In March, comedian Rosco McClelland won the Billy Connolly Spirit Of Glasgow Award, joining the illustrious company of its two previous recipients: Susie McCabe and the late, great Janey Godley. It’s another milestone for the former plumber, who’s spent more than ten years grafting on the comedy circuit. ‘It’s been class to have my name mentioned alongside The Big Yin,’ he says of his accolade. ‘It makes expectations higher, but it also forces me to live up to those expectations.’

That wasn’t the only sparkling gong he picked up this year. During a debut trip to New Zealand, he also won Best International Act at the country’s top comedy festival. And his Edinburgh show How Could Hell Be Any Worse? went down a storm at this year’s Fringe (in our review, we described it as ‘a jam-packed, full-throated hour from one of the country’s best acts’). McClelland says he was very happy with how August panned out. ‘All bar one of the Fringe shows were great; one night it just didn’t click. But honestly, that’s a good ratio.’

McClelland reckons the Scottish comedy scene is currently in very rude health. ‘If you want to do a single-person monologue about something topical and stick it on Instagram to shift tickets, then fire away,’ he says. ‘But there are also some good acts coming through via “the old-fashioned way”, which can only be good for the Scottish stand-up scene.’ As for next year, the Glaswegian says he’ll write a new show, tour his last one, launch a podcast and ‘get a sitcom pilot sorted’. It’s clear that the spirit of Glasgow runs deep in Rosco McClelland. 

Main picture: Nick Gibb. 

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