Rab C. Nesbitt is a Scottish sitcom which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...

, it stars Gregor Fisher

Gregor Fisher

Gregor Fisher is a Scottish comedian and actor.-Early life:Fisher was born in Glasgow and following the death of his parents was brought up in Edinburgh, Langholm and Neilston and attended Barrhead High School...

 as an alcoholic Glaswegian

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 who believed unemployment

Unemployment

Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...

 was the life for him. He was originally a regular in the BBC2 sketch series Naked Video

Naked Video

Naked Video was a BBC Scotland comedy series, broadcast between 1986 and 1991 on BBC2, the series was created by Colin Gilbert who also created A Kick Up the Eighties and Naked Radio.-Naked Radio:...

(1986–1990).

The pilot, made for BBC Scotland in 1988, a Christmas special entitled Rab C Nesbitt's Seasonal Greet, repeated on the network the following year. The first series began on 27 September 1990 and continued for seven more, ending on 18 June 1999 and returning with a one-off special on 23 December 2008.

A ninth series of six episodes began airing on 21 January 2010. The special sees several important developments, which carry on into the series: Gash now has a daughter, Peaches; Mary and Ella have set up in business together as cleaners (and Jamesie, Rab and sometimes Gash all work for their company, House Mice); and Rab himself has converted to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 and given up alcohol.

Ian Pattison created and wrote all 59 episodes and Colin Gilbert produced and directed all 59 episodes. They approached darker topics than usually encountered in sitcoms (although almost always in a blackly comedic

Black comedy

A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...

 manner rather than a serious one

Very special episode

"Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television commercials to refer to an episode of a sitcom or television drama that deals with a serious or controversial social issue...

). Such topics ranged from alcoholism

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

 to Neo Nazis to STDs

Sexually transmitted disease

Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...

. Often several normally unapproachable subjects were used in the same episode. The series is also known for its uncompromising use of Glaswegian accents and dialect, and its technique of breaking the fourth wall

Fourth wall

The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...

 by frequently having Rab address the viewer directly.

The series has featured Norman Lovett

Norman Lovett

Norman Lovett is an English stand-up comedian and actor, best known for the role of Holly in Red Dwarf during the first, second, seventh and eighth series. His comedy has a quiet, dead-pan surrealism, and in 2000 he made a successful stand up tour, co-headlining with Chris Barrie, who played...

, Peter Mullan

Peter Mullan

Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...

, Rikki Fulton

Rikki Fulton

Robert Kerr Fulton, OBE , more commonly known as Rikki Fulton, 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 as one half of the double act, Francie and Josie, alongside...

, Anita Dobson

Anita Dobson

Anita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...

, Timothy Spall

Timothy Spall

Timothy Leonard Spall, OBE is an English character actor and occasional presenter.-Early life:Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. , was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker...

, Stanley Baxter

Stanley Baxter

Stanley Baxter is a Scottish comic actor and impressionist, best known for his British television shows. He worked in radio, theatre, television and film.-Early life:...

, Kevin McNally

Kevin McNally

Kevin McNally is an English actor who has worked in theatre and radio extensively as well as in film and television.-Life and career:...

, Clive Russell

Clive Russell

Clive Russell is a British actor.Clive was born in Reeth, England and brought up in Fife, Scotland.He is a familiar face on British television and has appeared in numerous television series including Boys From the Black Stuff ,Hope And Glory, Neverwhere, Great Expectations, The Mists of Avalon,...

, Jerry Sadowitz

Jerry Sadowitz

Jerry Sadowitz is an American-born Scottish stand-up comic and card magician, known for his frequently controversial "sick humour". An accomplished practitioner of sleight of hand, he has written several books on magic and invented many conjuring innovations. He is widely acclaimed as one of the...

, Viv Lumsden

Viv Lumsden

Vivien Dale Victoria Lumsden was a newsreader on the Scottish TV news programme, Scotland Today for nine years. Before Scottish TV, she worked on BBC Scotland's Reporting Scotland from 1984 to 1989....

, Sylvester McCoy

Sylvester McCoy

Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...

, Russell Hunter

Russell Hunter

Russell Hunter was a popular Scottish television, stage and film actor. He is perhaps best known as the character "Lonely" in the TV thriller series Callan, starring Edward Woodward and that of Shop-Steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television sitcom The Gaffer.-Life:Born Russell Ellis in Glasgow,...

 and then unknowns David Tennant

David Tennant

David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...

