One of the stars of Still Game, which staged a successful version of the TV show a Glasgow's SSE Hydro, has described as "ludicrous" the claim that the show was not a Scottish production.

The Still Game: Live show has not featured in the Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) short lists which were announced yesterday.

Hemphill said that he was not annoyed that the show did not get a nomination as the judges are "entitled to not nominate it".

However, the show was not included for a technical reason, because it was produced by Phil McIntyre Entertainments of London.

Productions which are not Scottish, that is, produced by companies based in Scotland, do not qualify for the awards.

Hemphill added: "I do take issue with their judgment that it wasn't a Scottish show. That is just ludicrous."

The show, which sold more than 200,000 tickets, was written by Hemphill and Ford Kiernan - both Scottish - and performed by an all Scottish cast in Glasgow.

A spokeswoman for the show said the absence was purely based on that qualification criteria and not due to any questions of "Scottishness".

Hemphill said on Twitter: "Written by Scots, performed by Scots, in Scotland. Not Scottish. Hahaha! #stillgamelive."

The critic and co-convenor of the CATS awards, Mark Fisher, said the rules were designed to ensure only Scottish productions were considered.

Mr Fisher said: "The rule we have for CATS eligibility is that a show must be substantially produced in Scotland.

"This is the best method we've found to make sure we celebrate work created in Scotland, as opposed to, say, a group of Scottish actors putting on a show in London.

"And this is the criterion we applied to Still Game which, although performed in Scotland, was produced by the London-based Phil McIntyre Entertainments.

"It's actually a way of making decisions based on location, not on ethnicity - kind of the opposite of the charge that we thought Still Game wasn't Scottish enough."

Neil Cooper, theatre critic for The Herald and CATS judge, said: "Still Game Live was a fantastic piece of theatre, which I enjoyed very much, as my review in the Herald made clear.

"As the production company behind the show isn't based in Scotland, however, it unfortunately isn't eligible for the CATS Awards.

"If the production company had been based in Scotland, the show would of course have been eligible.

"At no point ever has anyone suggested that Still Game Live wasn't Scottish enough for the awards, and anyone suggesting otherwise is inaccurate."

Another notable absentee from the awards are The James Plays, the major historical plays staged by the Edinburgh International Festival last summer.

They were a National Theatre of Scotland production and written by Rona Munro and directed by Laurie Sansom, and concerned the lives of James I, II and III of Scotland.

The James Plays, which starred James McArdle, Blythe Duff and Sofie Gråbøl among others, were long listed for awards in the CATS but did not make it to the short lists.

Two theatre companies which were the subject of controversial funding decisions from Creative Scotland are in the running to pick up awards.

The Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh, which had its regular, three-year funding cut by 17.5 per cent last year, leads the list of nominations with 17.

Untitled Projects, led by artistic director Stewart Laing, which is likely to close in Scotland after failing to receive funding from the national arts funding body last year, has four nominations.

The shortlists for awards recognise six different Royal Lyceum productions.

The CATS Award ceremony returns to Glasgow's Tron Theatre this year.

It will be held on the afternoon of June 14.