Blythe Duff is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 actress, best known for her role as Jackie Reid

Jackie Reid

DI Jackie Reid is a fictional character in the ITV series Taggart. WPC Reid made her first appearance in 1990 in Death Comes Softly. In 1994 Jackie was promoted to Detective Sergeant much to the dismay of Jim Taggart...

 in the ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 television series drama, Taggart

Taggart

Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...

.

Background

Duff was raised in East Kilbride. Her love of acting started with a school production of The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz (adaptations)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, which has been adapted into several different works, the most famous being the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland...

.She went to Hunter High School.

Career

Duff's career began in the theatre, starting with The Scottish Youth and Community Theatre in Glasgow.

She worked in theatre for seven years, and in 1989 appeared in Street Scene

Street Scene (opera)

Street Scene is a Broadway musical or, more precisely, an "American opera" by Kurt Weill , Langston Hughes , and Elmer Rice...

as Shirley Kaplan at the Coliseum Theatre

Coliseum Theatre

The London Coliseum is an opera house and major performing venue on St. Martin's Lane, central London. It is one of London's largest and best equipped theatres and opened in 1904, designed by theatrical architect Frank Matcham , for impresario Oswald Stoll...

 in London with the English National Opera

English National Opera

English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...

. She also performed on the soundtrack album which was released on Decca Records in 1989. She was working for Scottish Opera

Scottish Opera

Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...

 when she landed the role of Jackie Reid in the sixth series of Taggart in 1990, a role she still plays. Her first appearance was a community police officer in the second episode of the sixth series, "Death Comes Softly" on 3 December 1990, in which she is credited as playing WPC Reid. The third episode, which first aired on 31 December 1990, she was credited as playing Jackie Reid and her character was seconded to CID

Criminal Investigation Department

The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...

 as DC Reid. By series eight in 1993 her character was promoted to Detective Sergeant. She became the longest-serving member of the Taggart cast after James Macpherson

James Macpherson

James Macpherson was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of poems.-Early life:...

 left the show in 2002.

On 28 November 2003 she was a guest on the daytime talk show

Talk show

A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....

, Today with Des and Mel

Today with Des and Mel

Today with Des and Mel was a British television series hosted by Des O'Connor and Melanie Sykes. The show featured celebrity guests, phone-in competitions and chat between the hosts. It was produced by Carlton Television, at The London Studios...

. On 23 June 2004 she was a contestant on the celebrity comedy game show

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

, Win, Lose or Draw Late

Win, Lose or Draw (UK game show)

Win, Lose or Draw was a television game show that aired for several seasons in the ITV daytime schedule in 1990, produced by Scottish Television. The game was based on an American television game show of the same name.-Format:...

. She has also appeared twice as a guest on the daytime talk show, Loose Women

Loose Women

Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...

on 24 September 2004 and 15 September 2005.

On 26 April 2006 Duff appeared in the documentary

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 There's Been a Murder: A Celebration of Taggart.

In October 2008 she attended the Mipcom

Mipcom

-MIPCOM:MIPCOM is a TV and entertainment market which is held in the town of Cannes once every year, normally in October.It is essentially a content event for co-producing, buying, selling, financing and distributing entertainment content...

 television festival in Cannes

Cannes

Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

 France, along with the other three main cast members, John Michie

John Michie

John Michie is a Scottish television and film actor, best known for his role as DI Robbie Ross in the STV Scottish detective television series Taggart and for playing Karl Munro in Coronation Street.-Early life:...

, Alex Norton

Alex Norton

Alexander Hugh "Alex" Norton is a Scottish actor. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects....

 and Colin McCredie

Colin McCredie

Colin McCredie is a Scottish actor, best known for his role as DC Stuart Fraser in the STV drama, Taggart....

 to highlight the 25th anniversary of Taggart.

Away from filming Taggart, Duff still acts in the theatre. Of the two, Duff states that she prefers to work in theatre saying, "I love working on Taggart. I like my character and I like all the people I work with. I have been in Taggart since 1990 so I can't imagine my life without it, but I really like working on stage. That is where I feel very comfortable and I like the response of an audience good or bad."

In 1995 she played Rhona Clay in Swing Hammer Swing at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.

She starred in the European premiere of Mum's the Word in Spring 2002, which toured around Europe and included a four-week run at the King's Theatre in Glasgow.

At the Traverse Theatre

Traverse Theatre

The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963.The Traverse Theatre commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary playwrights. It also presents a large number of productions from visiting companies from across the UK. These include new plays,...

 in Edinburgh Duff has appeared in Intolerance, King of the Fields and Sharp Shorts as well as Glasgow with the National Theatre of Scotland.

In February 2006 she appeared in a Greater Easterhouse Arts Company production of Home

Home (play)

Home is a play by David Storey. It is set in a mental asylum, although this fact is only revealed gradually as the story progresses.The five characters include seemingly benign Harry, highly opinionated Jack, cynical Marjorie, and flirtatious Kathleen...

with the National Theatre of Scotland

National Theatre of Scotland

The National Theatre of Scotland is a theatre company established in February 2006. The company performs in a wide range of venues including theatres, halls and found spaces across Scotland....

 in Cranhill

Cranhill

Cranhill is a housing estate in the east end of Glasgow.-History:Like many similar publicly-funded 'schemes', it was built in the early 1950s on the outskirts of the city to alleviate the post-war housing shortage...

