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STV is to snub Scotland’s main Hogmanay celebrations by running a programme charting the history of Scottish variety over the bells.

Archive footage of veteran stars such as Johnny Beattie, Stanley Baxter and Dorothy Paul will feature in the pre-recorded show – Scotland’s Always Had Talent – to be fronted by former Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus.

McManus will also feature in

STV’s other major Hogmanay show, which looks at the Scots who have made their names in recent reality TV talent contests, including Susan Boyle, Leon Jackson, David Sneddon and Keith Jack.

BBC Scotland, meanwhile, has confirmed its Hogmanay show will be based entirely in its Pacific Quay headquarters in Glasgow, apart from a brief cutaway to Edinburgh’s fireworks.

The move to ditch live broadcasts from major events around the country has dismayed organisers in the capital, who have had the main acts from the street party beamed live in previous years.

Last year’s STV show featured live link-ups with four major parties but a repeat of the exercise is thought to have been ruled out as too expensive.

STV has been under growing criticism in recent months for opting out of ITV shows in favour of home-grown productions. Major network shows such as The Bill, Wuthering Heights, Doc Martin and Midsomer Murders are among those to be ditched.

The BBC Scotland show, which will be fronted by Jackie Bird, has been relocated from Edinburgh Castle this year.

The programme, which the BBC says will be broadcast live, will feature traditional music veterans Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain, as well as rising folk and pop stars Seth Lakeman, Emily Smith and Pearl and the Puppets. A separate documentary will look at the impact the song Auld Lang Syne has had around the world.

A spokeswoman for STV said Scotland’s Always Had Talent will chart the “lifeblood” of Scottish popular culture and entertainment stretching back more than a century.

She added: “Presented by Michelle McManus, this hour-long show will use a mixture of interviews, anecdotes, archive footage and above all performance to evoke the fun and laughs of variety in Scotland – counting down to the bells the whole way.

“With contributions from performers past and present, it will be a celebration of Scottish entertainment over the years, full of nostalgia, laughter and maybe a few tears.

“We’re not planning to go live at the bells. Some years we record and some years we go live – regardless, STV is bringing viewers some new programming featuring a range of stars and we’ll be providing a countdown to the bells.”

Other STV shows on Hogmanay include a documentary recalling highlights of the station’s search for the most significant Scot of all time, and a repeat of a charity rock concert.

A spokeswoman for BBC Scotland said: “Our whole show is going out live from our studios at Pacific Quay although we will be going live to Edinburgh for the bells.”

Pete Irvine, creative director of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations, said: “Unfortunately, Hogmanay is something the broadcasters have never managed to get right. We have a world-class event here in Edinburgh and there is more than enough going on over the festival to create a high-quality programme. The current situation is a disappointment.

“However, what is more important to us is that we know the major news broadcasters are coming here to film the fireworks and that is what gets us the coverage around the world.”

TV disasters

THE annals of television history are littered with the debris from Hogmanay specials.

Celebrated Scots such as Robbie Coltrane and Chic Murray are among those to have floundered on what has become an unforgiving occasion for even the most seasoned broadcasters.

Jackie Bird’s BBC Scotland career will forever be linked to the revealing dress she wore to front one show, below, while Bryan Burnett’s mini-mohican was left to entertain viewers on STV when Edinburgh’s Hogmanay party was cancelled by bad weather.

Chic Murray famously froze minutes after the bells while fronting BBC Scotland’s party from the Gleneagles Hotel in 1984, while Glasgow’s reign as European Capital of Culture was launched by Robbie Coltrane missing the midnight moment in George Square.