Still Game star Greg Hemphill has paid a heartfelt tribute to pal Robbie Coltrane at a special event to mark the TS Queen Mary’s 90th anniversary year. The milestone was celebrated with a reception aboard her ex-fleetmate The Waverley, the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer last Friday.
The steamship, currently undergoing a £6million revamp, is expected to be back in service next year after a campaign for repairs was spearheaded by the late actor Robbie Coltrane who passed away in October at the age of 72. Friends of TS Queen Mary has already raised more than £3.8million and the vessel, brought back from Tilbury Docks in Essex, is now berthed at a dock in Pacific Quay.
During an address at the event hosted by the charity, celebrity guest star Hemphill paid tribute to friend and co-star Coltrane who he said was one of the most “passionate supporters” of engineering, innovation and heritage. Hemphill, 53, said: “We’re here tonight on the Waverley to celebrate the 90th birthday of the TS Queen Mary and I just wanted to say a few words about one of it’s most passionate supporters, Robbie Coltrane who sadly we lost last October.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Robbie. I was lucky enough to work with him in late 2010 on Still Game where he played the bus driver and we kept in touch after that. One day he called me up and said ‘Greg please come to my house for a few videos of the Queen Mary.’
“I said ‘oh Robbie I love the Queen Mary, I know all about it. I was on it.’ He was really surprised and said ‘you were on it? when?’
“I told him that I was in Long Beach in California. I was on the Queen Mary, it was Halloween and they turned it into a ghost train. He said ‘no wait a minute. Greg isnnae the Queen Mary.’ He was horrified, he was genuinely appalled and then told me the real story about the real Queen Mary.
“To say he was passionate about it is an understatement. He was passionate about engineering, innovation and of course heritage and that’s why I’m here because of Robbie’s passion. He was a larger than life soul and loved the Queen Mary very much.”
Coltrane, who died from multiple organ failure, had dedicated the last years of his life to restoring the Clyde-built vessel. Hemphill, who starred in Chewin’ the Fat alongside Coltrane when he made an appearance as a disgruntled bus driver, also amused guests with a funny story about pal Coltrane.
He said: “I heard a great story about him tonight when Robbie was in London and he was at a do with none other than Robert De Niro and it was a bit of a boring event. And he pointed out the window and at the time Queen Mary was docked there and it was a restaurant.
“Robbie said ‘that’s the Queen Mary, that’s Glasgow built.’ Robert De Niro nodded and the two of them left and went and had a pint on the Queen Mary which is pretty cool.”
The event was also attended by ten lucky Sunday Mail readers who won tickets to the evening cruise. Built in 1933, the five-deck TS Queen Mary ferried thousands of holidaymakers to resorts such as Rothesay and Dunoon.
The Sunday Mail revealed in September that Coltrane raised £75,000 to help restore the steamship by selling personalised videos and “shout-out” messages on the celebrity video site Cameo. He said then: “Not only am I able to connect with my fans but I can also raise money for my beautiful ship.”
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