, Glasgow. In January 2009 she is due to appear in a National Theatre of Scotland tour of Scotland and England of the play Be Near Me adapted by Ian McDiarmid

Ian McDiarmid

Ian McDiarmid is a Scottish theatre actor and director, who has also made sporadic appearances on film and television.McDiarmid has had a successful career in theatre; he has been cast in many plays, while occasionally directing others and although he has appeared mostly in theatrical productions,...

 from the novel of the same name by Andrew O'Hagan

Andrew O'Hagan

Andrew O'Hagan, FRSL is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author. He is also an Editor at Large of Esquire and is currently a creative writing fellow at King's College London. He was selected by for inclusion in their 2003 list of the top 20 young British novelists. His novels appear...

.

Blythe Duff regularly appears on television adverts screened in Scotland, and in display adverts in certain newspapers, promoting New Tomorrow, a company that offers controversial debt consolidation

Debt consolidation

Debt consolidation entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This is often done to secure a lower interest rate, secure a fixed interest rate or for the convenience of servicing only one loan....

 services. These services have been criticised by the Citizen's Advice Bureau and other anti-poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

 organisations because their services may lead vulnerable people with debt problems into further difficulties, such as the loss of their home. Newtomorrow is one of three for-profit debt consolidation firms which are linked with The Debt Standard, a scheme set up to promote firms that are affiliated to the mark, but which have no accreditation with government or genuinely independent advice bodies such as Money Advice Scotland.

Duff has also appeared on radio, including the BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

 radio comedy

Radio comedy

Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketches and various types of comedy found on other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be conveyed on a small budget with just a few sound effects or some...

 panel game

Panel game

A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....

, Just a Minute

Just a Minute

Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....

on which she has appeared twice.

Personal life

Duff is married to former police officer Tom Forrest and stepmother to his two daughters. She met Forrest, a widower, when she bought her sister's house in South Glasgow in 1997. They were engaged in October and married on 22 March 1998. He left the police force and they set up a property restoration business, Blue Door Property, of which she is the secretary and he is Director.

Duff was one of a number of Scottish women who, at an event to publicly recognise the outstanding work of women from across Scotland, received a personal "thank you" from the then Secretary of State for Scotland

Secretary of State for Scotland

The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...

, Helen Liddell

Helen Liddell

Helen Lawrie Liddell, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Monklands East from 1994 to 1997, and then for Airdrie and Shotts until 2005, whereafter she became the British High Commissioner to Australia until 2009...

 at Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...

 on 6 March 2003.

In November 2005 she helped launch ScotsCare, a charity aimed helping Scottish people living in London who have money or health problems.

Television

• Taggart
  Taggart
  Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
  
  (1990–present) - Jackie Reid
• Win, Lose or Draw
  Win, Lose or Draw (UK game show)
  Win, Lose or Draw was a television game show that aired for several seasons in the ITV daytime schedule in 1990, produced by Scottish Television. The game was based on an American television game show of the same name.-Format:...
  
  [self] (2004)
• There's Been a Murder: A Celebration of Taggart [self] (2006)
• Taggart: 25 Years of Murder [self] (2008)

Radio

• Just a Minute
  Just a Minute
  Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....
  
  (1998–2008)
• Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
  Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (opera)
  Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District is an opera in four acts by Dmitri Shostakovich, his Op.29. The libretto was written by Alexander Preis and the composer, and is based on the story Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov. The opera is sometimes referred to informally as Lady Macbeth...
  
  - Katrina BBC Radio 3
  BBC Radio 3
  BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
  
  
• Morning Story - Iphiginia BBC Radio Scotland
  BBC Radio Scotland
  BBC Radio Scotland is BBC Scotland's national English-language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programming, including news, sport, light entertainment, music, the arts, comedy, drama, history and lifestyle...
  
  
• Blending In - Irene (BBC Radio 3)
• Sheila - title role (BBC Radio Scotland)

Theatre

• Street Scene
  Street Scene (play)
  Street Scene is a play by Elmer Rice that opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City on January 10, 1929 and ran for a total of 601 performances. The action of this ambitious, groundbreaking play takes place entirely on the front stoop of a New York City brownstone and in the adjacent street...
  
  (1989) - Shirley Kaplan
• Swing Hammer Swing - Rhona Clay (1995)
• Mum's the Word (2002)
• Intolerance (????)
• King of the Fields (????)
• Sharp Shorts (????)
• Glasgow (????)
• Be Near Me (2009) - Mrs Poole
• Three Sisters - Masha (Tron Theatre)
• To - played landlady (Cumbernauld Theatre)
• Tally's Blood - Lucia (Traverse Theatre)
• Still Life - Lucille (Unit One)
• Sheila - Sheila (Traverse)
• Checking Out - Pauline (Cumbernauld Theatre)
• Beauty and the Beast - Hazel (Royal Lyceum Theatre)
• Shakers - Mel (Cumbernauld Theatre)
• Across The Barricades - Sadie
• Beggar's Opera - Lucy Lockett (Lyceum Theatre)
• The Lucky Ones - Debbie

External links