SANJEEV ON HIT SHOW’S FINALE
influenced my approach to writing Fags, Mags and Bags.
“In a lot of ways, doing Still Game actually helped me see what we shouldn’t make. We make it as different as possible, otherwise people would just think, ‘He’s ripping off that show he’s in on the telly’. As brilliant as Still Game is, I don’t want to do that.
“I get really irritated when people call it a spin-off from Still Game. It’s totally different. For one thing, the dialogue is much more dense and verbose.
“The long and the short of it is I’m playing two shopkeepers in two Scottish shops. I need to make them different.
“I play a character called Ramesh on radio, who is more English-Asian than Scottish-Asian, so I base his accent on a friend of my dad’s in north London.
“Donnie and I have been writing stuff together for more than 20 years. I call him my writing wife.
“I’ve never written anything better than Fags, Mags and Bags because I have Donnie with me, and he’s the funniest person I’ve ever met.”
The series sees Susheel Kumar and Omar Raza reprise their roles as Ramesh’s sons Alok & Sanjay, along with Scot Squad favourite Julie Wilson Nimmo and River City’s Tom Urie.
Moray Hunter, Mina Anwar and Lorraine McIntosh also appear. The show, produced by the Comedy Unit, has a slew of celebrity fans including comedians Ed Byrne and Kevin Eldon, and Chris Addison, director of US hit comedy Veep.
Despite numerous radio industry award nominations and success at the prestigious Writers Guild Award in 2008 it hasn’t been taken up by TV.
Sanj said: “As the years go on, I think it’s not going to happen but we’ve talked about doing a live show as we have a fan base. We might not be playing the Hydro like Still Game but I’d love to take it to smaller theatres like Oran Mor.”
Most of the series for Still Game are filmed at BBC Scotland’s Dumbarton studios, home to Sanj’s other regular telly gig – playing AJ in River City.
Both programmes resumed filming last week, presenting him with the challenge of having to be two characters in a day.
He said: “I’ve noticed from the filming schedules there’s a day when I’m in for both. That’ll be fun. You hear Bollywood stories about actors doing three films in one day. If that happens, it’ll be fine. AJ is a version of myself. But once I get into Navid’s make-up – that beard, the wig and the belly – then you can’t help but inhabit that character. But being in employment at all is amazing. And to be able to do two jobs at once is great.”
There is a glimmer of hope for fans of Still Game, according to Sanj.
Th e series was recommissioned for TV in 2016 off the back of an incredible return to the stage, where the show started at the Edinburgh Fringe 21 years ago.
Their run at the SSE Hydro in 2014 saw them sell out 21 shows at the 12,000-capacity arena. And they returned to the venue in 2017.
So, will fans have one last chance to see Jack, Victor, Navid, Winston, Isa, Boabby and Tam under the big tin roof on Clydeside one last time?
Sanj said: “There might still be an appetite for that. I’d think it could be a distinct possibility.”
Series eight of Fags, Mags and Bags begins on BBC Radio 4 today at 11.30am. It is also on the BBC’s iPlayer.
SANJEEV KOHLI ON THE HIT BBC SHOW’S LEGACY