Sage of Govan makes a welcome return

RAB C Nesbitt, sage of Govan, philosopher, raconteur and wit, is returning. Such was the power of his persona, his profound social observations and his contribution to the national life, it is staggering he was ever allowed to disappear. But staggering was what Rab did so well. Intense speculation has surrounded his absence. Did he complete the course on Kierkegaardian existentialism at the Open University?

Is it true he forswore drink and gave up worldly pleasures to be a monk at Buckfast Abbey? Or did he enter the world of business? Some even believe Rab C took himself off to America, where he became a sub-prime mortgage salesman, graduating to the synthetic derivatives desk of RBS, where a few inadvertent slips almost brought down the bank.

And inadvertent slips were certainly another area of Rab C's ace expertise.

Now we learn that Rab has "dried out" – a process requiring an air machine with the power of a Large Hadron Collider – and is working part-time as an addiction counsellor, helping those on that path to liquid oblivion he immortalised over 12 years, eight series, four specials, two plays and an autobiography. It was said few outside Scotland could penetrate an accent that dispatched his wit and wisdom like fired Govan rivets. How then was this longest Scottish made sitcom on the BBC network? Genius. Welcome back, Rab.