, Ashley Jensen

Ashley Jensen

Ashley Jensen is a Scottish actress who is best known for her roles in the television series Extras for which she was nominated for an Emmy, and ABC's Ugly Betty...

, Ford Kiernan

Ford Kiernan

Ford John Kiernan is a Scottish actor and comedian. Along with his comedy partner, Greg Hemphill, he is best known in the United Kingdom for his appearances in Still Game and Chewin' The Fat.-Personal life:...

, Greg Hemphill

Greg Hemphill

Gregory "Greg" Hemphill is a Scottish actor and comedian. He has also presented on television and radio. Along with his comedy partner, Ford Kiernan, he is best known in the United Kingdom for his appearances in Still Game and Chewin' the Fat.-Personal life:Hemphill was born in Glasgow, Scotland,...

, Karen Dunbar

Karen Dunbar

Karen Dunbar is a Scottish comedienne and entertainer.-Early life:She first came to the attention of mainstream audiences in the BBC Scotland comedy series Chewin' the Fat and subsequently was given her own show by the channel, The Karen Dunbar Show.Prior to mainstream success, Karen, an out...

, Jane McCarry

Jane McCarry

Jane McCarry is a Scottish actress. She is most famous for her role as Isa Drennan in the Scottish sitcom, Still Game.Beginning in 2006, McCarry appears in the children's programme, Me Too! as the middle-aged childminder, Granny Murray...

 and Paul Riley

Paul Riley

Paul Riley is a Scottish actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Winston Ingram in the Scottish sitcom, Still Game. He previously worked on the sketch show Chewin' the Fat, the show that Still Game was a spin-off from...

.

The Nesbitt family

• Robert "Rab" C. Nesbitt portrayed by Gregor Fisher
  Gregor Fisher
  Gregor Fisher is a Scottish comedian and actor.-Early life:Fisher was born in Glasgow and following the death of his parents was brought up in Edinburgh, Langholm and Neilston and attended Barrhead High School...
  
  : alcoholic in denial, deadbeat, self-styled "street philosopher" and "sensitive big bastard", although "sensitive by Govan
  Govan
  Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
  
   standards. Described by his wife Mary as not "an unemployed person" but "the original unemployed person", Rab is very rarely seen in anything other than a pinstripe suit in very poor condition, rotting plimsolls
  Plimsoll shoe
  A plimsoll shoe, plimsoll, or plimsole is a British English word for a type of athletic shoe with a canvas upper and rubber sole, developed as beachwear in the 1830s by the Liverpool Rubber Company. The shoe was originally, and often still is in parts of the United Kingdom, called a 'sand shoe' and...
  
  , a filthy headband and a string vest. He has two sons, Gash and Burney. Rab has four brothers, all dead; Rab only survived because he was the only one out of the five who was able to understand the benefits form. He claims to have been talented as a teenager, but never went anywhere with it due to Govan-dwellers being scared of talent when they saw it and tried "tae batter it tae death wi' empty wine
  Wine
  Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
  
   bottles". At some point before the 2008 Christmas Special "Clean" he managed to clean up his act, giving up alcohol, helping around the house, discovering religion, and presiding over a temperance group; so far he has only relapsed on-screen twice.

• Mary "Mary Doll" Nesbitt portrayed by Elaine C. Smith
  Elaine C. Smith
  Elaine Constance Smith is a Scottish actress and comedienne. She was born in Baillieston in Glasgow, and she continues to live in the city. She was awarded the honourary degree of Doctor of The University by The University of Glasgow in 2008...
  
  : Rab's long-suffering wife, more functional and aspirational than her husband. Claims that on the day she was born it was a toss-up whether she or the dog's litter would end up at the bottom of the river Clyde
  River Clyde
  The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
  
   in a sack (Burney: "She won. There's nae bloody justice, eh?").Currently runs a successful house-cleaning business with Ella called "The House Mice".

• Gash Nesbitt portrayed by Andrew Fairlie
  Andrew Fairlie
  Andrew Fairlie is a Scottish actor who is most famous for playing the role of Gash Nesbitt in the BBC sitcom Rab C. Nesbitt. He also starred as Sunny Jim in the 1994 BBC Scotland series The Tales of Para Handy....
  
