Jonathan Watson

Two Doors Down: Doon Mackichan steals the show

Doon Mackichan steals the show in this Burns Night horror.

Two Doors Down is fun with a strong cast

Two Doors Down (BBC Two) originally arrived on New Year's Eve 2013 as a one-hour, one-off comedy about a Hogmanay gathering gone wrong. It returned for a third series last night with an episode about another Scottish institution, Burns Night, complete with haggis, tatties and malt whisky, and proceeded to lacerate it for the next half hour.

Judy Murray to make a cameo in 'Only an Excuse?'

In an unlikely encounter, the 57-year-old will feature in a skit alongside Frank "Macca" McAvennie, a caricature of the former Celtic and Scotland footballer, as played by Jonathan Watson, the star of the sketch show.

Jonathan Watson flexes his muscles in new show

His to-do list included a host of must-do jobs he needs to tackle sooner rather than later, because for the next few weeks he'll be busy preparing for a show that's become essential viewing for millions of Scots each Hogmanay - Only An Excuse? But fans of the Scottish actor who has a reputation for being a man of many faces - and voices - don't have to wait until the end of the year to see him in action for he's back on our screens next week, starring in the wonderful comedy show, Two Doors Down.

Two Doors Down is back

He admits he's a bit of an arse, but Jonathan Watson can't help liking the bragging character he plays in one of the few Scottish comedies to be aired on both sides of the Border.

Everyone weary of Hogmanay's forced merriment will relish this comedy. We're told that New Year celebrations are all about spending time with family and friends, raising a glass together and opening a shortbread tin in tipsy harmony. Rubbish! Has anyone ever actually spent a New Year like that? Mine are always soured by the memory of the year before when I made a list of saintly resolutions, long since trashed. I'm so bad at keeping them that I needn't make new ones; I'll just endlessly recycle last year's list and hate myself more each time.

So those for whom Hogmanay is about guilt, despair and plain old grumpiness will find a collection of kindred spirits here.

Almost every Scottish comedy actor you can name makes an appearance: Alex Norton, Daniela Nardini, Doon Mackichan, Jonathan Watson, Sharon Rooney, a young James Allenby-Kirk and more.

The action takes place in a tidy suburban house as Eric and Beth prepare to host a Hogmanay party but things go wrong from the beginning, starting with the small matter of there being no crisps, and when the riotous family and friends descend things get worse still, ending in leaps from the bathroom window and Viking axe attacks.

Jonathan Watson interview

Modesty is perhaps not what you would expect from an all-round Scottish entertainer with four decades in the industry under his belt. But it personifies 58-year-old Glaswegian actor and mimic Jonathan Watson, who is touring Scotland in the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) satire Yer Granny.