Euro 2024: Line of Duty star Martin Compston to host nightly BBC Scotland Euro fanzine show from Munich

The Euror 2024 nightly fanzine show will star Line of Duty actor Martin Compston as host

Actor Martin Compston has revealed he has landed his dream TV role – hosting a nightly fanzine show for Scotland fans at Euro 2024.

The Line of Duty star will co-present the BBC Scotland show with broadcaster Gordon Smart before a live audience at the Gasteig arts centre in Munich. Late Night at The Euros with Compston & Smart will be shown at 10.30pm each night from June 13 – the night before the tournament opener when Scotland play hosts Germany.

The half-hour programmes will run throughout the group stages, except on the three nights when Scotland are playing. It will also feature stand up comedian Susie McCabe as a roving reporter bringing back news from the Tartan Army in fan zones across Germany, and guests from the world of showbiz.

Actor Martin Compston. Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

Compston, who turned 40 last week, said: "My job is to be on TV for a living, but this feels like something different. We are going to be hosting the Scottish fanzine show for BBC Scotland throughout the Euros. This is the greatest blag of all time."

He added: "The last time Scotland qualified for a Euros in one country, I was 12. Having just turned 40 I’ve been dreaming of this trip my entire adult life and the fact I get to do it with one of my best mates and bring the Tartan Army along for the ride is going to make it two of the best weeks of my puff. Possibly longer."

BBC Scotland said the show would "bring the party atmosphere to BBC Scotland" with a series of entertainment-packed half-hours featuring fans, football and famous faces. The programmes will be filmed in a studio in Munich decked out like a classic German beer hall, in front of a live audience of 150 fans each night.

As well as studio-based entertainment, the series will feature films of the hosts exploring some of Germany’s more distinctive tourist attractions and getting into the match day mood with locals and Scotland supporters.

Compston, who announced the show on the Restless Natives podcast he co-hosts with Smart, said: "I'm so chuffed that we've blagged this. We are two chancers living the dream … this is the greatest thing ever."

Smart, who has named Rod Stewart, Ewan McGregor and Sharleen Spiteri among the dream guests he would love to invite onto the show, said: "Being at the Euros with one of my best pals, going to the curtain raiser in Munich, and sharing the carry-on with everyone at home is a dream come true.

"We have waited 25 years for this chance. It also just so happens to be Martin’s 40th birthday as well, so we might have to celebrate that with the Tartan Army too." McCabe added: "Absolutely delighted to be involved in following the Scotland national team and the Tartan Army around Germany as we try and bring the Euros home."

David Harron, BBC Scotland executive producer, said the series would be the perfect way to capture the zeitgeist of Scotland’s Euros 2024 adventure.

He said: "With excitement across Scotland for the tournament likely to be at fever pitch, Late Night At The Euros will bring a mix of laughs, guests and football chat which we hope the audience back home will enjoy."

Late Night at The Euros with Compston & Smart is being produced for BBC Scotland by Studio Something, makers of award-winning A View from the Terrace, which airs regularly during the football season on the BBC Scotland channel.

Jordan Laird, co-founder of Studio Something, said: "We have spent the last few years making TV that captures what it is like to be a football fan and to get the call up to go do that at a major tournament is the call you dream about. We can’t wait to bring audiences this feast of football and fun with Martin and Gordon, and to do that in the year that Scotland are heading to Germany to win the Euros is even better."