   (1988–2008) then Iain Robertson
  Iain Robertson
  Iain Robertson is a BAFTA winning Scottish actor. He was once described by Barry Norman as "the best thing to come out of Scotland since whisky"....
  
   (2010-): The Nesbitts' elder son. Described by his father as "so anal-retentive he's still shitein rusk
  Rusk
  A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a baby teething food. In the United Kingdom, the name also refers to a wheat-based food additive.- Germany :The zwieback A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a baby teething food....
  
  s." Has dabbled with Christianity
  Christianity
  Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
  
  , hard drugs, Hare Krishna
  International Society for Krishna Consciousness
  The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
  
  , Scottish nationalism
  Scottish independence
  Scottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
  
  , and ram-raiding
  Ram-raiding
  Ram-raiding is a variation on burglary in which a van, SUV, car, or other heavy vehicle is driven through the windows or doors of a closed shop, usually a department store or jewellers shop, to allow the perpetrators to loot it....
  
   BT shops in his efforts to find himself.

• Burney Nesbitt portrayed by Eric Cullen
  Eric Cullen
  Eric Robertson Cullen was a Scottish actor who was famous for his role as Wee Burney in BBC's Rab C Nesbitt. He was born with achondroplasia - a type of dwarfism.-Early life:...
  
   (1988–1996): the couple's younger son (the first three series only). Briefly dabbled with neo-Nazism
  Neo-Nazism
  Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
  
  . Was also discovered to be gifted
  Child prodigy
  A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
  
   at painting
  Painting
  Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
  
  , although gave up on this avenue when he realised it wasn't getting him sex
  Sex
  In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
  
  . Actor Eric Cullen left the programme following series 3 due to personal problems to be replaced by David McKay's Screech. Cullen died in 1996, and in the 2008 Christmas special it is revealed that Burney died in a 'ramming' accident.

• Screech Nesbitt portrayed by David McKay: Rab's nephew
  Nephew
  Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
  
   (replaces Cullen in the fourth, fifth, and six series). Actor David McKay earlier portrayed Young Young McGurn's son Bimbo in "That's Entertainment".

• Gash Nesbitt Sr portrayed by Sylvester McCoy
  Sylvester McCoy
  Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...
  
  : Rab's brother, who he named his son after. Gash Sr. was once highly intelligent but very sensitive, and developed mental illness
  Mental illness
  A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
  
   either following or coinciding with a period of particularly intense ill treatment by Rab B. Nesbitt, their father
  Father
  A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
  
  . Gash is usually a resident of a special home, yet managed to escape (or merely unconsciously wandered away) to be briefly taken in by the rest of the Nesbitt family during the episode "Father".

• Isa Nesbitt Anna Welsh (older) & Ann-Louise Ross (younger): Rab's mother, a typical Govan housewife, described as being so self-conscious she would put a dish-towel over her knees while watching television because she thought Trevor McDonald could see up her skirt. Rab is shown to have been very close to her, as he describes her as "one of the finest human beings ever to walk this Earth". She died during a gallstone
  Gallstone
  A gallstone is a crystalline concretion formed within the gallbladder by accretion of bile components. These calculi are formed in the gallbladder, but may pass distally into other parts of the biliary tract such as the cystic duct, common bile duct, pancreatic duct, or the ampulla of...
  
   operation in Series 4.

• Robert "Rab" B. Nesbitt portrayed by Ronnie Letham: Rab's cantankerous father, described by Gash Sr. as "a monster, a vile, cruel, unpredictable sadist". He blamed his failure on his family and frequently accused his children of holding him back and ruining his life. His moods reduced his wife Isa to a nervous wreck. His preferred victim was his gifted but sensitive son Gash, whom he ultimately drove to insanity through humiliation and abuse. He died from a heart attack when Rab C. finally stood up to him.

The Cotter family

• James Aaron "Jamesie" Cotter portrayed by Tony Roper
  Tony Roper (actor)
  Tony Roper is a Scottish actor, comedian, playwright and writer.His first major starring role was in Scotch and Wry. He wrote the classic comedy-drama The Steamie in 1988. He achieved even greater fame in Naked Video and in the spin off series Rab C Nesbitt, in which he played Rab's...
  
