Background
The pilot, made for BBC Scotland in 1988, a Christmas special entitled Rab C Nesbitt's Seasonal Greet, repeated on the network the following year. The first series began on 27 September 1990 and continued for seven more, ending on 18 June 1999 and returning with a one-off special on 23 December 2008.
A ninth series of six episodes began airing on 21 January 2010. The special sees several important developments, which carry on into the series: Gash now has a daughter, Peaches; Mary and Ella have set up in business together as cleaners (and Jamesie, Rab and sometimes Gash all work for their company, House Mice); and Rab himself has converted to Christianity and given up alcohol.
Ian Pattison created and wrote all 59 episodes and Colin Gilbert produced and directed all 59 episodes. They approached darker topics than usually encountered in sitcoms (although almost always in a blackly comedic manner rather than a serious one). Such topics ranged from alcoholism to Neo Nazis to STDs. Often several normally unapproachable subjects were used in the same episode. The series is also known for its uncompromising use of Glaswegian accents and dialect, and its technique of breaking the fourth wall by frequently having Rab address the viewer directly.
The series has featured Norman Lovett, Peter Mullan, Rikki Fulton, Anita Dobson, Timothy Spall, Stanley Baxter, Kevin McNally, Clive Russell, Jerry Sadowitz, Viv Lumsden, Sylvester McCoy, Russell Hunter and then unknowns David Tennant, Ashley Jensen, Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill, Karen Dunbar, Jane McCarry and Paul Riley.
Elaine C. Smith recently announced that although there are no immediate plans for Rab to return to our screens, two special episodes will be made for broadcast in 2013.
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