The comedy series that helped make Gerard Kelly a household name is to be screened this Christmas as part of BBC's Scotland's festive line-up.

The Glasgow set City Lights followed the life of hapless bank clerk Willie Melvin and his dreams of becoming a successful writer. It ran from 1984 to 1991 and also starred Elaine C Smith, Jonathan Watson, Dave Anderson and Andy Gray.

In 2013, writer Bob Black, who also worked on Scotch & Wry and Naked Video, said in an interview: “It seemed to find a place in the national psyche…as one of the first Scottish-based comedies with Scottish accents and very visible Scottish actors, it made an impression."

The series featured a Christmas special starring Billy Connolly as an angel in a spoof of the seasonal classic, It's A Wonderful Life.

Glasgow Times:

It is also credited with coining the catchphrase, "pure dead brilliant" which was later adopted by Prestwick Airport in its brand advertising.

The sitcom ran for six series until 1991, and led to two successful stage shows  featuring the original cast that toured Scotland.

Gerard Kelly died in October 2010 at the age of 51 after a career that also took on more serious roles including PC David Gallagher in Juliet Bravo and soap villains Jimmy in EastEnders and Callum Finnegan in Brookside.