  : Rab's longtime friend, as well as chronic serial philanderer and self-described 'scumbag'. Jamesie is always seen with his trademark shabby sports jacket and bottle of Irn-Bru
  Irn-Bru
  Irn-Bru is a carbonated soft drink produced in Westfield, Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is made by A.G. Barr of Glasgow since moving out of their original Parkhead factory in the mid-1990s and at a second manufacturing site in Mansfield, England...
  
  . On one occasion he has been described by his wife as "a slippery-lookin' article, about 93-year-old, wearing crusty jeans, with the eyes of an unemployed rapist". On several occasions he has played the part of the devil on Rab's shoulder, urging him to take up drinking again in "Clean", the 2008 Christmas special. His attitude towards women (he is very keen on having sexual relations with any number of women but refuses to trust them) is implied to have stemmed from a traumatic relationship with his cancer-ridden mother; he spent much of his childhood tending to her, receiving little but abuse in return.

• Ella Cotter portrayed by Barbara Rafferty
  Barbara Rafferty
  Barbara Rafferty is a Scottish actress. She is best known for playing Ella Cotter in Rab C Nesbitt between 1990 and 1999, then again from 2008 when the show made a comeback. Other notable television roles include playing Agnes Meldrum the pub landlady in Hamish Macbeth and Alice MacAllister in The...
  
  : Jamesie's fiery wife, with her red beehive haircut and leopard skin coat. Seems to loathe her husband and frequently considers murdering him. In the meantime she enjoys torturing him on occasion, notably breaking his shoulder with a crowbar and scratching his sunburnt chest. She has stabbed him at least once. Ironically, she is every bit as promiscuous as Jamesie.

The Two Ways Inn regulars

• Andra portrayed by Brian Pettifer
  Brian Pettifer
  Brian Pettifer is an actor who has appeared in many television shows. Pettifer was born in Lower Durban, South Africa, and briefly brought up in Glasgow and London. He intended to become a photographer, but pursued a career as an actor...
  
  : one of Rab's best friends, described more than once as looking "like a Ninja Turtle
  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
  
  ". Married to a woman called Bobbie who he is so repulsed by that he dry heaves when thinking about sleeping with her.

• Dodie portrayed by Alex Norton
  Alex Norton
  Alexander Hugh "Alex" Norton is a Scottish actor. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects....
  
  /Iain McColl: another of Rab's best friends. Is implied to be fond of unconventional methods of intoxication (e.g. sniffing shoe polish).

• Dougie portrayed by Charlie Sim: The barman of the Two Ways Inn.

• Norrie portrayed by John Kazek: The barman of the Two Ways Inn. Norrie takes over the running of the pub after Dougie gives up the job.

In series nine, the Two Ways Inn is replaced by The Giblet. The Giblet is Bells Lounge/Bar on Govan Road next junction to Southcroft St.

• Camille portrayed by Cora Bisset: The barmaid in series nine. During the episode "Passion" she was the object of both Gash and Jamesie's affections.

Recurring cast members

• Phoebe portrayed by Sara Corper / Sarah Crowden: An extremely middle-class English woman, married to Hugh.

• Hugh/"Shug" portrayed by Sean Scanlan: A relative of the Nesbitts, Hugh feigns Englishness or at least pretends to be a middle-class Scot from Berwick-upon-Tweed
  Berwick-upon-Tweed
  Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
  
   due to Scottish cultural cringe
  Cultural cringe
  Cultural cringe, in cultural studies and social anthropology, is an internalized inferiority complex which causes people in a country to dismiss their own culture as inferior to the cultures of other countries...
  
   and the distaste displayed at anything working-class and/or Scottish on the part of his wife Phoebe

• Bridie portrayed by Nicola Park: Gash's on-off girlfriend, with whom he has a daughter, Peaches.

• Peaches portrayed by Rachael Crossan: Gash and Bridie's daughter, upon whom all the Nesbitts dote.

Notable one-time characters

• John William Pure Mad Mental Intae Yoor Body Simpson Craig Gemmell
  Tommy Gemmell
  Thomas Gemmell is a former Scottish footballer and manager.He played as left-sided fullback and had powerful shooting ability. In October 1961, he joined Celtic from Coltness United. He was one of the 'Lisbon Lions' who won the European Cup in 1967. In the final he scored a spectacular goal that...
  
