Paul Riley from Scottish sitcom Still Game heading to Viva Blackpool

Actor and comedian Paul Riley is the man behind the iconic character Winston Ingram, a widowed pensioner residing in the Glasgow estate Craiglang who gets into all sorts of scrapes.

Aged only 53 himself, Paul ‘acted older’ to created the much-loved character who was involved in some famous scenes in the sitcom, which ran for nine series between 2002 and 2019.

Although the first few series were only aired in Scotland, later ones were screened across the UK an the show gained a new set of fans.

Now Paul, who hails from Glasgow himself, is heading to Blackpool and will be performing at Viva on April 7, at 7.45pm.

The show, Auld Before my Time, will include a meet and greet and a Q and A as Paul talks candidly and amusingly about his career.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to come to Blackpool, I haven’t been there since I was aged about ten.

"We came up with my aunt and uncle an ended up staying in Fleetwood.

"For this show, I’ll be coming up the day before so I can have a potter around Blackpool.

"I won’t necessarily be looking for references for the show but if something turns up I will end up using it.

"I’ll probabaly sing a few songs and there will also be a quiz about Blackpool!”

Since Still Game ended, Paul has stayed busy with a string of what he calls ‘satellite gigs, like the one at Blackpool.

He has also been writing for projects as varied as a children’s book, a short film and upcoming shows.

But he says the character of Winston Ingram still looms large and he is delighted that Still Game means so much to so many people.

He often gets stopped by people who quote some of the more iconic lines from the sitcom.

He adds: “There were so many memorable scenes and everyone seems to have their favourites.”

For ticket details phone (01253) 297297 or visit www.vivablackpool.com