Tuesday 17 October 2017

SCOTS COMEDIAN BILLY CONNOLLY HAD TO HIDE UNDER A TABLE

BILLY Connolly once had to hide under a table during the troubles in Northern Ireland according to broadcaster Gloria Hunniford.

Gloria, and her Rip Off Britain golden girls Angela Rippon and Julia Somerville can't wait to come to Scotland this week to host a week of live episodes of the BBC one consumer show. 

She recalled meeting her first ever big name Scot - in the form of Billy. 

She revealed: "Billy Connolly was probably the first big famous Scot I met. When I was in Northern Ireland he was a great friend of Phil Coulter who is a great composer and pianist and performer. They still are really good mates. Phil lived in Derry and during the bombings Billy would literally bite the bullet and come across.  

Gloria who regularly reported on the bombs, bullets and barricades long before she was sent to London to work for Radio 2 said: "Phil wanted Billy to come over this one time and Billy wasn't keen. 

He said: "I don't want to come over." Phil said: "You'll be safe as houses. They don't ever attack anyone in sport or entertainment." 

Anyway Billy was in St Columbs Hall in Derry and there was a bomb scare. So he was hiding under the table during this bomb scare and shouted to Coulter 'Wait till I get my hands on you." 

At the same time there was somebody crawling commando style in his chest and hands and knees and said to Billy 'Hey Billy could I have your autograph."

Gloria also revealed her young son couldn't get round the idea of historic Scottish ruins when they first came on holiday to Scotland. 

She said: I remember the first time we came to visit Scotland when we were living in Northern Ireland. We could go round Stranraer very easily for a holiday and we went when my kids were small and I do recall going to the Rose Abbey when my son Paul was seven or eight at the time and he said: "Oh mum. Who blew it up?" He couldn't understand it was a ruin air everything he'd seen in Northern Ireland had been blown up."

Excerpts of this article have since appeared in in the Scottish Sun.

From Scotland with Love - The Showbiz Lion

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