Paul Young (actor)

Paul Young (born 3 July 1944) is a Scottish television actor and presenter.

Young was born in Edinburgh, the son of the actor John Young. He was educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh.[1]

A former child actor (he played the eponymous hero of the film Geordie as a boy), he played First Officer William Murdoch in the 1979 TV movie S. O. S. Titanic. Some of his later credits include The Tales of Para Handy, No Job for a Lady, Taggart, The Crow Road, Coronation Street and Still Game.

Young has gone on to find long-lasting fame among the fishing community, fronting a series of fishing TV shows, which began with "Hooked On Scotland" on the BBC in 1991. The show enjoyed somewhat unexpected success, winning a BAFTA for the first series. After two series, the show switched to ITV (Scottish TV), with the name changing to Hooked on Scottish and Paul's brief widening to include trips to fishing hot-spots around the world.

In 1999, Young was hooked by Scottish, and the show - with much the same format of Paul catching fish in many interesting places, each episode showcasing a different type of fish - was taken on by the Discovery Channel with the name changing again to "Hooked on Fishing". This ran successfully for six series up to 2004.

Young plays the character of Hugh "Shug" McLaughlin in Still Game, appearing occasionally in the early series but by series 5 and 6 becoming a regular cast member. Nicknamed "shug the lug" on the account of Paul Young's trademark ears. Shug is generally the only pensioner that knows about gadgets and new technology in the group.

Paul was involved in the lost Beatles interview,[2] recorded in April 1964 at the Scottish Television studios, Cowcaddens, Glasgow. The reel of film was found in a rusting film can in South London.