ROBERT Florence found out from newspapers that the area he grew up in had a reputation for being rough. It’s why he’s keen to show that popular images of certain communities in Scotland are not always accurate.

“When you know the people and hear a guy talking a certain way it doesn’t frighten you and you don’t think they are a bad person because they are your people and it is your community,” he told the National.

There may be a few hard men and drug addicts, but each place has a mix of characters and that is what he has tried to present in his comedy sketch show Burnistoun.

“Peter and Scott, for example, are a couple of guys in trackies sitting in the house watching TV but the conversations they have are intelligent and philosophical,” he said. “We wanted to present the area as broadly as we could.”

DOES IT WORK?

BURNISTOUN, which is written by Florence and Iain Connell, was broadcast on the first evening of the new BBC Scotland channel and was well received.

“It was just a one off but we will hopefully do more – we would love to do Hogmanay,” said Florence. “We’re lucky there is still an appetite for it and now people are watching it on Netflix. There has only been three series and three specials so there is plenty of scope.”

Florence also has an upcoming series on the new channel called State Of It with new faces and contributors.

“I’m really excited about that as it is an opportunity to try and bring new people in to television,” he said. “It’s very important to try to get a more diverse mix of people breaking through.

“One of my concerns is that there are talented, funny people out there but they don’t try to work in television because they think they won’t get a chance. This show will offer an opportunity to these people.”

HOW DID HE DO IT?

NOW 41, Florence grew up in Balornock but went on to study film and TV at the University of Glasgow so he knows all about confounding stereotypes.

He met Connell when they were 15-years-old at a Springburn amateur youth theatre project and the pair got their first commission from the BBC when they were both only 19.

Florence later became a core writer of the sketch show Chewin’ the Fat and with Connell wrote the sitcom series Legit and Empty. Then came Burnistoun which has developed such a following that Florence decided to take one of the characters from the show and do a live set.

WHO WAS THAT?

HE chose Biscuity Boyle but the live Boyle is slightly different from the TV version.

“In the TV show his trousers are always falling down and he is always falling over but in the live show I wanted to do something completely different,” said Florence.

“There is still a wee bit of slapstick there but it is much darker. He is an old man who thinks he is past it and sees himself as a complete failure even though he has lived an amazing life. He talks about being a bit of a gallous guy and going to New York and meeting Grace Jones which you would not expect.”

It frustrates Florence that older people are expected to behave and dress in a certain way.

“When I am cutting about looking at older people it is almost as if there is an expectation that you have to get into the standard uniform – the sensible shoes and wee bunnet – and that strikes me as a shame,” he said.

WHERE CAN I SEE HIM?

FLORENCE has already toured the show across Scotland and is bringing it back to Glasgow for the comedy festival this month.

“It’s been good fun and it has always gone well,” he said.

“It’s always a bit unpredictable because I like to go off on a tangent and there is a fair bit of audience interaction. I like a bit of that – I would worry if audience was not getting involved.”

The show will be at the Oran Mor on March 20 and 27.

“It’s a beautiful venue but the dates are Wednesday nights so I hope people come out. They don’t have to drink ten pints.”

For those who are thinking of going along there is an added incentive as it might be the last time Florence performs this character.

“They might also find out Biscuity Boyle’s real name,” said Florence.