Billy Connolly is a Melvyn Hayes superfan!

With his accent, you may be surprised to learn Melvyn Hayes is half-Scottish.

For his old man, he certainly never sounded like it!

“My father was from Edinburgh, so I’m half-Scottish,” he says. “I remember doing the Edinburgh Festival and I said to someone: ‘See that place across the road? My father was born in a wee but ’n’ ben there!’

“Even though Dad left Scotland as a young man, he had a very strong Scottish accent until the day he died.

“He was ashamed of me, when I did a Scottish accent for a film called The Flesh And The Fiends, about the Burke and Hare murders.

“He said it was the worst Scottish accent he’d ever heard! It wasn’t very good. One of my closest friends is a Scottish producer, Jim Brown.”

A very famous Scot, in fact, idolises Melvyn it seems the Big Yin is a very big fan of Mr Hayes.

“I was performing in Norwich, and a barman said if I came back at a certain time, I could meet Billy Connolly, who I think is wonderful,” says Melvyn.

“He was also appearing there, and I was at the bar later when Billy came straight over to me, saying: ‘Melvyn, I am so pleased to meet you. I am one of your biggest fans!’

“He then started to reel off everything I’d ever done, from my earliest days as Billy Bunter, Quatermass, all of it.

“I thought the guy was going to die, the way he was so happy!

“I said: ‘Wow, thank you very much!’

“‘No, seriously,’ Billy said, ‘Am I a fan or what? Do I know your work or what?’

“When he had gone, I turned to the barman and said: ‘Oh, thank you, I did see Billy!’”