   Chib
  Stabbing
  A stabbing is penetration with a sharp or pointed object at close range. Stab connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others.Stabbing differs from slashing or cutting in that the motion of the object used in a stabbing...
  
   The Bam
  Chav
  A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...
  
   Rib-Racker No Real Young Rebel Ya Bas St. John McGurn aka Young Young McGurn portrayed by Maurice Roëves
  Maurice Roëves
  Maurice Roëves is a British actor, born in Sunderland, County Durham on 19 March 1937.His television roles include Danger UXB , The Nightmare Man , the 1984 Doctor Who serial The Caves of Androzani, Days of our Lives , Tutti Frutti , Rab C...
  
   from 'That's Entertainment': a local "psychotic
  Psychosis
  Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
  
  , with cannibalistic tendencies" who regularly threatens to eat people who displease him. McGurn's family burgle and vandalise local houses with impunity. Unfortunately for Jamesie Cotter, he chose to "whap the meat oop" McGurn's daughter Tracey, a fact that very nearly got him eaten himself.In spite of the fact that "no decent human being could hope to strike up a rapport with him" he seems to be quite agreeable towards Rab, entrusting him with his darkest secret: he is a cannibal with false teeth
  Dentures
  Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental...
  
  . He commits suicide by jumping from the terrace of a tower block, killing a police inspector, two social workers and a psychologist in the process.

• Old Shep from 'That's Entertainment': Rab's pet canary which he trains to attack people's groins. Rab is shown to be very fond of his pet and refers to him as a "pit bull
  Pit bull
  A Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.Many jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,, Miami, Florida, U.S...
  
   canary". Shep was killed during Young Young McGurn's suicidal dive from a tower block, and was given a Viking funeral
  Viking funeral
  Burial customs of Viking Age Norsemen  are known both from archaeology and from historical accounts such as the Icelandic sagas, Old Norse poetry, and notably from the account of Ahmad ibn Fadlan....
  
  , with an empty beer can as the boat and part of a Corn Flakes
  Corn flakes
  Corn flakes are a popular breakfast cereal originally manufactured by Kellogg's through the treatment of maize. A patent for the product was filed on May 31, 1895, and issued on April 14, 1896.-History:...
  
   box as a sail
  Sail
  A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...
  
  .

• Peter The Warlock portrayed by Peter Mullan
  Peter Mullan
  Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...
  
   from 'Life Has Meaning': a Devil worshipper who, after feeling insulted by Rab, places a hex
  Curse
  A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
  
   on him, resulting in a dart embedding itself into Rab's cranium. Owns a cloak allegedly once owned by Aleister Crowley
  Aleister Crowley
  Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
  
   (but is most often seen naked
  Nudity
  Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
  
  ) as well as a dog with a unicorn
  Unicorn
  The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
  
  -like horn. Last seen sprinting naked down the street pursued by a furious, pitchfork wielding, Rab. Some have speculated that the character was based on Peter J Carroll.

• Davina portrayed by David Tennant
  David Tennant
  David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
  
  : a transsexual barmaid who, despite highly speculated gender, holds the affection of everyone.

• The Dosser portrayed by Russell Hunter
  Russell Hunter
  Russell Hunter was a popular Scottish television, stage and film actor. He is perhaps best known as the character "Lonely" in the TV thriller series Callan, starring Edward Woodward and that of Shop-Steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television sitcom The Gaffer.-Life:Born Russell Ellis in Glasgow,...
  
   from 'Ethics': A tramp who attempts to kill himself by jumping into the River Clyde
  River Clyde
  The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
  
   within sight of Rab, who rescues him. The Dosser then blackmails Rab into taking care of him by threatening to commit suicide if he doesn't. In the end, Rab hires a hitman to get rid of him but attempts to call him off when he discovers that the whole thing is a scam.

• The Hitman portrayed by Freddie Boardley from 'Ethics': A hitman hired by Rab to do away with the tramp who is conning him. Appears to have made his career choice by reasons of enjoyment rather than necessity, as when Rab asks him to desist from the murder but keep the money he responds "keep the money, I'll just dae the malky anyway!" In response Rab hits him over the head with a trashcan cover, and he falls into the river, sinking from sight; this prompts Rab to say "An' I always thought shite floated."

