Elaine C Smith has told how Robbie Coltrane ’s comedy genius laid the groundwork for Rab C Nesbitt.
The star was given her big break alongside the TV and cinema legend, who died last week, in BBC Scotland’s Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee, in 1984. She revealed Robbie’s hilarious parody of a ranting Glaswegian who confronted them on a city street was a clone of the character that would later make Gregor Fisher a household name.
Elaine also told how Robbie’s success has inspired a generation of Scottish comedians. Starring as alcoholic Rab C Nesbitt’s long-suffering wife Mary Doll, Elaine was struck by the similarities drawn from a character invented by Robbie.
