One of the stars of Still Game, which staged a successful version of the TV show a Glasgow's SSE Hydro, has described as "ludicrous" the claim that the show was not a Scottish production.

The Still Game: Live show is not featured in the Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) short lists which were announced today.

Hemphill said that he was not annoyed that the show did not get a nomination as the judges are "entitled to not nominate it".

However, the show was not included for a technical reason, because it was produced by Phil McIntyre Entertainments of London.

Productions which are not 'Scottish' does not qualify for the awards.

He added: "I do take issue with their judgement that it wasn't a Scottish show. That is just ludicrous."

The show, which sold more than 200,000 tickets, was written by Hemphill and Ford Kiernan - both Scottish - and performed by an all Scottish cast in Glasgow.

A spokeswoman for the show said the show was did not fulfil one of the awards criteria -  which is that a show must be produced in Scotland.

The absence was purely based on that criteria, she said, and not due to any questions of "Scottishness".

Hemphill had earlier said on Twitter: "Written by Scots, performed by Scots, in Scotland. Not Scottish. Hahaha! #stillgamelive."

The co-convenor of the CATS awards, Mark Fisher, said the rules were designed to ensure only genuine Scottish productions were considered.

Fisher told Chortle, the comedy news website: "The rule we have for CATS eligibility is that a show must be substantially produced in Scotland.

"This is the best method we've found to make sure we celebrate work created in Scotland, as opposed to, say, a group of Scottish actors putting on a show in London.

"And this is the criterion we applied to Still Game which, although performed in Scotland, was produced by the London-based Phil McIntyre Entertainments.

"It's actually a way of making decisions based on location, not on ethnicity - kind of the opposite of the charge that we thought Still Game wasn't Scottish enough."

The show was written by Scots Hemphill and Ford Kiernan, and featured an all Scottish cast.

Neil Cooper, theatre critic for The Herald and CATS judge, said: "Still Game Live was a fantastic piece of theatre, which I enjoyed very much, as my review in the Herald made clear.

"As the production company behind the show isn't based in Scotland, however, it unfortunately isn't eligible for the CATS Awards.

" If the production company had been based in Scotland, the show would of course have been eligible.

"At no point ever has anyone suggested that Still Game Live wasn't Scottish enough for the awards, and anyone suggesting otherwise is inaccurate."