About time for BBC Alba to flog a dead horse once more

 

[PICTURE OF TORCUIL THAT WAS HERE]

As BBC Alba quickly approaches a winter without any rugby now that people actually care about how Edinburgh and Glasgow do, apparatchiks within MG Alba and Pacific Quay have come up with a beezer plan, to milk the dry udder that is spoof Gaelic learner Torcuil for all it’s worth.

The caricature of  a Gold medal obsessed Gaelic learner, played with a Sabbath carvery’s worth of ham by ex-River City legend Tony Kearney, earned loads of fans with the mòdmockumentary (mockmòdumentary is better – ed.) Dà Là san Dàmhair in 2013. Ever since, the Gaelic* channel has utilised Torcuil in as many ways as possible both on screen and online, apart from actually showing Dà Là san Dàmhair because Greg Hemphill’s residuals would take most of the catering budget.

A spokesperson said; “Dà Là san Dàmhair was a cracking bit of fun, but to keep Tony busy between Bannan reshoots we needed to do Torcuil’s Guide to Being A Gael where the wig and fake teeth outacted the rest of the cast. Seadh, tha sinn a’ tuigse’, it was pretty much an Alan Partridge/Dennis Pennis/John Shuttleworth/Ali G  rip-off just 20 years out of date, but then what isn’t on our channel. Well, except the things that are actually 20 years out of date, like Machair and Speaking Our Language. Just wait until you see what we have planned for Torcuil on Friday evenings with two hours to fill.”

“I personally find Torcuil very funny, and anyway all comedy is relative. For example Torcuil is funny in relation to Fraochy Bay which is funny in relation to Gaol@Gael which was funny in relation to the Clearances of South Uist.”

*May contain traces of English