Shammy Dab was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 comedy panel quiz show, first broadcast as a local radio feature and later as a regional television series, produced and broadcast by Grampian Television

Grampian Television

Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...

 during the 1980s.

History

Shammy Dab was created in 1975 by Bill Torrance

Bill Torrance

Bill Torrance born May 13, 1946, to James and Mary Torrance, originally of Ayrshire, is a Scottish broadcaster and entertainer who is known for hosting The Beechgrove Garden on BBC Scotland throughout the 1990s, Torrance is currently a presenter on Dundee radio station Tay AM.In addition to TAY AM,...

 as part of a series for Radio Forth

Radio Forth

Radio Forth is a group owning two radio stations based in Edinburgh. The stations broadcast to Edinburgh, The Lothians and Fife.-History:Radio Forth was launched on 22 January 1975 by current chairman Richard Findlay. His opening speech included "This, for the very first time is Radio Forth"...

 in Edinburgh entitled Fair Flummoxed. The radio version mainly featured Scottish country dance bands.

A number of television pilots were produced, including one by former STV head of programming Clark Tait. The format was picked up by Grampian Television producer Martin Cairns, where the name was changed to 'Shammy Dab' (referring to a cheap wall decoration where a wall was stippled with a wet sponge - when done well, it was said to be a shammy dab). Torrance was the show's original host and was succeeded by Johnny Beattie

Johnny Beattie

Johnny Beattie MBE is a Scottish actor and comedian.He began his career in the music hall and variety show tradition, similar to Scottish figures such as Rikki Fulton, Jack Milroy and Stanley Baxter, all of whom knew each other and were of a similar age to each other.He has appeared in television...

 and latterly, Dougie Donnelly

Dougie Donnelly

Douglas "Dougie" Donnelly is a Scottish television broadcaster best known for presenting sports coverage for BBC Scotland....

.

Game play involved two teams of Scottish celebrities (usually led by captains Andy Cameron and George Duffus) taking part in various rounds including identifying mystery objects, naming an area of Scotland by watching footage, defining Scottish words & phases and guessing a tune played on the piano by Art Sutter.

In later years, the series was also aired on Border Television

Border Television

Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...

 and Scottish Television

Scottish Television

Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...

. Few episodes of the series have officially survived in the Grampian archives (now kept by STV in Glasgow).

Theme music

The original theme tune was written by Dave and Barbara Murricane, while the later theme was performed by Fife folk duo Beggars Mantle.

External links

• http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Shammy_Dab
• http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/344800
• http://www.billtorrance.com/