Still Game star is f ined £800 for abusing barmaid
TV comedy favourite pleads guilty to behaving in a threatening manner following outburst in city centre pub
STILL Game s t ar Ford Kiernan has been fined £800 for shouting and swearing at a female member of staff at a Glasgow bar.
He pleaded guilty at the city’s sheriff court to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards the woman on August 1 last year.
When the case called earlier this year, defence lawyer Lorna Clark said the 55-year- old actor denied two charges and a trial was set for June.
It was alleged Kiernan, from Glasgow’s Kelvinside, made lewd comments towards a female staff member at Shilling Brewing Company in the city’s West George Street.
Prosecutors claimed he repeatedly directed comments t hat were ‘obscene and degrading’, as well as the charge of threatening and abusive behaviour. The case was due to call on Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing.
But Kiernan’s defence team and prosecutors arranged for an ‘ accelerated’ hearing, allowing the case to be heard 24 hours earlier.
When he appeared at the court, Kiernan admitted the lesser of the two charges and continued to plead not guilty to the accusation of making ‘ obscene and degrading’ comments.
These pleas were accepted by the Crown and Sheriff Joan Kerr fined the actor.
In 2005, Kiernan was fined £3,500 for assaulting a taxi driver in a road rage incident.
The actor attacked William Kerr after a row outside a supermarket i n Glasgow’s West End.
Mr Kerr needed hospital treatment after the incident.
Kiernan, who was 42 at the time of the attack in October 2004, had stopped outside a Safeway supermarket in the city’s Anniesland district as his wife bought Hallowe’en treats for their children.
Mr Kerr pulled up near him and told the actor he was parked in an area that was usually reserved for taxis.
A row erupted and the taxi driver asked Kiernan if he thought he was ‘The Big Man’ – a gangster-type character from Chewin’ The Fat, the popular BBC comedy show.
Mr Kerr then left the store, but as he waited in traffic, Kiernan pulled up behind him, leap-tout of his car and punched him through the open window of his vehicle.
Joe McKenna, prosecuting, told Glasgow Sheriff Court the actor then tried to race off, but Mr Kerr managed to block him in.
The actor then screamed: ‘You p***k’ and ‘ you f***er’ before punching Mr Kerr again.
Mr McKenna said: ‘ Ford Kiernan pulled the taxi driver’s door open and pulled Mr Kerr onto the ground and punched him on the face.
‘Kiernan then got back into his car with his wife and two children and left the scene.’
Mr Kerr was then treated in hospital for swelling to his head and eye.
The c ourt heard t hat Kiernan accepted carrying out the assault, but had only done it because his children had been upset at their father being abused.
‘Obscene and degrading’