Vladimir McTavish

Paul Sneddon, known to Scottish comedy audiences as Vladimir McTavish, was a stand-up comedian, writer and columnist who spent around four decades making people laugh about politics, football and the state of the nation. He was also one of the quiet builders of the Scottish live comedy scene, serving for years as a director of The Stand Comedy Club, the venue group with rooms in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle that has nurtured generations of comics.

Sneddon was born on 31 December 1955. Interviewers described him as a Glaswegian. He studied at Newcastle University and his comedy life began in the north east of England. His first ever gig was an hour-long solo show that he promoted himself in a Newcastle pub where his sketch group had a residency. He later called it "an incredibly arrogant thing" to have done, and said it was around two years before he performed again. From 1993 he co-ran the Newcastle Comedy Festival with the comedian and actor Dave Johns for almost a decade.

His first appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in 1994, won him the Strathmore Water Comedy Award. With characteristic good humour he later revealed that the trophy itself only reached him in 2020. In 1997, while living in London, he created his second great alter ego, Bob Doolally, a retired football manager turned well-oiled pundit who became a favourite with Scottish audiences, particularly around World Cups and European Championships. That same year Tommy Sheppard booked him at The Stand's early home in the Tron on Hunter Square in Edinburgh. It was there he met Christine, the woman who would become his wife. He liked to tell the story that after his set she told him she had enjoyed it, but had expected him to be terrible when he walked on.

Over the following years Sneddon became a fixture of the Scottish circuit and of the Fringe, where he performed a new hour almost every summer. His shows dissected Scottish and British politics with a mix of fury and silliness, and he often worked in partnership with fellow comic Keir McAllister on topical shows looking at the state of Scotland and Britain. He also performed at festivals abroad, including the Adelaide Fringe and Fringe World in Perth, and was part of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival from its first edition in 2003.

On television he appeared in BBC Scotland's Comedy Underground, Gary: Tank Commander, Scot Squad, Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights and the BBC's Live Floor Show, where Bob Doolally delivered his football punditry. In print he was a columnist for the Edinburgh Evening News and for nearly two decades wrote the satirical Kick Up The Tabloids column for the Scottish Left Review. In 2009 he published the book The Top 50 Greatest Scots Of All Time, Ever!

His peers recognised him repeatedly. He won Best Fringe Show at the Scottish Comedy Awards in 2015 and received the Lifetime Achievement award at the Scottish Comedy Awards in 2019. Behind the scenes he sat on the board of The Stand, and in 2026, when founder Tommy Sheppard stepped back, he became joint chair alongside comedian Jay Lafferty.

In August 2024 a short stay in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh interrupted his Fringe run, and he returned to the stage with a public "Thanks, NHS". In 2024 he marked thirty years on stage with the show 30 Years Still Standing Up, followed by Last Chance Saloon at the 2025 Fringe. Early in 2026 he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent three months of chemotherapy. True to form, he announced a 2026 Fringe show about the experience, insisting that it was "not another f*cking show about cancer".

Paul Sneddon died on 1 July 2026, aged 70, after a short illness with cancer. The Stand announced his death the same day, saying he "made every green room brighter, every line-up funnier and the world a nicer place to live in." Tributes came from Frankie Boyle, Susan Calman, Greg McHugh, Robin Ince, Tom Stade, Miles Jupp and many others, with fellow comics remembering his generosity, his energy and his support for younger performers. More than 200 people gathered for a celebration of his life at the Lorimer Chapel at Warriston Crematorium in Edinburgh, where his brother Sandy said: "He was a glorious example of a human being."

Within weeks The Stand, The List and The Comedy Unit launched The McTavish Award, a new Edinburgh Fringe prize for the most outstanding show by a Scottish or Scottish-based act, created in his memory. He is survived by his wife Christine and their daughters Julia and Rosie.