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THE CHALLENGE facing Des Dillon was bigger than the divide between rabid Celtic and Rangers fans.

How do you write a follow up to Singin' I'm No A Billy . . .He's A Tim, the football conflict play that so cleverly, and funnily, reduces the Old Firm fan rivalry to absurdity?

Well, Des Dillon has not only managed to recreate the drama which causes Billy and Tim to conflict, he's added an entirely new dimension.

His sequel, Billy, Tim and The Holy Ghost brings in a supernatural element, and a love story.

And the result is an evening of entertainment that will appeal to the widest possible audience.

"I wasn't sure about a follow-up to Billy and Tim," the Coatbridge-born writer admits.

"Even though lots of people suggested the idea, I couldn't see how to do it.

"But then I came to think about Billy and Tim's life after they left the cell. And I had this idea they meet up and put a bet on with each other that they will go to a Celtic -Rangers cup match, but to the opposite ends of the ground.

"The challenge was they had to remain composed and contain the bigotry if the other team scored."

But of course, Billy and Tim are diehards, with blue and green blood in their respective veins.

And within five minutes they explode - and are both in the Parkhead first aid infirmary receiving treatment

"The first play ended with the pair revealing a mutual respect, but I wanted to explore the idea of how deep the bigotry lies," says Des.

"So the idea is that someone got stabbed outside the ground.

"And the man who is stabbed is dead, and appears in the play as a ghost. A wee ned ghost."

But he's a ghost with a purpose, we discover.

"The wee ned ghost has just realised he's dead. But why is in this situation?

"Well, we learn God - who sounds very much like a Hawaain surfer dude - has a mission for the ned."

The desperate ned protests he's too young to be a ghost, and he's just fallen in love with this beautiful Polish nurse who works in the infirmary. And he's about to ask her out on a date.

"The ned begs for another chance at life. 'I'll do anything!' he says. So God presents the ned with a challenge.

"And the next thing we realise is he's in the infirmary, and we discover if he can persuade one bigot to give up on bigotry he'll have another chance at life."

Will he manage to convince Billy and Tim to love each other? Or at least shake hands - again? That's the drama of the play?

But how can B&T see the ned if he's a ghost?

"God has decided only Billy and Tim can see the ghost," says Des, grinning.

"The nurse can't see him, so that adds to the fun.

"And of course, the ned tries to tell the boys he's in the spirit life, but they don't believe him.

"They think he's part of a YouTube hoax. The ned then has to convince them he's a genuine spook.

"But that offers a real chance for some big comedy."

It does indeed. Shades of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) or Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit.

Des, a former alcoholic, turned teacher and now once of Scotland's most successful playwrights, agrees Old Firm bigotry may have dissipated somewhat in recent years, but it certainly hasn't disappeared.

"Sadly no. It still exists. But hopefully, Billy and Tim made people think a bit and the Holy Ghost sequel will do a little bit to ease the bigotry as well."

Des Dillon hasn't gone back to the well that is Billy and Tim out of ideas desperation. Far from it.

This summer, his new comedy play The 'C' Word, will tour Scotland, a story about how we judge books by covers, and language and accent shouldn't be the criteria we use to determine a person's true value.

Des has written the tale with a hilariously dark background of potty-mouthed women, men tied up in wheelie bins . . . and a Nigerian ghost.

Does Dillon have a Casper-like fixation these days?

"I think many of my plays have had a spiritual element to them," he says, smiling.

"There was Six Black Candles (a story about six sisters from Coatbridge, based on Des's own family) who take up white witchcraft in order to cast a spell on a cheating man.

"And I wrote another play with a ghost in it, The Big Queue, set in Italy.

"I just love the idea there's something out there we don't quite understand. I believe in other realms."

He adds, grinning; "It's great if you can write a play with a message.

"But I also want to entertain. What I really want is for people to leave the theatre with a huge smile on their face."

€¢ Singing I'm No' A Billy . . .He's A Tim, The Pavilion Theatre, April 2-4.

€¢ Billy, Tim and the Holy Ghost, May 6-23.