It is the comedy about two adventurous pensioners that Scotland has taken to its heart, proving a hit on both the television screen and the theatrical stage.

But beyond the one liners, comical situations and slapstick, the creators of Still Game, which to return for an 8th series on the BBC and recently had its second major theatrical show at the Hydro venue in Glasgow, had a serious purpose: to show elderly people as they are and "give them a voice".

They also believe that in the world of culture and entertainment, "pensioners don't get enough attention".

Writers and performers Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who created and play the two main characters of the show, Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade, revealed there is a more serious purpose behind the show - showing pensioners as bright, funny, and adventurous, despite the rigours of old age.

Still Game is to return to BBC One in 2017 in a six part series.

In an interview with The Herald about their recent show at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow Kiernan said that the couples age had been deliberately frozen at 75 years old, with Hemphill adding that they are on the "precipice."

He said "They are perpetually on a precipice aren’t they? Everyone is, who is at that age.

"The shrinking future, as they call it.

"It’s quite frightening. And I think one of the points of Still Game is to take that fear away.

"And say to people and also to ourselves - that you have got to enjoy that part of your life, because you have earned it, you have worked all your life, hard to get to that part.

“I feel bad for people if they are afraid at that age, what their future is going to be.

“I like the idea when you get to that age that you are OK with your life and what’s happening.”

Kiernan noted that the duo "should be 95. We did the first play 20 years ago" and added: "We genuinely think that pensioners don’t get enough attention.

"You fall off the radar when you get to being a pensioner - you lose your pals, your family don’t visit enough, and things like that.

"But they’ve got a voice. I’ve been in the company of pensioners with Greg and they are very sharp, once they loosen up a bit. I’ve got friends that are that age. And I think: give them a voice."

Hemphill added: “And this show, if there was a message about it, its that you shouldn’t think that you’ve made all your pals, or you are not ready for one more adventure.

"There is always going to be something around the corner in your life to look forward to. "

He said: "I guess, everyone has someone like Jack or Victor, or their gang they hang around with, the community, everyone knows somebody like that in their lives."

Kiernan said that the recent stage show had its origins in "how f*cking freezing it is in February, how miserable it is for pensioners in February, even to go and get a loaf of bread and get back."

Hemphill added: "I think in Scotland, we love old folk, but it’s a tough country, it gets cold in the winter, we have to look after our old folk…there’s issues here that affect them.

"So we try and address them in a serious way as well as a light-hearted way. We never try to take our characters lightly, even though it’s a sitcom."

"The old people that are in Ford’s life or my life, are not like the old people that you see on TV, they are so much richer than that, they have so much conversation, you can sit and talk for hours on end, and that’s what we want all those characters to be."