Still Game actors visit Inverness as hundreds queue to have their bottles signed

Hundreds have queued in Inverness to meet the stars who play Jack and Victor in the popular TV series Still Game.

Fans of the duo, played by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, were out in force in at the Co-op on Telford Street, all eager to catch a glimpse and get a bottle of their favourite tipple signed.

While not originally on a stop on their tour, the actors were “desperate” to come to Inverness and meet the fans up north.

The duo have launched a Jack and Victor Blended Scotch Whisky and Still Gin, a fitting tribute to their characters who could be found regularly at their favourite pub, The Clansman.

Still Game introduced an audience during the 2000s to the unique banter and lives of Scottish pensioners, from nosy Isa Drennan to thrifty Tam Mullen.

Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade were the two main characters who showed friendship could last a lifetime as they navigated old age.

The show began in 2002 and ran for 62 episodes until the show’s end in 2019, with the show now available on streaming services, introducing it to a much younger generation.

Mr Hemphill said: “I think the secret is the relationship young people have with their grandparents. They are figures of anti-authority, parents have the authority and grandparents have all the fun.”

Mr Kiernan added: “We were also trying to point out that when kids aren’t around, people of a certain age talk to each other in a certain way and it’s confirmed that older people are ok to talk to and be cool and funny as well.”

Mr Kiernan says he is delighted that the show “struck a chord” with so many people in places like Canada, Australia and the US, and not just Scotland.

Fans eager to see Still Game stars

Still Gin takes inspiration from an episode from the fifth series where Jack and Victor visit a whisky distillery where one batch was “filtered through heather”.

It has notes of cherry blossom, juniper berries, pink grapefruit and orange, complemented with heather flowers to create a liquid for all gin lovers.

One fan, Nicola Nesbitt, from Alness, was unable to meet the duo in Elgin so made sure to be early to the event.

She said: “Last time, we stood for two and a half hours in Elgin, and we didn’t get in but this time we are near the front of the queue.

“I am a big fan of the show, and all my family are as well so I hope to get a picture and some whisky signed.”

First in the queue was Vi Sommerville, from Inverness, who was on a mission to meet the duo as her husband was a big fan before he died six months ago.

She said: “He loves them, so I have come here today to get bottles signed for both my sons and grandsons.”

She also praised the Co-op for their handling of the hundreds of fans that turned out for the event.

Irene Ann Burt, who played an extra in several series of Still Game, was also there, having moved to Inverness and was spotted straight away by Mr Kiernan.

She said working on the show was the “best, funniest experience and is a lifetime memory” and it was “Scottish humour at its best”.

Both Mr Kiernan and Mr Hemphill say there are no plans to make any more shows and are delighted the show is growing by being on streaming platforms like Netflix.