Comedy star can’t wait to host prestigious BBC show
BBC1, Susan will reflect on 2019 and look forward to 2020, with star guests including actors James Cosmo, Jane McCarry, Martin Compston and Mark Bonnar, Scotland women’s team captain Rachel Corsie, paralympic champion sprinter Maria Lyle and 1500m champion Laura Muir.
Music will come from Twin Atlantic, Travis and Julie Fowlis, while Amy Irons will report from the Stonehaven Fireballs Ceremony, with the bells brought in by a lone piper.
Susan said: “I think we’ve got a brilliant show lined up – a really welcoming, funny and warm programme that reflects what modern Scotland is all about. I love the chat show format – I really enjoy talking to people and hearing their stories and we want it feel as though you’ve just had some extra friends pop round to your living room.
“It’s full of people you know, people who’ll make you happy. We’ve got a great mix of guests, from big movie and telly stars to some of our country’s most respected sports people and, of course, there’s going to be some brilliant music.
“I’ve worked with Des many times since I started out on the stand-up circuit about 15 years ago. He’s funny and brilliant and brings such warmth. And he’s the guy with the pressure to get the countdown right.
“I love that we’re celebrating all over the country as well. Amy will be letting us in on a real spectacle with the Fireballs Festival. We’re hoping to create a genuine atmosphere of ‘You’re welcome, wherever you are and whoever you are’.”
The Hogmanay show i s the most prestigious show of Susan’s career, after she broke into TV 12 years ago.
Originally a lawyer, Susan became a comedy name with panel shows and live appearances and became a household star when she got to week 10 in Strictly Come Dancing in 2017.
She’s also fronted the Great British Menu and quiz show Top of the Class, but admits that Hogmanay is special as it was part of her childhood.
This year their show will be scheduled alongside football sketch show Only an Excuse, and she said classic Hogmanay comedies like Scotch and Wry have always bookended her year.
“I loved that I was allowed to stay up at Hogmanay. Watching Scotch And Wry was always a big thing and then sticking with BBC Scotland until after the bells.
“The family would all be round and we’d sit with a glass of gran’s ginger wine, the kind that could strip paint. Right after the bells, dad would go out with the dogs and then come back in with some firelighters to first-foot us. I think having those traditions is the same for most people in Scotland – thinking of it brings back lovely memories.
“My family will be watching. I’m sure my mother will text me and let me know what she thinks of it. My sister lives in London but for Hogmanay she comes up to Scotland with her kids who are seven and five. The kids normally go to bed on Hogmanay, but they might be allowed to stay up to see Auntie Susan this year. I’m sure they’ll all sit with my gran’s recipe ginger wine, which my mum makes, and watch the show. It’s nice to keep those traditions going for the next generation.” ●Susan Calman’s Not Quite End of the Year Show is on BBC Scotland, 9pm, Tuesday, and Hogmanay 2019, BBC Scotland and BBC1, 11.30pm, Tuesday.
SUSAN CALMAN REMEMBERS HOGMANAY TELLY OF YESTERYEAR