Stars tease famous Glasgow double act Victor & Barry could return

In a special edition of STV’s Scotland Tonight on Thursday (September 7), the duo, who shot to fame in the 1980s as Kelvinside men Victor & Barry, reveal why they killed off the much-loved characters.

And they give fans a very slight glimmer of hope that the hilarious double act MIGHT return one day…

Victor & Barry, aka Forbes Masson, left, and Alan Cumming (Image: free)

“I think we’re still on the fence about it,” says Alan, in the interview with presenter Rona Dougall.

“Obviously people have been asking us for years, but now it seems more likely as we’re bringing them back in some form.

“But actually, I think part of their ‘thing’ is their youth. It’s the fact that they’re pretending to be older people – that’s part of the humour of it, these young people being all world-weary. Now it would be two world-weary old farts.”

Forbes, left, and Alan reunited for their first TV interview in 17 years (Image: STV)

In Whatever Happened to Victor & Barry? the duo discuss their sitcom The High Life, and put to rest rumours that they fell out when they brought their working relationship to an end in the mid-90s.

“There were lots of other things going on at the time,” says Forbes. “Life moves on and sometimes you have to let things go in order for other things to happen.”

Alan adds: “We’d spent a lot of time together and went through a lot together. When we killed Victor & Barry off, it was a very symbolic moment. It was at the London Palladium – Victor & Barry would have died to have died at the London Palladium, and so they did.

Forbes and Alan with presenter Rona Dougall (Image: STV)

“We never fell out. I think we just needed a break from each other. We never had rows or things like that. It was more like slightly extricating yourself from a relationship so that you can have some time, you know?”

Both men have gone on to achieve huge success on stage and screen.

Alan says: “It’s so fascinating – of all the things I’ve done over the last 75,000 years, it’s always Victor & Barry or The High Life that people connect with when I come back here, and actually all over the world.

“I think it’s so interesting that something from so long ago… is what people love you most for. Something that really came from your heart.”

Alan Cumming, left, and Forbes Masson (Image: free)

Scotland Tonight: What Ever Happened to Victor & Barry? airs on STV and STV Player at 8.30pm on Thursday, September 7.