Gary Tank Commander to team up with Scottish supermarket for 'world first' free comedy show
A popular comedy character is making a comeback for a series of shows in Scottish supermarkets.
Lidl stores in Scotland are teaming up with TV comedy character Gary: Tank Commander to launch ‘Checkout Comedy’, a free, world-first listening experience in Scottish stores. Set to entertain troops of shoppers, the crowd-pleasing comedy roadshow will offer Lidl customers at select stores across Scotland the chance to enjoy an in-store audio performance from the nation’s favourite Scots squaddie this summer.
Sporting his trademark tan, Gary is swapping the barracks for boot-stomping antics in the middle aisle as he offers a monologue of his shopping mission for the ‘Checkout Comedy’ series. Known for his Bafta award-winning BBC1 sitcom, Scottish actor and writer Greg McHugh will reprise his role as Gary McLintoch for the exclusive comedy shows that see the character offer his unique take on the trials, tribulations and ‘radge’ wee quirks of going to the supermarket.
Launching in Edinburgh just as the world’s biggest arts festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, gets underway, the series will go on to roll out to stores in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee to ensure shoppers beyond Scotland’s capital get to experience this comedy talent this August.
On announcing the partnership, Gary said: “HIYA!! Ken that way they the nuvur play decent music in the shoaps? Well I came up wi’ this idea for them tae play ME!! Um no singing but I um talking so aye!! Come listen tae me givin you tips on how to shoap like Gary!!! N you’ll DEFINITELY huv a LIDL laugh along the way!! OH GARY THAT IS AN AMAZIN JOKE!! Thanks Gary! You’re pure welcome Gary!”
Dates and times for Gary Tank Commander at Lidl
The checkout comedy will be at the following locations from 10am-8pm
- Edinburgh - Meadowbank, The Retail Park, 8 Moray Park Terrace, Edinburgh, EH7 5TN - Saturday 3 - Tuesday 6 August
- Glasgow - Anniesland, 868 Crowe Road, Glasgow, G13 1HU - Saturday 10 - Tuesday 13 August
- Aberdeen - Torry, Greenwell Rd, East Tullos Industrial Estate, Aberdeen, AB12 3ZR - Saturday 17 - Tuesday 20 August
- Inverness - 77 Telford St, Inverness, IV3 5LU - Saturday 24 - Tuesday 27 August
- Dundee - Kingsway East, Dundee, Dundee, DD4 7RW - Saturday 31 August - Tuesday 3 September.
Find out more via the Lidl website.
Gary Tank Commander started life as a character in McHugh’s stand-up routine back in 2006, breezed into an E4 mockumentary short and then grabbed himself a BBC series in 2009. Created and written by McHugh, Gary: Tank Commander had three BBC series and won a Scottish BAFTA. Gary Tank Commander then got a series of live stage shows in 2016.
Also in 2016 he was seen in a politics special interviewing politicians and in 2018 travelled to America to speak to Scots who had emigrated to Los Angeles in a TV one-off, Gary Goes to Hollywood. More recently, McHugh, as Gary, gave arousing call to action to the Scottish men's football team during the Euros on Martin Compston and Gordon Smart’s BBC show Late Night at the Euros with Compston and Smart.
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