RUTHERGLEN actor Scott Kyle is saying farewell to his most famous character after over three years.
The play Singin' I'm No a Billy He's a Tim has catapulted Scott into the public eye since he first took a chance on it in 2007.
But he will perform as Rangers-daft Billy for the final time on April 29th, with the play's writer Des Dillon wanting to take the show on himself.
It will be an emotional farewell for Scott, whose theatre company No Limit People snapped up the anti-sectarian piece about three-and-a-half-years ago.
Back then they had no idea what a phenomenon it would become across Scotland, and beyond. They recently performed it in front of 3000 people at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow.
The popularity of the play has also seen two extra dates added to Scott's final tour with it, including two at Rutherglen Town Hall on April14th & 29th, and one in Hamilton on 15th April.
During the time he has appeared in it, Scott has drawn praise from politicians, including the last two First Ministers, for tackling such an important subject. And he even picked up the best actor award at the Edinburgh Festival last year.
Although he will be sad to see his association with the play come to an end, he knows it opens doors for new opportunities in the future. In fact, he was at Rutherglen Town Hall to launch the Christmas panto, Aladdin, which he will take to the Town Hall as well as Hamilton.
He said: "We just played the Armadillo in front of 3000 people; it's incredible how far we've come.
"Des wants to do it himself, and I think that's fair enough. It's a cracking play and a spectacular piece of writing.
"I said I no longer wanted to be in it as I wanted to try other things. It's like in Romeo and Juliet... you can be Romeo but you don't want to be him for the rest of your life."
But Scott admits he will miss the play, as well as the character he portrayed.
Scott has helped develop Billy throughout the years, and in fact based his performance on people he knew.
He said: "He's an amazing character but it's time to pass the baton on to someone else.
"There is a feeling on stage that I'm saying goodbye when I say certain lines.
"I get people coming up to me, even Celtic fans, and they say they recognise the way Billy celebrates a Rangers goal by shouting all the bigoted stuff.
"The character is based on people I grew up with.
" It's a mix of three guys so he's a real life character. I've taken different qualities from all of them."
Scott is now focussing on putting on a great Christmas panto, even this early in the year.
He said: "Hamilton especially is a massive venue, with around 700 seats. There will be a lot of effort and graft going into this."
Tickets for Billy and Tim or Aladdin can be purchased from the Rutherglen Town Hall box office on 0141 613 5700 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0141 613 5700 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
