Is this Glendarroch I see before me? Gary Hollywood salutes Shakespearean soap

Mrs Brown’s Boys actor Gary Hollywood has hailed Take The High Road, claiming the resurgent soap had the twists and turns of any Shakespearean tragedy.

And he believes that is why the 40-year-old series set in the fictional village of Glendarroch has helped STV Player’s audience grow by 70% after classic episodes were added to the digital streaming service.

Gary, 40, said: “High Road had everything – murder, lust, betrayal and intrigue.”

From 1995 to 2003, Gary played teenage tearaway Dominic Dunbar.

“It was the first time solvent abuse had been portrayed in a drama,” said the sitcom star. “After that, I was the ­‘bad boy’ and ended up sleeping with the laird’s wife.” Pictures taken on set at the time show him in bed filming a scene with Briony McRoberts.

Gary said: “I still don’t quite know how it happened that I was cast as the village Lothario. I was terrified to be doing a love scene. My mum was still on set being my chaperone.”

Launched in 1980, the soap’s name was shortened to High Road in 1994, and helped establish the careers of well-known faces such as Alan Cumming, Joe McFadden, Natalie Robb, Simon Weir, Eileen McCallum, Derek Lord and Gwyneth Guthrie.

Five episodes are added to the STV player every Sunday morning and viewers have been lapping them up. Its success has delighted Richard Williams, STV’s managing director, digital.

He said: “There’s a loyal audience who love the drama, scenery, comedy and nostalgia the show brings – a bit of escapism back to Glendarroch.”