Come home, Craig: Showbiz legend Johnny Beattie’s plea to chat show star Ferguson
CHAT star Craig Ferguson has been urged to come home to Scotland after dramatically quitting his US talk show.
The Late Late Show host Ferguson, 51, shocked 1.5 million fans on Monday by announcing he would quit his £5.5million-a-year job with CBS.
He refused to elaborate but it is thought he decided to leave after being overlooked to take over from Late Show king David Letterman, who is retiring.
Glasgow-born Ferguson, who has an estimated fortune of £15million, was apparently due an eight-figure payout if not chosen, so can afford to take time over his next career move.
And friend and Scottish comedy legend Johnny Beattie reckons the time is right for Ferguson to return to the homeland he left after spiralling into drink and drug abuse.
The veteran funnyman declared: “Come home Craig, Scotland forgives you.”
Beattie, 87, believes Ferguson, who found fame in the late 1980s with oddball comedy character Bing Hitler, would have no problem cracking the UK market again.
He said: “Once you have made it in Hollywood you can make it anywhere. The world is his oyster, really. That’s what it’s all about.”
Come home Craig, Scotland forgives you
Ferguson will step down from his chat show in December after a decade at the helm.
He told viewers: “There’s two things we never discuss – wages and ages. So I think I’m gonna stick to that.”
Beattie said: “I remember giving Craig that advice at the Tron Theatre. I got on very well with him.
“I was amazed and delighted for him when he got the job on that big talk show.
“I do remember exactly what I said to him about wages and ages because it is such a true thing.
“He was going by the name Bing Hitler then.
“I was amused because my idol was Bing Crosby and the arch villain of all time was Adolf Hitler.”
In his autobiography, Ferguson described how his short-lived BBC Scotland career hit the skids and he slid into a cycle of drug and alcohol abuse.
The three-times married father of two described how in 1991 he decided he would commit suicide by jumping off Tower Bridge in London – but instead checked into rehab.
He was based in New York for some time but in 1995 moved to Los Angeles where he won a part in The Drew Carey Show, after which he wrote and starred in several films.
