Apparently, those nice people at BBC Network in that London have nixxed giving this genuinely innovative and, thank Christ, funny, Scottish sitcom, a run out Down South on the grounds that the audience wouldn’t understand the accents - the pair hings.

Now to be fair, there is some historical justification for the network’s caution in respect of this. "Rab C Nesbitt" that "we" all loved, tanked big-time when it was given a UK wide airing. "They", according to the ratings gurus, didn’t understand it. Well OK, maybe they’ve got a point but surely things have moved on? I mean after the success of a show about three "oirish" priests changed the face of TV comedy, we’re no longer in Kansas are we Toto?

Post "Father Ted", the rules of good sitcom are that there are no rules of good sitcom, and Hemphill and Kiernan gleefully exploit this new terrain with "Still Game", producing comedy that’s challenging, thought-provoking, and sad and funny by turn.

Now, why wouldn’t our Southern cousins get it? I suspect in fact they would, if we deconstruct the whole notion of a homogeneous "English" audience.

When BBC Network talk about the English audience they have in mind great swathes of the suburban south-east who find Monarch of The Glen quite Scottish enough, thank you very much.

And that assessment neatly leaves out those English "regional" viewers who I would argue are paradoxically much more cosmopolitan and northward facing than perhaps their southern based counterparts. Maybe I’m wrong, but If I can get a lot out off Manc or Scally based comedy ,then why should it be any different for Mancs or Scallies watching Scottish stuff?

Meantime, apparently 1.5m of "us" are watching "Still Game" each week which works out at some phenomenal percentage of the Scottish population that I’d be able to work out if I could find my calculator.

One thing’s for sure, a lot more people watch Still Game than tune into the money pit aka "River City" and it's easy to understand why.

Still Game deals in real people that we learn to care about, River City deals in ratings chasing stereotypes devoid of any real life. It might seem ironic that a sitcom is more "realistic" than a serial drama but that’s post-modernism for you.