Only An Excuse?. Jonathan Watson
Only An Excuse?

Only An Excuse?

  • TV sketch show
  • BBC One Scotland
  • 1993 - 2021
  • 32 episodes

Famous Scottish football satire show. Every Hogmanay, Jonathan Watson mimics Scotland's top personalities and the heroes and villains of football. Also features Gerry McLaughlin, Julie Austin, Chris Forbes and Sheila Donald.

Episode menu

2020

Only An Excuse?. Jonathan Watson
Jonathan Watson leads a mix of classic sketches, popular characters, famous faces and up-to-date skits tackling 2020 from a footballing perspective. Featuring nostalgic recollections from guest stars, plus fresh material covering Scottish football and the world in general.

Preview clips

Further details

The final show - a one hour special - features memorable moments from the archive alongside new sketches and contributions from famous faces who've been tackled by Jonathan Watson and the Only An Excuse? team down the years.

First broadcast as a one-off special on BBC Radio Scotland prior to Scotland v West Germany in the Mexico '86 World Cup, it was a parody of the five-part television documentary Only A Game? which had documented the history of Scottish football.

Producer and writer Phil Differ secured that first radio commission and after further occasional radio specials the show switched to television in 1993. It retained an annual half-hour spot on Hogmanay, entertaining audiences with its razor-sharp spoofs on the beautiful game in Scotland. OAE? has evolved over the years from being purely just about football to bringing out the comedy in films, advertising, other television shows and politics.

Jonathan Watson says: "Every year we've really enjoyed the responsibility of creating a show for Hogmanay. It has been a privilege to be a part of the audience's New Year celebrations and we're delighted we'll be going out on a high with this special edition. We've got an hour to look back at memorable moments down the years and catch up with some special guests who've inspired us."

Broadcast details

Date
Thursday 31st December 2020
Time
10:25pm
Channel
BBC One Scotland
Length
65 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Friday 1st January 2021 10:30pm BBC Scotland
Thursday 30th December 2021 10:00pm BBC Scotland
Friday 8th December 2023 10:30pm BBC Scotland
Thursday 28th December 2023 9:00pm BBC Scotland

Cast & crew

Cast
Jonathan Watson Various
Guest cast
Kirsty Wark Self
Amy Irons Self
Paul English Self
Frank McAvennie Self
Muriel Gray Self
Jean Johansson Self
Graeme Souness Self
Tam Cowan Self
Stuart Cosgrove Self
Kenny Dalglish Self
Chick Young Self
Judy Murray Self
Walter Smith Self
Joy McAvoy Ensemble Actor
Chinedu Igu Ensemble Actor
Writing team
Andy Bollen Writer
Chuck Gayfield Writer
Wes Fargo Writer
Rikki Brown Writer
Stuart Hay Writer
Susan Riddell Writer
Chris Taylor Writer
Iain McDonald Writer
Production team
Iain Davidson Director
Philip Differ Producer
Rab Christie Executive Producer
Gavin Smith Executive Producer
Lee McKellar Editor
Mick Percival Editor
Jamie McLean Editor
Iain McDonald Production Designer
Katherine Hyland Costume Designer
Brian Jobson Director of Photography
Jacqui Mallett Make-up Designer
Tom Urie Composer
Kenny McGuire Graphics
Fay Selby 1st Assistant Director

Video

The Final Whistle

Scottish football personalities and celebrities talk about the enduring popularity of the sketch show.

Press

Only An Excuse had 'a good kick of the ball'

Only An Excuse stars Jonathan Watson and creator Phil Differ say the show "had a good kick of the ball" but now is the right time for the final whistle.

BBC, 31st December 2020

Only An Excuse? review

Only An Excuse? was indeed Scotland laughing at itself for the good stuff - the fitba craziness, the sentimentality, the inextinguishable dreams of greatness regained.

Alison Rowat, The Herald, 31st December 2020

Interview: Jonathan Watson on the last Only An Excuse?

He has none of the familiar props - no flyaway hair or sheepskin collars or on-parade red, white and blue ties or glinting sovvy rings or twinkling comedy gnashers. This time Jonathan Watson relies on a hesitant smile, sad eyes and a telltale cough.

Aidan Smith, The Scotsman, 26th December 2020

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