Scotland's favourite comedy characters are set to say farewell to their fans in person – by returning to the stage for an emotional final bow.

Jack, Victor and the posse of Still Game pensioners will go back to the scene of their phenomenal 2014 run of 21 live shows for the “retirement party to end all retirement parties” with a string of dates at Glasgow’s Hydro next autumn.

The BBC series’ creators and leading men, Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, are writing a grand finale for the Craiglang favourites, after the success of two stage productions at the 10,000-capacity venue.

(Image: BBC )

They’re planning five dates for Still Game: The Final Farewell from September 27 next year.

And Ford and Greg revealed they’ve been plotting the characters’ swansong since they revived the series as a live stage production in 2014 after a seven-year break.

Ford, who plays Jack Jarvis, said: “We decided a reasonable amount of time ago that we wanted to retire the characters permanently from television and theatre.

“And there’s no doubt about it this time, Still Game is finished. There won’t be another comeback in a few years. This isn’t Sinatra.”

Greg, Victor McDade in the hit show, said: “If anyone is entitled to a retirement, it’s Jack and Victor. It’s been 21 years and when you do characters for this long, you do start thinking about what’s next for them. When we brought them back in 2014, we knew it wasn’t for 10 years. We wanted to bring them back to tell a certain number of stories.

“And we’ve told them now. So this is them saying cheerio.”

The ninth and final series of Still Game has been filmed and is expected to be screened on the BBC in the new year. Greg said: “There won’t be a load of plot strands from the TV show which we’re tying up at the Hydro. That’s asking too much of an audience. But it’s going to be a retirement from Jack and Victor’s life.”

Ford added: “Theatre is a different experience altogether. Nothing compares to playing in front of that many people, and all that warmth in the room. It’s like being on another planet.

(Image: Paul Chappells)

“After you’ve finished a run like the ones we’ve done in the past, it feels like your world has collapsed. And it’s not too long before you want that feeling again, that vibe, that connection. But we’re retiring them for good now and I don’t think there will be a dry eye in the house.”

Still Game began as a stage show at the Fringe in 1997. Jack and Victor featured in TV sketch show Chewin’ The Fat before being given their own series in 2002.

It ran until 2007 when Ford and Greg’s working relationship broke down. But when the pair reunited to bring a 21-show run at the Hydro in 2014

Three years later, they followed up with a 15-show live production. Ford said: “Everything’s been a learning curve for us. You start writing sketches, then you’re in a sketch show, and then you’re asked to do a sitcom, but you don’t know if that’s a good idea because you’ve never written a sitcom before.

(Image: Paul Chappells)

“Then you surprise yourself when it works, and the next thing you’re asked if you can write a show in a stadium … we enjoy doing it, and we’re reasonably good at it, or at least people seem to think so.”

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Ford went on: “All those years ago, we opened to about six people. We were stoney broke and we came up with this idea about my uncle Barney and Greg’s grandad Sammy. It was really a writing exercise for us. We never thought we were going to have such major success or make a few quid. We just wanted to do it to show people what we were up to.

“We were really lucky, it just kept growing and growing. Now, Greg and I slip in to Jack and Victor when we’re talking to each other.”

(Image: Graeme Hunter Pictures)

Greg added: “In some ways, we will never leave them behind. We’re proud to have created them, and it is

bitter-sweet. But we’re satisfied that this is the right time to stop after one final farewell. By then, all Jack and Victor’s stories will have been told.”

●Tickets for Still Game: The Final Farewell go on sale on Friday 2 November at 10am. Tickets are available online here or by calling 0844 395 4000.