Gregory Edward Hemphill (born 14 December 1969) is a Scottish comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born in

Springburn Springburn () is an inner-city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, made up of generally working-class households. Springburn developed from a rural hamlet at the beginning of the 19th century. Its industrial expansion began ...

, an inner–city district in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, Hemphill moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in Canada in the mid-1970s before returning to Scotland in 1988. Hemphill is one of the executive producers and co–owner of the production company

Effingee Productions Effingee Productions is a television production company known for its comedy in Scotland. It was created by Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernan of ''Chewin' the Fat'' and ''Still Game ''Still Game'' is a Scotland, Scottish sitcom produced by Eff ...

. His work with Ford Kiernan, his long standing comedy and script writing partner, includes the

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

comedy series ''

Chewin' The Fat ''Chewin' the Fat'' is a Scottish comedy sketch show, starring Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Karen Dunbar. Comedians Paul Riley and Mark Cox also appeared regularly on the show among other actors such as Tom Urie. ''Chewin' the Fat'' ...

'' (1999–2005) and ''

Still Game ''Still Game'' is a Scotland, Scottish sitcom produced by Effingee Productions, The Comedy Unit and BBC Scotland. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who played the lead characters, Jack Jarvis (Still Game character), Jack Jarvis, ...

'' (2002–2007, 2016–2019). Hemphill was

Rector of the University of Glasgow The (Lord) Rector of the University of Glasgow is one of the most senior posts within the institution, elected every three years by students. The theoretical role of the rector is to represent students to the senior management of the university ...

between 2001 and 2004.

Early and personal life

Hemphill was born in

, Scotland, the son of Edward, a chartered accountant, and Anne Hemphill (née Brophy) a teacher. The family left Scotland in the mid-1970s, and he spent much of his childhood in

, which has contributed to his

Scottish-Canadian Scottish Canadians () are people of Scottish descent or heritage living in Canada. As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a large impact on Canadian cultur ...

accent. He returned to Scotland in 1988 at the age of 18 to study at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, where he achieved an MA Honours Degree in theatre, film and television. He is married to actress Julie Wilson Nimmo; they have two sons. Hemphill said that despite living in Canada, he "always felt Scottish", claiming that "My dad was from Maryhill, my mum was from St George’s Cross, and it seemed that everyone on the West Island of Montreal was from somewhere else".

Career

Early career

Hemphill has appeared in several projects. In 1990, he performed at the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

with Rab Christie and Neil Warhurst as the "''Trio Brothers Troup''", where they won the 1990 "

So You Think You're Funny So You Think You're Funny? (SYTYF?) is an annual stand-up comedy competition for new acts. The competition began in 1988 in the United Kingdom. The finals are held every August at The Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Past ...

" trophy. He continued his stage work, appearing in the 1992 God Plus Support performance and in the popular 1995 ''

Only an Excuse? ''Only an Excuse?'' is an annual Scottish comedy sketch show that was broadcast on BBC One Scotland on Hogmanay from 1993 to 2020. It starred the actor and comedian Jonathan Watson and featured impressions of some of Scottish football's great ...

'' tour. He also ventured into radio as the original presenter of football show, ''Off the Ball'' on

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...

and ''

Eddie Mair Eddie Mair (born 12 November 1965) is a Scottish former broadcaster who was a presenter on BBC radio and television. He also presented a programme on LBC between 4pm and 6pm every weekday until his last show, on 18 August 2022, after which he ...

Live''. Hemphill and Kiernan scripted seven episodes between 1999 and 2000, for then popular children's television show '' Hububb''. These were, Lullabubb, Top of the Bubbs, Conquer Leserest, Casual-Tea, Bubb Goes Boo, 2010: A Space Bubbsy and No Go Pogo. He guest starred alongside Kiernan in one episode, which he also scripted with Kiernan, Casual-Tea. However, his best known performances are alongside Ford Kiernan in the television

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

''Chewin' the Fat'' and its spin off, ''Still Game''. In series three of ''Still Game'', Hemphill's brother Steve has a cameo as a

CN Tower The CN Tower () is a communications and observation tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 1976, it is located in downtown Toronto, built on the former Railway Lands. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway co ...

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...

operative.

''Still Game''

Following the success of ''

'', Kiernan and Hemphill wrote ''

''. ''Still Game'' was based on the original play that the pair wrote for the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

in 1997. The Characters Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade had appeared throughout the four series of ''Chewin' The Fat''. Six series and four specials were originally broadcast between 2002 and 2007. The series ended following the sixth series in 2007, with Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Paul Riley's company

which produced ''Still Game'', thought to have split up after Riley walked away to go it alone after being refused more control over the future of the company by Kiernan. Hemphill stated that he didn't want a "boardroom battle". The split ultimately resulted in the indefinite hiatus of the series. In 2012 actor and playwright Kenny Boyle acquired the rights to the original stage play of Still Game and toured the show, with a new cast, to The Tron theatre, FTH theatre, and The Ayr Gaiety Theatre. The original play had not been staged for 14 years. Kiernan and Hemphill came to see the performances and consequently began considering reviving Still Game officially. On 15 October 2013, the ''Daily Record'' ran a front-page story that the show would be returning. On 23 October 2013, Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill announced details of live shows entitled '' Still Game Live'' at

