Coming back ... Elaine C Smith and Gregor Fisher return to our screens next Thursday~~~~ING A+ CANT WAIT
STRING-VESTED philosopher Rab C Nesbitt is back baring his soul - and plenty more.
Today The Scottish Sun kicks off a week-long celebration of the iconic TV hit, which returns to our screens next Thursday after ten long years.
The curtains came down on the eighth series in 1999, but Gregor Fisher and Elaine C Smith are back as Rab and Mary Doll, below, reunited with Tony Roper and Barbara Rafferty as their naughty neighbours Jamesie and Ella Cotter.
Older, but not wiser, Rab continues to battle the demon drink, strips to his undies and recites a Hamlet-style soliloquy to a URINAL!
Here, Scottish TV Editor GEORGINA REID talks to Gregor and Elaine about their cult roles...
Gregor Fisher - Rab
I'll tell you bliss ... Gregor had a great time with old matesGREGOR FISHER is contemplating how he's just managed to top appearing on screen naked trussed up like a Christmas turkey.
The scene was the highlight of the 2008 Rab C Nesbitt Christmas Special and marked the comeback of one of Scotland's most iconic TV comedies.
Grinning like a drunk Cheshire cat in Rab's trademark grubby head bandage and filthy string vest, Gregor is reclining in the dirtiest old trailer on set.
He says: "Yes, it appears I've launched a new phase in my career. Getting my kit off.
"There is a bedroom scene with Mary Doll in the new series. We only filmed it yesterday.
"I end up in a state of undress in just a pair of Paisley pattern Y-fronts, size medium.
"As you can see, I am clearly not a medium. I'm rather larger than that."
Govan's infamous philosopher is back with a vengeance in his first series in ten years.
But Rab's mostly sober, he's a grandpa and he's even doing his bit for care in the community.
Gregor, though, fails to mention Rab's most outrageous stunt yet - dressing as a WOMAN.
He teams up with guest star John Gordon Sinclair, of Gregory's Girl fame, and the pair don wigs, skirts and tights for a benefits scam.
But the 56-year-old is relaxed about stripping off at this stage of his career.
He adds: "Rab's up to all sorts as usual but Ian Pattison and Colin Gilbert at The Comedy Unit thought they'd pep it up a bit.
"Although some pep it up more than others."
A nation mourned when the final curtain came down on the eighth series in 1999.
Gregor was the first to jump ship and Ian, the show's creator and writer, admitted tensions had begun to creep in on set.
But in a shock move Ian agreed to pen a Christmas special - meaning Gregor, Elaine C Smith, Tony Roper and Barbara Rafferty were reunited at last.
Now a six-part series kicks off next Thursday, with Rab and Mary Doll's son Gash returning home after battling drug addiction and a marriage break-up.
It all ended ten years ago with Rab cradling Gash's new daughter Peaches and talking about the future - and he's now reunited with her as an 11-year-old Mini-Me of her outrageous mum Bridie.
Gregor says: "Rab and Jamesie are up to all sorts of things that late middle-aged men would get up to.
"Rab's off the drink. He's running a self-help group and meets a lot of very interesting people through that.
"The girls still have their cleaning business, House Mice.
"We didn't catch up with Peaches in the Christmas special.
"But now it's all about Rab and Mary being grandparents."
Gregor claims the whole cast were surprised at the success of the Christmas special.
He smiles: "The viewers made it a simple decision to do a series.
"They saw the special, they liked it. It was really a pilot in disguise. And I have had a thoroughly enjoyable time, working with old mates."
Gregor went on to star in shows like The Baldy Man, The Tales of Para Handy, Brotherly Love and Snoddy.
He branched out into straight roles in Nicholas Nickleby, Kidnapped and Oliver Twist, and played a gay music manager in hit film Love Actually.
Most recently, he was back on TV playing a binman alongside Billy Boyd in the comedy Empty.
Gregor, who now lives in Dumfriesshire, admits the cast have only been on nodding terms over the past decade. He adds: "I don't hang about with actors - I live miles away in the country.
"But there WAS an umbilical chord between me and the rest of the cast and I do speak to them on the phone.
"We'd done 53 episodes before this series. That's a lot of time to work with people and many of us worked together before that on Naked Radio and Naked Video.
"So it's a very comfortable thing, really enjoyable to come back.
"I have a laugh and they pay me. How lucky am I?"
Elaine C Smith - Mary Doll
Happy family ... Bridie, Mary Doll, Peaches, Rab and GashBUBBLY star Elaine C Smith admits she laughed and CRIED when she returned to play Mary Doll.
The actress says walking on to the set on the first day of filming brought back vivid memories of tragic co-star Eric Cullen.
The pint-sized actor, who played her youngest son Wee Burney, died of a heart attack in 1996.
The troubled star - who suffered a form of dwarfism - was sexually abused by one of Scotland's most violent paedophile rings as a teenager.
When he became famous they continued the abuse and violence to extort money from him.
Cullen developed severe clinical depression - which he hid from his Nesbitt co-stars - until he was arrested in 1993 for the possession of child ~~~~ography.
But he had been forced to store the material by his abusers.
He battled to bring the men to justice in court and was even investigated by police himself, which left him suicidal. After clearing his name, he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.
Tragic death ... Eric CullenJust two days before he died he was asked to return to the role of Wee Burney.
Elaine says: "Going back on set, Mary Doll's living room had all the old pictures up. Gregor and I look so young.
"It was actually very sad for me. I had mixed emotions.
"On the sideboard there's a picture of Eric as Wee Burney and another one on the wall. He was my screen son for so long. We worked together very well and I was very, very fond of him. The way it all ended was just terrible.
"None of us knew anything about what had gone on at the time. It was heart-breaking to see.
"We couldn't take them down. He's part of Nesbitt history."
But mum-of-two Elaine, 51, insists there WERE lots of laughs as the old cast, and many of the old crew, were reunited for the new series.
She adds: "Working with Gregor, Tony Roper and Barbara Rafferty again, I just couldn't stop laughing most of the time."
Shedding light on Gregor's strip scenes, Glasgow-born Elaine laughs: "Rab comes home and I'm in bed shouting 'where the hell have you been?'
"He's undressing, the jacket's off, down go the trousers and there's these tight Paisley pattern Y-fronts. Absolutely no one could keep a straight face."
Not that Elaine's a stranger to stripping herself. She's just come from appearing in the touring stage production of Calendar Girls.
But Elaine never dreamed she'd be dusting down Mary Doll's wig for another outing.
She says: "I wasn't sure if the public would go with it again.
"Then the Christmas special happened and the scripts came in for the series."
Elaine insists it's now up to the public to decide if they want more Rab C.
She adds: "It might have been easier to walk away, but so far so good.
"For me it's up to the public now. If they watch it and enjoy it, then who knows?"
Rab C Nesbitt starts next Thursday on BBC2 at 9.30pm
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