Greg Hemphill

Gregory Edward "Greg" Hemphill (born 14 December 1969) is a Scottish actor, writer, comedian and wrestler. 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, the son of Edward, a chartered accountant, and Anne (née Brophy) Hemphill, a teacher.^[1]

The family left Scotland when Greg was 12 years old, and he spent much of his childhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which has contributed to his distinctive Scottish-Canadian accent.

He returned to Scotland to study at the University of Glasgow, where he achieved an MA Honours Degree in theatre, film and television. He is married to Balamory actress Julie Wilson Nimmo; the couple have two sons.

University of Glasgow

Hemphill was Rector of the University of Glasgow from 2001 to 2004. He narrowly defeated Alasdair Gray for the post and was widely praised for taking an active interest in the role.^[2]

Career

Early career

Hemphill has appeared in several projects. In 1990, he appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe where he was given the "So You Think You're Funny" trophy. He continued his stage work, appearing in the 1992 God Plus Support performance and in the popular 1995 Only an Excuse? tour. He also ventured into radio as the original presenter of football show, Off the Ball on BBC Radio Scotland and The Eddie Mair Show.

Hemphill and Kiernan scripted seven episodes between 1999 and 2000 for then popular children's TV show Hububb. These were, Lullabubb, Top of the Bubbs, Conquer Leserest, Casual-Tea, Bubb Goes Boo, 2010 A Space Bubbsy and No Go Pogo. He guest-starred alongside Kiernan in one episode, which he also scripted with Kiernan, Casual-Tea. However, his best known performances are alongside Ford Kiernan in the television sketch show Chewin' the Fat and its spin-off, Still Game. In series three of Still Game, Hemphill's brother Steve has a cameo as a CN Tower lift operative.^[3]

Still Game

Following the success of Chewin' The Fat, Kiernan and Hemphill wrote Still Game. Still Game was based on the original play that the pair wrote for the Edinburgh Festival in 1997. The Characters Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade had appeared throughout the four series of Chewin' The Fat. Six Series and Four Specials were broadcast between 2002 and 2007.

In 2014 Still Game returned with a Live Show at The SSE Hydro, where Hemphill reunited with Ford Kiernan. The Show was a sell out and featured the whole original cast Paul Riley, Mark Cox, Jane McCarry, Sanjeev Kohli and Gavin Mitchell. The series returned to TV screens on BBC One in October 2016.

Kiernan and Hemphill announced another live show for SSE Hydro in 2017.

Other Work

Hemphill appeared in the Scottish Gaelic-language drama, Eilbheas, in which Hemphill played the spirit of Elvis set in the Western Isles. It was first shown on the launch night of BBC Alba.

He has also written Appointment with the Wicker Man with Donald McLeary for the National Theatre of Scotland, a stage production about a small community's attempts to produce a musical version of The Wicker Man.^[4]

Hemphill has been involved in the Scottish wrestling scene, matched against actor, comedian and writer, Robert Florence. They played bitter rivals at at "Kelvin Brawl" in the Glasgow's Kelvin Hall on 21 June 2013. Comedian Frankie Boyle became part of this venture, unmasking himself at the end of the match.^[5][6]

Hemphill guest starred in an episode of the award winning children's television programme Katie Morag in 2014, playing the part of Donald John Cameron.

Directing

In 2016, alongside Donald McLeary, Hemphill wrote the script for the horror/comedy film West Skerra Light.^[7][8] At a length of one hour, this was his first full-length drama as a film director.^[9]

Controversy

Hemphill has publicly attacked the BBC, the television channel behind his sitcom Still Game, once for axing a sitcom he was attempting to produce, and for not airing Scottish comedy Burnistoun outside of Scotland. He stated that the BBC was run by "assholes".^[10][11][12]

In 2012, Hemphill tweeted a foul-mouthed attack on his fans after he was repeatedly asked about a new series of Still Game. His outburst generated furious backlash from fans.^[11][13][14]

Footnotes