Comedian Iain Stirling insists Scottish passion and support will make the BBC’s new channel a hit.
BBC Scotland, years in the planning, launches tonight with variety show A Night at the Theatre. And host Iain, the voice of Love Island, says the channel will be a showcase for Scottish acts.
“I know we have such amazing talent, comedians and actors here,” said Edinburgh-born Iain, 31. “Hopefully this will give them a platform, showing them off to a wider audience. And I hope the budget and support will be there from the network.
“I think there is a warmth among audiences to watch Scottish stuff. Scotland tends to look after its own. You only have to look at talent shows like X Factor and how people vote for acts from north of the border.”
The channel has a £32m budget and promises more than 900 hours of new content in its first year.
It will show the final series of Still Game, with episodes tonight and Thursday, in advance of network screenings. And River City will be shown on Mondays each week, a day earlier than its traditional slot on BBC1 Scotland.
There will also be a raft of new drama, entertainment and documentaries as well as a one-hour weekday news bulletin, The Nine. But broadcasting between 7pm and midnight each day has met with some concern that it will still rely heavily on repeats.
A Night at the Theatre was filmed at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow; and airs on BBC Scotland tonight at 7pm and 9.30pm.
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