Editing Jack Docherty (section)

==Career==

Docherty first performed at the 1980 [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]] with the comedy sketch group The Bodgers which he formed with [[George Watson's College]] schoolfriends [[Moray Hunter]], [[Gordon Kennedy (actor)|Gordon Kennedy]] and [[Pete Baikie]]. They performed each year from 1980 to 1985. ''Arfington, Arfington'' their 1984 show and ''Mr Hargreaves Did It'' their 1985 show were both shortlisted for the [[Perrier Comedy Award]]. In 1982 he dropped out of [[Aberdeen University]] where he was studying law, after he and Moray Hunter became staff writers in the [[BBC]] radio comedy department contributing to various shows including ''[[Radio Active (radio series)|Radio Active]]'', ''[[In One Ear]]'', ''[[Week Ending]]'' and ''[[The News Huddlines]]''. He also recorded one series with The Bodgers for [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] called ''In Other Words...The Bodgers''. For the second series, producer Alan Nixon teamed them with [[John Sparkes]] and [[Morwenna Banks]] for ''Bodgers, Banks and Sparkes'', forming the cast that would go on to make the sketch show ''[[Absolutely (TV series)|Absolutely]]'' for [[Channel 4]].

In addition to his radio work, he wrote for ''[[Spitting Image]]'' for four series between 1984 and 1987. During the same period he also contributed to various other comedy shows including ''[[Alas Smith and Jones]]'', and ''[[The Lenny Henry Show]]''. He was also script editor for the first series of ''[[Vic Reeves Big Night Out]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Christie |first1=Janice |title=It's bams beware as Jack Docherty, Scot Squad's The Chief, takes charge of his own sitcom on BBC Scotland |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/its-bams-beware-as-scot-squads-the-chief-takes-charge-of-his-own-sitcom-on-bbc-scotland-4982211 |access-date=28 February 2025 |publisher=The Scotsman |date=15 February 2025 |ref=Scotsman Christie}}</ref> He wrote four series of ''[[Absolutely (TV series)|Absolutely]]''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Christie |first1=Janice |title=It's bams beware as Jack Docherty, Scot Squad's The Chief, takes charge of his own sitcom on BBC Scotland |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/its-bams-beware-as-scot-squads-the-chief-takes-charge-of-his-own-sitcom-on-bbc-scotland-4982211 |access-date=28 February 2025 |publisher=The Scotsman |date=15 February 2025 |ref=Scotsman Christie}}</ref> (1989–1992) and with Hunter the spin-off [[Channel 4]] sitcom ''[[Mr Don & Mr George]]'' (1993). With [[Morwenna Banks]] he co-wrote the C4 ''[[Comedy Lab]]'' "Model, Actress, Whatever..." directed by [[Rankin (photographer)|Rankin]] and, again with [[Moray Hunter]], two series of the [[BBC2]] sitcom ''The Creatives''. In 2008 he and Hunter wrote the [[BBC2]] series ''[[The Cup (TV series)|The Cup]]'' starring [[Steve Edge]]. This was an adaptation of the Canadian sitcom ''[[The Tournament (TV series)|The Tournament]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2008/02/20/6438/absolutely_duo_pen_football_sitcom |title=Absolutely duo pen football sitcom |publisher=Chortle.co.uk |date=20 February 2008 |access-date=1 August 2013}}</ref> In 2012 he wrote and acted in "Stop / Start", a pilot for BBC Radio 4.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/radio/stop_start/ |title=Stop/Start – Radio 4 Sitcom – British Comedy Guide |publisher=Comedy.co.uk |access-date=1 August 2013}}</ref> This was then commissioned for a 6-part series which was broadcast on Radio 4 from 6 September 2013 with the title ''Start/Stop'' and ran for three series.  It was made available as an audio download in October 2019 with the title changed to ''It's Not Us, It's Them'', although the reason for the change is unknown. A TV pilot of the show was broadcast under the name ''Stop/Start'' in March 2016 as part of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b039vjb1|title=Series 1, Start/Stop - BBC Radio 4|website=BBC|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-03-29}}</ref>

As an actor Docherty is best known for his work on the [[Channel 4]] cult comedy sketch show ''[[Absolutely (TV series)|Absolutely]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Christie |first1=Janice |title=It's bams beware as Jack Docherty, Scot Squad's The Chief, takes charge of his own sitcom on BBC Scotland |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/its-bams-beware-as-scot-squads-the-chief-takes-charge-of-his-own-sitcom-on-bbc-scotland-4982211 |access-date=28 February 2025 |publisher=The Scotsman |date=15 February 2025 |ref=Scotsman Christie}}</ref>  Premiered in 1989 the show marked a shift away from the political satirical orthodoxy of the 1980s to the surreal, character based comedy of the 1990s. The recurring characters he portrayed included MacGlashan, George MacDiarmid, Peter Wells, Mr Nice and one of the [[Stoneybridge]] councillors. The sketch featuring the [[Stoneybridge]] council bidding for the Olympics was voted the 30th best of all time in The Top 50 Comedy Sketches on [[Channel 4]]. He also starred with [[Moray Hunter]] in the ''[[Absolutely (TV series)|Absolutely]]'' spin off sitcom ''[[Mr Don & Mr George]]''. He played the role of Ben Gray in two series of the advertising sitcom ''[[The Creatives]]'' (1998 and 2000) on [[BBC2]]. Also in 2000 he co-starred with [[Mark Williams (actor)|Mark Williams]] in ''[[The Strangerers]]'', the [[Rob Grant]] penned sci-fi series for [[Sky One]], and provided one of the voices for the [[Aardman]] Oscar nominated short ''[[Humdrum]]''. In 2013 he appeared regularly in the BBC3 sitcom ''[[Badults]]''.

In 1997 he was part of the launch of [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] becoming Britain's first five nights a week chat show host on ''[[The Jack Docherty Show]]''. The show also featured some of the first television work of writers [[Kevin Cecil]] and [[Andy Riley]], [[Jesse Armstrong]] and [[Sam Bain]], and writer/performers [[David Mitchell (comedian)|David Mitchell]] and [[Robert Webb]]. ''[[Not The Jack Docherty Show]]'', broadcast when Docherty was on holiday, featured guest hosts including [[Phill Jupitus]], [[Rich Hall]], [[Melinda Messenger]] and, most notably, [[Graham Norton]], who was signed by [[Channel 4]] after his stint to host ''[[So Graham Norton]]''. Docherty quit the show in 1999 and [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] did not replace him, ending their production of late night chat shows. In 2000, he hosted the [[BAFTA]] film awards in London. Notoriously, he began the night by revealing the [[twist ending]] to ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'', a move that did not go down well with the audience. In 2000 to 2001 he hosted the [[BBC Radio 2|Radio 2]] show ''[[Saturday Night Jack]]'' which reunited him with his ''[[Absolutely (TV series)|Absolutely]]'' colleague [[Pete Baikie]]. He was also an occasional host of [[BBC Radio 2|Radio 2]]'s Friday night arts show.

He plays Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson in BBC Scotland's comedy ''[[Scot Squad]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bams beware: The Chief set for Scot Squad spin-off |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9x03xl94g5o |access-date=28 February 2025 |publisher=BBC |date=30 January 2024}}</ref>

His work as a producer includes the BBC Scotland film No Holds Bard (2008), and two series (2009 and 2010) of the [[BBC1]] sitcom ''[[The Old Guys]]''.