The SSE Hydro The OVO Hydro is a multi-purpose indoor arena located within the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland. The arena was initially named The Scottish Hydro Arena after its main sponsor Scottish Hydro Electric. During construction, Scottish ...

in Glasgow at a press conference. They were scheduled to perform four shows beginning in September 2014, but due to high demand, it was extended to 16 and then 21 shows. On 24 October 2013 Kiernan confirmed in the ''Daily Record'' that Kenny Boyle's tour of the original stage show had been one of the instigating factors for Still Game's return. The 21 shows at The Hydro ran from 19 September 2014 until 10 October 2014, played to 210,000 fans and made £6,000,000 in ticket sales. The show received mixed reviews. On 12 May 2016, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

announced that the show would return in 2016 with a six-part seventh series, nine years after the previous series concluded. Filming of the new seventh series started in the summer and the series began on 7 October 2016. The show's return attracted its highest ever overnight audience for a single episode on 7 October, taking a 58% share of the Scottish TV audience with 1,300,000 viewers. The show also aired for the first time on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

across the UK nationwide and drew a total audience of 3,200,000. On 16 March 2017, it was announced that an eighth series has been commissioned to air on

with plans to broadcast towards the end of 2017. The series was pushed back to start on 8 March 2018. On 13 July 2018, the BBC announced that Still Game would return for the ninth and final series later in 2019, after which the show will end. Filming for the ninth series started in August 2018 and was completed on 14 September 2018. In September 2016, a second live show ''Still Game Live 2: Bon Voyage'' was announced for the SSE Hydro. The second stage show was to run for ten nights beginning 4 February 2017, but in October 2016, a further five performances were added. Unlike the previous live show, this show was not televised or recorded in any other way. The third and final SSE Hydro live show ''Still Game: The Final Farewell'' was officially announced on 1 November 2018, with five shows in September 2019 taking place over three days. A further 5 shows were announced on 2 November.

University of Glasgow

Hemphill was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow in March 2001. He was one of five candidates and narrowly defeated Alasdair Gray for the post.

Other work

Hemphill appeared in the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

-language drama, ''Eilbheas'', in which Hemphill played the spirit of

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...

set in the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

. It was first shown on the launch night of

BBC Alba BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day. The name ' is the Scottish Gae ...

. He has also written ''Appointment with the Wicker Man'' with Donald McLeary for the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

, a stage production about a small community's attempts to produce a musical version of ''

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy (film director), Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Christopher Lee. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer (writer ...

''. Hemphill has been involved in the Scottish wrestling scene, matched against actor, comedian and writer, Robert Florence. They played bitter rivals at "Kelvin Brawl" in the Glasgow's

Kelvin Hall The Kelvin Hall, located on Argyle Street in the Yorkhill area of Glasgow, Scotland, is one of the largest exhibition centres in Britain and now a mixed-use arts and sports venue that opened as an exhibition venue in 1927. It has also been ...

on 21 June 2013. Comedian

Frankie Boyle Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. Boyle first gained widespread recognition as a regular panellist on the comedy show '' Mock the Week'' from 2005 until 2009. He then created and starred in t ...

became part of this venture, unmasking himself at the end of the match. Hemphill guest-starred in an episode of the award-winning children's television programme '' Katie Morag'' in 2014, playing the part of Donald John Cameron. Hemphill starred as Mr Sawdust in two series of the

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

television show '' Olga da Polga'' alongside his wife Julie Wilson Nimmo. In 2022, Hemphill and Julie Wilson Nimmo starred in television programme '' Jules and Greg's Wild Swim'' about wild swimming which aired on New Years Day 2023 on

and

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...

. The full series of six episodes was released in 2023. In March 2023, Hemphill featured on a BBC Scotland programme as part of the broadcaster's centenary celebrations, alongside wife Julie Wilson Nimmo and ''

'' co-star Sanjeev Kohli. In 2024 Hemphill has featured as the father (Ade) on the BBC Programme

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

. In 2024, Hemphill made his Hollywood debut where he made an appearance in the film ''

Deadpool & Wolverine ''Deadpool & Wolverine'' is a 2024 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Deadpool and Wolverine (character), Wolverine. Produced by Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment, and distributed ...

'' as a bartender.

Directing

In 2016, alongside Donald McLeary, Hemphill wrote the script for the horror/comedy film ''West Skerra Light''. At a length of one hour, this was his first full-length drama as a

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. In 2017, alongside Hopscotch Films, Hemphill was involved in directing the

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

ghost-hunting drama ''Long Night at Blackstone''.

References

External links

*https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0376157 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hemphill, Greg 1969 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Male actors from Glasgow Male actors from Montreal Rectors of the University of Glasgow Scottish comedy writers Scottish emigrants to Canada Scottish film producers Scottish male comedians Scottish male radio actors Scottish male television actors Scottish radio presenters Scottish television writers Writers from Glasgow Writers from Montreal Comedians from Glasgow Comedians from Montreal People from Springburn British male television writers Scottish nationalists Scottish sketch comedians