CRAIG: BIG YIN PAVED WAY FOR MY CAREER

COMEDIAN Craig Ferguson was inspired by Sir Billy Connolly.
The former US chat show host said listening to the Big Yin gave him the confidence to pursue his dream of being a stand-up.
He said Glasgow-born Connolly, 82, was a huge influence on him and showed that a working-class guy from Scotland could become a global success.
Ferguson, originally from Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, became a massive star in the States as host of The Late Late Show, for which he earned a reported £8million a year.
But he admitted his whole career had been a “tribute act” to his hero Connolly, who retired from stand-up after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Speaking on his Joy podcast, Ferguson, 62, said: “Billy is about 20 years older than me so when he was coming through in his early 30s, I was in my early teens.
“We would get his comedy vinyl albums and he was great, he was so good.
“I was very heavily influenced by Billy because he was from the same socio-economic background as me.
“He was the first person I ever saw who was famous who sounded like we did - my family and my friends. He was and is a great comedian. He was the first guy into the big l...