• Dabbo portrayed by Kevin Bridges
  Kevin Bridges
  Kevin Bridges is a Scottish stand-up comedian.-Stand-up:Bridges began performing on the small stage when he left school shortly after his 17th birthday, doing stand-up comedy gigs at The Stand Comedy Club in Glasgow and then throughout the UK. At 18 he reached the final of Channel 5's So you think...
  
   is seen living in a lift after he is kicked out of his house for keeping a dolphin in a bathtub. The dolphin had bit his hand off so he decided to get a dog, a (Jack Russell
  Jack Russell Terrier
  The Jack Russell terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied smooth, rough or broken-coated which is commonly confused with the Parson Russell terrier and the Russell terrier with the term "Jack Russell" commonly misapplied to other small white...
  
  ). Jamesie pays him 50p to watch his bed which he was planning to give to an immigrant living in a flat but when he comes back Dabbo and the bed and all of his possessions he had in the lift are gone. He is last seen by Ella coming down the street with the bed.

• The Heebie Jeebie voiced by the late Russell Hunter
  Russell Hunter
  Russell Hunter was a popular Scottish television, stage and film actor. He is perhaps best known as the character "Lonely" in the TV thriller series Callan, starring Edward Woodward and that of Shop-Steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television sitcom The Gaffer.-Life:Born Russell Ellis in Glasgow,...
  
   from 'Drink': is a pink elephant that only Rab can see (Cotter can see it at the end of the episode) it trys to convince him not to give up drinking.

• Chingford Steel portrayed by Richard E. Grant
  Richard E. Grant
  Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
  
   is the government minister for work who Mary takes hostage and was made to dress up like Rab and make a ransom video in Scottish
  Scotland
  Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
  
   accent. He was later freed.

Episodes

The programme was first broadcast on 27 September 1990 and ran for eight series, finishing on 18 June 1999.
The show returned for a Christmas special on 23 December 2008, which received a good critical response and high audience figures, leading to a 9th series being commissioned by the BBC for broadcast in 2010. Filming commenced in February 2010.
It was announced on 18 May 2010 that a 10th series of Rab C Nesbitt will air on October 5th 2011.

Series

Series		Region 2		1	6	1990	5 July 2004	1
		Series one began airing on 27 September 1990 and featured a total of 6 episodes
	2	6	1992	18 October 2004	1
Series two began airing on 14 May 1992 and featured a total of 6 episodes
	3	6	1993	28 May 2005	1
Series three began airing on 23 November 1993 and featured a total of 6 episodes
	4	6	1994	1 August 2005	1
Series four began airing on 19 September 1994 and featured a total of 6 episodes
	5	6	1996	4 December 2006	1
Series five began airing on 5 January 1996 and featured a total of 6 episodes.
	6	6	1997	15 October 2007	1
Series six began airing on 1 August 1997 and featured a total of 6 episodes.
	Series 7 (1998)	6	1998	15 October 2007	1
Series seven began airing on 21 August 1998 and featured a total of 6 episodes
	Series 8 (1999)	6	1999	15 October 2007	1
Series eight began airing on 14 May 1999 and featured a total of 6 episodes
	Series 9 (2010)	6	2010	1 March 2010	1
Series nine began airing on 21 January 2010 and featured a total of 6 episodes
	Series 10 (2011)	6	2011	12 December 2011	1
Series ten began airing on 5 October 2011 and once again featured a total of 6 episodes respectively

In addition to the ten series, the Christmas specials "A Seasonal Greet" and "Clean", the two other feature length specials "Fitba" and "Home".

Releases

Series one to eight of Rab C. Nesbitt has been released in both VHS and DVD format, in addition to this, several VHS were released, with each series being split into two parts, with three episodes on each video, and a complete DVD of series one to eight, which includes the specials "Seasonal Greet", "Fitba", "Home", "More" and the 2008 special "Clean" are included. Series nine was released as a single edition on DVD and Series ten will be released in late 2011.

Spin-offs

A live Rab C. Nesbitt show has been released along with a novel entitled A Stranger Here Myself, written as Rab's autobiography

Autobiography

An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

, and two script books.

External links

Comedy Guide

• Rab C. Nesbitt at Phill.co.uk
• Rab C. Nesbitt at The Comedy Unit