He was one of the biggest comedy stars on TV throughout the 90s but now Gregor Fisher says he doesn’t get recognised – and he likes it.
Gregor Fisher was one of the biggest comedy stars of the 90s as Rab C Nesbitt, the alcoholic Glaswegian from the BBC comedy of the same name. He’s also watched by millions every Christmas in Love Actually, where he played Billy Mack’s long-suffering manager, Joe. However, you may not recognise him these days.
As the 72-year-old actor is among the first to point out, he’s lost so much weight that despite being a fixture in people’s homes for years – Rab C Nesbitt was watched by 5 million every week – only the “eagle-eyed people in his local supermarket” are able to spot him now. Gregor says he was diagnosed with diabetes and advised to lose weight.
Speaking to BBC Scotland as he prepares to embark on a UK tour next month, he said: “I’ve lost quite a lot of weight because I was told I was diabetic and it might be good if I could lose a couple of pounds.” However, he added: “I quite like not being recognised by people nowadays, actually.”
Fans have commented to his new appearance on his Instagram page, where he often shares videos of recipes he’s made from his kitchen. One follower wrote: “Omg you look amazing.” Another said: “How did you lose all the weight Gregor? You look amazing.”
Gregor appeared in the BBC Scotland series Naked Video for the first four series, where the character of Rab C Nesbitt, a drunk who wore a pinstripe suit with a string vest and a headband, was born.
It was so successful that it spawned its own series written by Ian Pattison that ran for more than 10 years, returning for another four-year run in 2010s. Johnny Depp was an unlikely fan, watching old episodes of the show to hone his Glaswegian accent as The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Gregor will also be long remembered for the Hamlet cigar ads where he played another Naked Video character called the Baldy Man, who battles in vain to get a perfect passport photo – before giving up and sparking up a cigar.
Recently, he teamed up with Greg McHugh, from student comedy Fresh Meat and Gary: Tank Commander, for BBC Scotland comedy Only Child, about an actor who returns home to the Moray coast in Scotland from London to visit his widowed dad. It is set to return for a second series.
He told the BBC: “It’s quite thrilling to be a 72-year-old and still be required to make television shows, especially when it is with the wonderful Greg McHugh, who is my favourite actor on the planet at the minute. It’s great to be working with him, although I think I do annoy him now and again.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
