Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland – BBC2

Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland
(Image credit: BBC/7Wonder/Jaimie Gramston)

From a welder in Glasgow to The Big Yin, the comedian tells his story in Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland

From a welder in Glasgow to The Big Yin, the comedian tells his story in the new two-part documentary, Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland

The Big Yin reflects on his formative years in Glasgow, where he worked as a shipyard welder after leaving school, in this enjoyable two-part documentary, Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland.

Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland

Billy returns to Drumchapel in Glasgow

We hear from fellow Scots, including writer Val McDermid and singers Eddi Reader, Sharleen Spiteri and folk musician Martin Stephenson (pictured with Billy, above), who hails from Durham but lives in Scotland, plus comics Micky Flanagan, Eddie Izzard and Ross Noble on why they love Billy’s humour, which was part of the move away from the tired old mother-in-law-joke school of comedy.

There’s plenty of archive footage of Billy performing, including the memorable first appearance on Parkinson that turned him into a household name.

A 2002 BAFTA tribute to Billy follows at 10pm.

TV Times rating: ****

Mandy Cooper
TV Times Highlights Editor

As TV Times Highlights Editor I get to hear about all the latest TV shows coming soon. Here at TVT HQ we are in the privileged position of selecting the best programmes from across all the channels and streaming platforms. Our mission is to make it easier for our readers to decide what to watch - and give them lots of choice of genres - all the latest shows, plus some nostalgic choices we call hidden gems, too. My career began with a postgraduate degree in periodical journalism (ahem, yes old school!) in 1991 and I’ve worked in TV media since 2000.