Chewin' the Fat is a Scottish comedy sketch show, starring Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Karen Dunbar. Comedians Paul Riley and Mark Cox also appeared regularly on the show among other actors such as Gregor Fisher and Tom Urie. Chewin' the Fat first started as a radio series on BBC Radio Scotland. The later television show, which ran for four series, was first broadcast on BBC One Scotland, but series three and four, as well as highlights from the first two series, were later broadcast nationally across the United Kingdom. Although the last series ended in February 2002, a Hogmanay special was broadcast each New Year's Eve between 2000 and 2005. Chewin' the Fat gave rise to the successful, and cult spin-off show Still Game, a sitcom focusing on the two elderly friends, Jack and Victor. The series was mostly filmed in and around Glasgow and occasionally West Dunbartonshire. The English idiom to chew the fat means to chat casually, but thoroughly, about subjects of mutual interest. Recurring characters and sketches Alistair (Hemphill) and Rory (Kiernan) Two eccentric documentary presenters from the Scottish Highlands, fascinated with Scottish history and landscapes. They are constantly harassed by two neds, who often play practical jokes on the pair or taunt them, shouting: "ya couple o' fannies!" The pranks vary from childish tricks (such as putting glue on the receiver of "Britain's most northerly phone box," which promptly sticks to Alistair's beard) to potentially lethal actions (such as rolling a caber down a mountainside at full tilt towards them); however, the pair of plucky Highlanders always live to present another show. The characters are partly based on the hosts of Scottish history programmes such as Weir's Way. The Big Man (Kiernan) The Big Man is a tough Glaswegian gangster, and a stereotypical representation of an "Alpha Male", who turns up to solve people's problems by means of intense intimidation and violence. Keeping with the "hard man" theme, he has a very deep voice. The character first appeared in a parody of Scotland Todays "Call The Lawyer" section, in which people having problems could get legal advice. The character was so popular after his first appearance that he appeared in other sketches; his catchphrase being: "Is there a problem here?" The Big Man is frequently hypocritical, usually demanding as payment whatever he had helped his clients receive. However, the people are always very happy to