Ford John Kiernan (born 10 January 1962) is a Scottish actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his work withGreg Hemphill on theBBC Scotlandsketch comedy seriesChewin' the Fat (1999–2005) and the sitcomStill Game (2002–2007, 2016–2019). He also starred as Archie Henderson inDear Green Place (2007–2008) and as Colin Holliday inHappy Hollidays (2009).

Kiernan is one of the executive producers and co–owner of the production companyEffingee Productions. The production company has largely created productions in which Kiernan has featured, includingStill Game,Chewin' the Fat andDear Green Place.

Ford John Kiernan was born on 10 January 1962 inDennistoun,^[1]Glasgow. As a child, he attended Alexandra Parade Primary School before attending Whitehill Secondary School.^[2]

Kiernan first performed comedy in 1990 at the comedy club in the basement of the Blackfriars pub inGlasgow. He took up performing full-time in 1993. A run of solo gigs led to his being offered a slot in theEdinburgh Comedy Festival in 1994, in a show calledThe Best Of Scottish Comedy, alongside John Paul "JP" Leach and Alan Taylor. Leach and Kiernan teamed up as a double act during this festival, and had shows at the next two festivals,After Eight Mince andThe Full Bhoona, both at theGilded Balloon.

Kiernan was one of the first performers at The Comedy Cellar, a comedy night started in 1993 byEd Byrne in Glasgow.^[3] He co-wrote a play with JP Leach,Don't Start Me, which won a Fringe First Award at the 1995Edinburgh Fringe.

Kiernan has also broadcast frequently onBBC Radio Four andBBC Radio Scotland.

Kiernan's career in television began when he started to write various sketches forPulp Video (BBC Scotland 1995). Between 1999 and 2005, he was a writer forChewin' the Fat, starring as a regular character alongsideGreg Hemphill, both playing various roles.Karen Dunbar,Paul Riley, andMark Cox also featured inChewin' the Fat. Hemphill and Kiernan would become comedy partners, and Riley and Cox would later star alongside Kiernan and Hemphill inStill Game. At first,Chewin the Fat was shown only in Scotland, but theBBC broadcast the third and fourth series throughout the UK.

The spin-off series fromChewin' the Fat,Still Game, began broadcast in Scotland only, but later reached a wider audience throughout the United Kingdom. Every episode ofStill Game was co-written by Kiernan and Hemphill. In 1999 and 2000 Kiernan and Hemphill also scripted seven episodes for the children's TV seriesHububb, with Kiernan guest-starring in three episodes, including two of them written by other writers. Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Paul Riley's companyEffingee Productions is 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.^[4]

In 2012 actor and playwrightKenny Boyle acquired the rights to the original stage play of Still Game and toured the show, with a new cast, to The Tron theatre,^[5] FTH theatre, and The Ayr Gaiety Theatre.^[6] 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.^[7]

On 15 October 2013, theDaily 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 atThe SSE Hydro 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.^[8] On 24 October 2013 Kiernan confirmed in theDaily Record thatKenny Boyle's tour of the original stage show had been one of the instigating factors for Still Game's return.^[9] 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.^[10] The show received mixed reviews.^[11]

On 12 May 2016, theBBC 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.^[12] 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 onBBC One across the UK nationwide and drew a total audience of 3,200,000.^[13] On 16 March 2017, it was announced that an eighth series has been commissioned to air onBBC One with plans to broadcast towards the end of 2017.^[14] 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.^[15][16]

In September 2016, a second live showStill 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,^[17] but in October 2016, a further five performances were added.^[18] Unlike the previous live show, this show was not televised or recorded in any other way.^[19] The third and final SSE Hydro live showStill Game: The Final Farewell was officially announced on 1 November 2018, with five shows in September 2019 taking place over three days.^[20] A further 5 shows were announced on 2 November.^[21]

In 2007 and 2008 Kiernan starred inDear Green Place, aBBC One Scotland sitcom about park wardens.^[22] The show was co-written byPaul Riley and Rab Christie. In January 2009 Kiernan starred inNo Holds Bard, a one-off comedy special shown on BBC Scotland onBurns Night as part of a line-up of special programmes to mark the 250th birthday ofRobert Burns.

Kiernan played a caravan park boss in the comedyHappy Hollidays. A pilot episode was shown on BBC 1 in early 2009 and a series was broadcast later in the year. In October 2011 Kiernan playedGordon Brown inThe Hunt for Tony Blair, a one-off episode ofThe Comic Strip Presents...

In 2011 and 2013, Kiernan played George McVie inThe Field of Blood.^[23] In 2016 he played Felix inJourney Bound.^[24]

Kiernan has had severalbit-part roles in films. In 1996 he starred alongsideRobert Carlyle inCarla's Song and in 2002 he played the role of Black Joke Chief in theMartin Scorsese filmGangs of New York. Kiernan lends his voice to the character of Banjo Barry in the animated filmSir Billi. The film was released in 2012.

In 2012 Kiernan starred in the filmSong for Amy.^[25] He has also starred in short films such asThe Taxidermist andPerfect. In 2020, Kieran played the role of Gavin in the American comedy movieThen Came You, alongsideCraig Ferguson who had appeared with Kiernan inStill Game three years earlier.

Born inShettleston, Glasgow, Kiernan was educated at Alexandra Parade Primary School and Whitehill Secondary School. He then went on to train as a tailor and work as a barman atGlasgow University Union.^[26]

On 6 January 2014, Kiernan's 12-year-old son Sonny was found dead at the family home. The cause of death was choking.^[27] The stage showStill Game Live was dedicated to Sonny later that year.^[28]

• Ford Kiernan atIMDb
• Ford Kiernan atBritish Comedy Guide
• Gazetter for Scotland biography

• 1962 births
• Living people
• Male actors from Glasgow
• People from Dennistoun
• People educated at Whitehill Secondary School
• Scottish male comedians
• Scottish male film actors
• Scottish male television actors
• Comedians from Glasgow
• People from Shettleston

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