeared in guest spots on numerous other television shows, including Hamish Macbeth, Still Game and Taggart. McColl was also cast in a small role in the 2002 American film, Gangs of New York, directed by Martin Scorsese.
James Allenby-Kirk or simply James Kirk is a Scottish actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his roles as Jeff the Chef in the comedy Gary: Tank Commander and as Stosh in the drama series 24: Live Another Day.
Comedy in Scotland is described as "cheeky rather than edgy", largely in part due to its use of language and innuendos. The country has produced a number of comedians who have gathered an international audience, as well as a number of highly successful comedy television series, such as Still Game, Rab C. Nesbitt, Two Doors Down, Chewin' the Fat, Scot Squad and Gary: Tank Commander. Shows such as Still Game and ScotSquad are only shown on television channels, such as BBC Scotland, past the watershed due to its content of comedy. Liam Smillie of Glasgow World argues that "Scotland has got to be one of the funniest countries in the world, and there’s no funnier city in the country than Glasgow".