|
 Dawn
has been having a few
new outlets of her own,
in that the 27-year-old
finally took and passed
her driving test.
"It has totally
changed my life,"
she says happily.
"I even went off to
Australia and drove all
around there. That was
amazing; it’s given me
such
confidence."
No
wonder: Monarch is
Australia’s number one
imported show and seeing
Dawn driving round the
Outback must have been
quite a surprise for her
fans. "But,"
adds this home-loving
Scots lass, "it
also means I can go back
to my flat in Glasgow a
lot more, just jump in
the car, go back and
have two nights in my
own bed. "I used to
have to rely on lifts,
but now I can just go
when I want. If I just
have one day off, I can
drive up to the gym in
Inverness, or potter
around this amazing
scenery. It’s given me
so much more
freedom."
Looking
back, Dawn wishes she
had taken the plunge
earlier. "I was
just never
interested," she
explains. "When I
was 17, I remember
having a few lessons and
I hated it; I just found
it too stressful.
"Now I’ve got a
new Mini Cooper, which
is great and so nice to
drive. But I know I
should have learned
straight away when I
first started on Monarch
– it’s taken me four
series up here to get
round to it."
It
has taken rather longer
for Lexie’s
brother-in-law to
discover his Highland
heritage. But, after a
lifetime of not knowing
about his real father,
Paul is making his
presence felt. "Lexie
is mainly very
supportive of
Paul," says
Dawn."She was the
one who wanted to bring
him into the family and
get everyone to really
accept him. "They
actually have a lot of
things in common –
Paul never knew his
father and Lexie’s
father left when she was
really young. But there
will be times when they
clash, especially when
he is setting up the
Activity Centre and
wants to benefit youths
from other cities –
she wants it to benefit
the locals."
There
are problems, too, with
Lexie’s nearest and
dearest – Duncan and
Golly. "She has
always been really close
to them and that helps
her to know what is
important on the estate.
But sometimes she gets
caught between them all.
"Lexie
feels she has to support
Archie – and
sometimes he makes
decisions that may not
be what Golly and Duncan
want. She has to be the
girl in between who has
to try and keep everyone
happy." Dawn couldn’t
be happier at the
moment, despite a
frantic workload, which
meant finishing work on
Monarch one evening and
driving to Glasgow to
begin work on the BBC’s
major political drama,
The Key, the next
morning.
"There
I was, in a period
costume, with a big
steam engine, 300 extras
and the actor Kevin
McKidd, saying, ‘Hi, I’ve
got to kiss you today’,"
recalls Dawn."The
hardest thing was that I
wasn’t allowed any
make-up, even though I
age from 17 to 47; I get
beaten up, so there are
cuts and bruises; I wear
cardigans; and I’m
really padded out to
look fatter.
"But
it’s so nice to play
parts like that where
looking glamorous is not
an issue – you
can just concentrate on
the acting." Not
that Lexie is likely to
turn into a perfectly
polished glamour puss
any day soon."She’s
relaxed a bit with her
clothes," laughs
Dawn with relief.
"When she first got
engaged to Archie she
felt she had to wear
suits to make the point
about becoming the Laird’s
wife. but now she can
allow herself not to be
quite so smart and posh.
She’s more mature,
more confident and
happy, and that allows
her to let some of the
quirkiness back in –
and that’s
great."
Dawn’s
high profile on the show
has earned her a rare
accolade – readers of
a Scottish newspaper
voted her the country’s
number one "Most
Wanted" single
female, and featured in
the male list was her
new, young co-star
Martin Compston, in at
number four. "I don’t
often feel very
glamorous," she
grins. "Working on
The Key, I was given
wrinkles round my eyes
and some grey in my hair
to look 47 – but I
found it much harder
playing 17."
 Alastair
Mackenzie plays Archie
It
will be a while until
the impact hits
Glenbogle, but viewers
of Monarch Of The Glen
will soon discover that
the darkly handsome,
newly married Laird has
itchy feet. For Alastair
Mackenzie, the series
has been a life-changing
break that has made his
face familiar round the
world. Now – like
Archie – he has
achieved success and is
looking for a new
mountain to climb.
"When we join the
series, Archie and Lexie
have been on their
extended honeymoon, so
Archie is already a
different person,"
Alastair points out.
"He has always been
more concerned with
trying to keep the
estate from the debtors,
pre-occupied with making
sure it doesn’t go
bankrupt. "Now it
is up and running – it
is finally clear of all
debts, the mission has
been accomplished. So,
after travelling all
over the world and being
reminded of the
wandering, roving spirit
that he truly is, Archie
wants to find something
new to challenge
him."
On
a personal level, one of
those challenges is the
new dynamic within
Glenbogle as Paul –
Archie’s newly
discovered half-brother
– takes up his place
in the family.
"The
advent of Paul does
cause some initial
antagonism,"
Alastair admits.
"Then, slowly but
surely, Archie comes to
realise that Paul is not
only useful, but that he
also belongs to
Glenbogle because of his
father."
Archie’s
emotions are all too
familiar for Alastair,
who has also seen an
important and personal
project materialise
through the release of
his debut film, The Last
Great Wilderness. Along
with his film director
brother, David, Alastair
formed his own
production company,
Sigma Films, and wrote
and starred in the film
alongside David Hayman
and Victoria Smurfit.
Meanwhile work on
Monarch continued and
Alastair had to try to
balance the series, his
film and his family –
daughter Martha and his
partner, Trainspotting
actress Susan Vidler.
"I’ve
absolutely loved Monarch
and I will miss everyone
dreadfully after all
this time," he
says. "But I
decided that seven
months a year is too
long to be away from
home. I had to sit down
and start prioritising.
I have a three-year-old
child and you need to
spend more time with
young children. There
was a point when I hadn’t
seen Martha for weeks. I
felt really miserable,
but didn’t really know
what it was, just that I
felt pretty grim. Then,
when I did go home, I
had such a fantastic
time with her that when
I got back on set,
someone said to me, ‘I
can tell you saw Martha
at the weekend – you
just look so much
happier’. I just need
that fix. So now I’m
looking forward to
getting a bit more
normality back into my
life."
Not
that Alastair will be
saying goodbye to the
Highlands even when he
finally leaves the
series. He grew up just
20 miles from where
Monarch is filmed and he
is now actively looking
for a plot of land to
create his own Scottish
retreat.
"A
local woodsman built
some wonderful log
cabins for the Activity
Centre in the
show," he says with
an enthusiastic grin.
"They are beautiful
creations – precision
engineering with a chain
saw. "I just love
the idea of living in an
organic structure in the
woods. I also love
interior design and
working out how you want
everything to work, but
in our house in London
we’ve had a nightmare
with builders and
architects; it was a
very unhappy experience.
"The thing about a
log cabin is you don’t
have to worry about
that; they always look
beautiful because the
interior is –
logs."
Not
that this hugely popular
actor will be escaping
the spotlight – he is
planning an extended
trip to the States.
"Through Monarch I’ve
proved I can do one
thing, but there is a
certain amount of
re-invention
required," he
explains. "I’m
not going to move to
America lock, stock and
barrel, but will go en
famille for maybe a
couple of months. I’ve
told myself I’m never
going to have another
winter in London." |
