Scot Squad

Scot Squad is a Scottish television sitcom series about a fictional Scottish police force, made in a fly on the wall style.[1] The show is a spoof of police documentaries such as Road Wars and Police Interceptors.

Scot Squad
GenreSitcom
Mockumentary
Created byJoe Hullait
Directed byIain Davidson
Starring
Narrated byJoe Hullait
Country of originScotland
Original language(s)English, Scots
No. of series5
No. of episodes19
Production
Executive producer(s)Rab Christie
Gavin Smith
Producer(s)Iain Davidson
Production location(s)Glasgow, Scotland
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production company(s)The Comedy Unit
BBC Scotland
Release
Original networkBBC One Scotland (2014–17)
BBC Scotland (2019–)
Picture format560p
Original release27 October 2014 –
present
External links
Website

The show first aired on 27 October 2014 on BBC One Scotland. The show aired four series, including specials, on the channel until 2017. As of series 5, which begun on 4 April 2019, the show airs on the new BBC Scotland channel.

The show is directed by Iain Davidson and is narrated by Joe Hullait.[1] Former Absolutely star Jack Docherty plays the fictional force's police chief.[1]

In November 2016, a special crossover episode made for Children in Need featured several of the show's characters meeting characters from Scottish soap opera River City.[2]

Cast and characters
  • Jack Docherty as Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson (pronounced MEE-kel-son). Miekelson is a competent Chief Commissioner, but he can occasionally be out of touch with modern values and technology. He also has a huge ego and an inflated sense of his abilities. In his free time, Miekelson enjoys writing; he has written a series of books about a police officer named Michael Cameronson. He also seen talking to his secretary Jean (who i not seen or heard by viewers).
  • James Allenby-Kirk as Volunteer Officer Ken Beattie. PC Ken Beattie in Series Four. Though he devotes enormous amounts of his personal time to helping people in need of police assistance, Ken is often abused and mistreated by the public. He also has an unfortunate habit of unknowingly assisting drug dealers.
  • Jordan Young[3] as PC Jack McLaren. Jack is a stereotypical ladies' man, often flirting with women on the job. His extensive physical fitness routines often help him to catch runaway criminals.
  • Sally Reid[3] as PC Sarah Fletcher. Sarah is Jack's partner. She is usually very cool-headed and reasonable, as opposed to Jack, whose temper often flares up at the slightest provocation. Sarah has been an official face of the unified Scottish Police Force, which makes Jack jealous.
  • Karen Bartke as Sergeant Karen Anne Millar. "Officer Karen" is the desk sergeant. She is often found dealing with Bobby, the young man who often comes into her office with queries (which frequently have little to do with police work).
  • Ashley Smith as PC Jane MacKay. One half of the rural police team (seemingly based in the Trossachs), Jane is getting used to the slower-paced country lifestyle. She seems to be unaware of her partner Charlie's fondness for her, often completely misreading his attempts to tell her how he feels.
  • Chris Forbes as PC Charlie MacIntosh. Charlie hails from the rural area he polices, and is enthralled by Jane's tales of the city. He also has an unrequited crush on her. Charlie is a huge fan of the musicians Enya and Phil Cunningham, and is a keen accordionist.
  • Grado as PC Hugh McKirdy. One of the two traffic officers, McKirdy is often prone to tomfoolery on the job, sometimes failing to properly apprehend criminals whose crimes amuse him.
  • Manjot Sumal as PC Surjit Singh. McKirdy's long-suffering partner is a very no-nonsense by-the-book officer who has no qualms about stepping in and correcting his mistakes.
  • M.L. Stone as Maggie LeBeau. Maggie takes calls from the public, who often bombard her with ludicrous complaints and tales.
  • Darren Connell as Bobby Muir. A well-meaning but very dim-witted man who clearly has a crush on Officer Karen and visits her on a regular basis with various questions and complaints. Bobby lives with his Uncle Jeffy and his dog, Fridge.
  • Julie Wilson Nimmo as DC Megan Squire
  • Louise McCarthy as DC Andrea McGill. Megan's inexperienced partner.
  • Stuart MacPherson as Archie Pepper. The computer expert.
  • James Devoy as Sgt Ray McCoy. The resident close protection officer, assigned to VIPs.
  • Joe Hullait (Narrator)

Episodes

Pilot (2012)

A pilot of the spoof show was broadcast in November 2012. A full series was made in 2014.

Series One (2014)

Series One was broadcast in 2014. It starred James Allenby-Kirk, Karen Bartke, Darren Connell, Jack Docherty, Chris Forbes, Grado, Sally Reid, Ashley Smith, M.L. Stone, Manjot Sumal, and Jordan Young, while Hullait acted as the narrator. Connell was nominated for 'Best Actor' at the 2015 BAFTA Scotland New Talent Awards for his portrayal of Bobby Muir.[4]

Series Two (2015)

The second series began transmission in October 2015.

Series Three (2016-2017)

The third series comprised six more episodes and a Christmas special.[5] The Christmas special preceded the series, airing in December 2016.[6] The series commenced in January 2017.[7]

Series Four (2017)

The fourth series comprises six episodes and was broadcast from 15 November to 20 December 2017. BBC Scotland Only. Several new characters were added in this series - detectives DC Megan Squire and DC Andrea McGill, IT investigator Archie Pepper and Sergeant Ray McCoy.

Series Five (2018)

Shooting for series five started in June 2018.[8] Series five started airing on 4 April 2019.

Scot Squad: The Chief's Election Interviews (2019)

A one-off special which aired on BBC Scotland on 4 December 2019. It featured Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson interviewing Scottish party leaders[9]


Scot Squad: The Chief Does The New Normal (2020)

On 5 August 2020, a one off episode on BBC IPlayer showed Chief Cameron Miekelson giving viewers tips about about embracing the new normal during the easing of the coronavirus lockdown in Scotland.[10]

Spin-off series

Scotland Unsolved (2019)

Cast
  • Julie Wilson Nimmo as D.C. Megan Squire
  • Louise McCarthy as D.C. Andrea McGill

Episodes
  • Episode 1
  • Episode 2
  • Episode 3

Scot Squad: The Chief Does Edinburgh (2019)

Cast
  • Jack Doherty as Chief Cameron Miekelson

Episodes
  • Episode 1: The Chief Does Edinburgh's History
  • Episode 2: The Chief Does Edinburgh's Literature
  • Episode 3: The Chief Does Edinburgh's Geography

References
  1. "New improvised BBC Scotland comedy Scot Squad".
  2. "BBC - Scot Squad and River City stars join forces for Children in Need mash-up with Pudsey - Media Centre".
  3. "Tayside stage star Sally on the beat in BBC One TV show Scot Squad role". Evening Telegraph. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  4. "British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards: Winners in 2015". 2015-03-18.
  5. Guide, British Comedy (22 June 2016). "Filming starts on Scot Squad Series 3".
  6. Guide, British Comedy. "Scot Squad Christmas Special episode guide - British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide.
  7. Guide, British Comedy. "Scot Squad Series 3 episode guide - British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide.
  8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/scot-squad
  9. https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/5561/scot_squad_election_interviews/amp/
  10. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08mmy8z
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