John Byrne

Paisley, Scotland, in 1957. Three likely lads look forward to the staff dance at the local carpet factory where they work

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In the autumn of 1773, the English writer Samuel Johnson visits the Hebrides, or Western Isles, off the North-West coast of Scotland. With him are his friend, the Scotsman James Boswell, and his black servant Francis Barber. Staying with a series of hosts, including elderly Jacobite heroine Flora McDonald, Johnson and Boswell encounter traditional Scottish hospitality at first-hand, all the time arguing about politics (and in Boswell's case losing his head over every pretty woman he meets). Meanwhile, Francis and another black servant they encounter provide evidence of the new consciousness emerging in Britain's soon-to-be-independent American colonies.

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In this diverse and inventive autobiography, painter and author John Byrne travels from his youth, through his art school years to the period of his stage and TV plays, and on to his death, sometime in the future. With him is Robbie Coltrane as himself and as a shamus invented by Byrne, who discovers there are as many aspects to the author as there are actors playing him.

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Screenplay was a drama anthology television series, broadcast on BBC between 1986 and 1993. Numerous episodes were produced including one named "Boswell and Johnson's Tour of the Western Islands" starring Robbie Coltrane as English writer Samuel Johnson who in the autumn of 1773, visits the Hebrides off the north-west coast of Scotland. That episode was directed by John Byrne and co-starred John Sessions and Celia Imrie.

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Two-part series with intimate interviews with Billy Connolly, providing unique insight into the early influences and motivations that made this comedy legend the man he is today.

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Celebrating Billy Connolly's 75th birthday and 50 years in the business, three Scottish artists - John Byrne, Jack Vettriano and Rachel MacLean - each create a new portrait of the Big Yin. As he sits with each artist, Billy talks about his remarkable life and career which has taken him from musician and pioneering stand-up to Hollywood star and national treasure.

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Two American mafiosi, Gino and Settimo, take refuge in the Glasgow cafe owned by their Scottish/Italian cousin, but he isn't the tough guy they'd expected. Gino and Settimo try to repay Roberto's hospitality by chasing off a debt collector who wants his property, but their strong arm tactics alarm him and he realises they aren't the PR consultants they claimed to be.

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In the 1960s, British painter Francis Bacon surprises a burglar and invites him to share his bed. The burglar, a working class man named George Dyer, accepts. After the unique beginning to their love affair, the well-connected and volatile artist assimilates Dyer into his circle of eccentric friends, as Dyer's struggle with addiction strains their bond.

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In this diverse and inventive autobiography, painter and author John Byrne travels from his youth, through his art school years to the period of his stage and TV plays, and on to his death, sometime in the future. With him is Robbie Coltrane as himself and as a shamus invented by Byrne, who discovers there are as many aspects to the author as there are actors playing him.

Open details →

Paisley, Scotland, in 1957. Three likely lads look forward to the staff dance at the local carpet factory where they work

Open details →

In the autumn of 1773, the English writer Samuel Johnson visits the Hebrides, or Western Isles, off the North-West coast of Scotland. With him are his friend, the Scotsman James Boswell, and his black servant Francis Barber. Staying with a series of hosts, including elderly Jacobite heroine Flora McDonald, Johnson and Boswell encounter traditional Scottish hospitality at first-hand, all the time arguing about politics (and in Boswell's case losing his head over every pretty woman he meets). Meanwhile, Francis and another black servant they encounter provide evidence of the new consciousness emerging in Britain's soon-to-be-independent American colonies.

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In this fondly remembered mini series John Byrne, creator of Tutti Frutti, explores the country music scene in an unsentimental portrait of Glaswegian life and culture. Local food and wine correspondent Frank McClusky falls in love with waitress Cissie Crouch. Unfortunately for him, she’s the wife of a convict, who is serving time for a crime he didn’t commit. As Frank’s life becomes more embroiled with Cissie’s he goes on a mission to track down the guilty men.

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In this fondly remembered mini series John Byrne, creator of Tutti Frutti, explores the country music scene in an unsentimental portrait of Glaswegian life and culture. Local food and wine correspondent Frank McClusky falls in love with waitress Cissie Crouch. Unfortunately for him, she’s the wife of a convict, who is serving time for a crime he didn’t commit. As Frank’s life becomes more embroiled with Cissie’s he goes on a mission to track down the guilty men.

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