Hamish Macbeth is a television series made by BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...

 and first aired in 1995. It is loosely based on a series of mystery novels by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney

Marion Chesney

Marion Chesney is a popular and prolific author. She has written numerous successful historical romance novels under her own name, including the Travelling Matchmaker and Daughters of Mannerling series. Using the pseudonym M. C...

). The series concerns a local police officer, Constable Hamish Macbeth

Hamish Macbeth

Hamish Macbeth is a fictional police officer who serves as his town's detective in a series of mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton . The novels are published in the UK by Constable & Robinson. In an interview, the author recalls,...

 in the fictitious town of Lochdubh on the north coast of Scotland

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...

. The titular character was played by Robert Carlyle

Robert Carlyle

Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...

. It ran for three series from 1995 to 1997, with the first two series having six episodes and the third having eight.

Plot

Macbeth, accompanied by his dog, a West Highland Terrier

West Highland White Terrier

The West Highland White Terrier, commonly known as the Westie, is a Scottish breed of dog with a distinctive white coat. The modern breed is descended from a number of breeding programes of white terriers in Scotland prior to the 20th century...

 named Wee Jock, keeps the peace in the small town of Lochdubh . MacBeth does this in his own way, without undue reliance on the letter of the law and with every intention of avoiding being promoted out of what is his ideal job. He strongly dislikes involvement from Inverness police, and sometimes his main work doesn't seem to be the capture of local very petty criminals, but to keep them away from prison and penalties.

The major running theme of the series is the tension caused by Hamish's attraction to both the journalist of the local newspaper, Isobel Sutherland (Shirley Henderson

Shirley Henderson

Shirley Henderson is a Scottish actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire .-Early life:...

) and the aristocratic Alexandra Maclean (Valerie Gogan

Valerie Gogan

Valerie Gogan was born in Scotland and left her native Glasgow in the 1980s to train at LAMDA , since leaving she has become one of a small number of Scottish actresses familiar to film and television audiences in th UK....

). Other themes include the clairvoyance

Clairvoyance

The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...

 of Hamish's friend and co-worker "TV John", John McIver (Ralph Riach

Ralph Riach

Ralph Riach is a Scottish actor from Elgin, Moray. He is best known for his role as "John McIver" in BBC One Scotland's comedy/drama Hamish Macbeth. His career began at the age of 45, when he appeared in Lost Empires...

), the not-so-secret romance between the school-teacher Esme Murray and the shopkeeper Rory Campbell, the volatile marriage of the publican Barney Meldon and his wife Agnes, and the schemes of the two Lachie MacCraes, father and son.

The series had a slightly surreal quality to it, drawing on the superstitious natures of some of the characters and the somewhat eerie beauty of the remote and misty location, and enhanced by the Gaelic music of John Lunn

John Lunn

John Lunn is a British composer, known for his soundtrack work for television. He was formerly a member of "systems music" band Man Jumping....

.

Production

The series was filmed on location in the village of Plockton

Plockton

Plockton is a village in the Highlands of Scotland with a population of 378 .- Details :Plockton is a picturesque settlement on the shores of Loch Carron...

, the town of Kyle of Lochalsh

Kyle of Lochalsh

Kyle of Lochalsh is a village on the northwest coast of Scotland, 63 miles west of Inverness. It is located at the entrance to Loch Alsh, opposite the village of Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye...

 and the surrounding area. It was directed mainly by Nicholas Renton, with Mandie Fletcher

Mandie Fletcher

Mandie Elizabeth Fletcher is an English television and film director.Fletcher began her career at the BBC as an assistant floor manager and later production manager on comedy programmes, becoming a director of situation comedy while working on the final series of Butterflies...

 directing four episodes and Jonas Grimas

Jonas Grimås

Jonas Grimås is a Swedish film director today based in London. He was educated at Dramatiska Institutet 1987-89 and then the Royal College of Art.In 1988 he won the BAFTA Film Award for best short film with Artisten...

 directing two episodes in 1997.

DVD

The series were released on DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 in the UK and the US in 2005 and 2006 with the exception of the first series episode West Coast Story. This was due to rights issues surrounding the episode's extensive use of excerpts from West Side Story

West Side Story (film)

West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...

. The third and final series was released in April 2006.

Principal characters

With occasional exceptions, these key characters appear in every episode.

Character	Actor	Description
Hamish Macbeth Hamish Macbeth Hamish Macbeth is a fictional police officer who serves as his town's detective in a series of mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton . The novels are published in the UK by Constable & Robinson. In an interview, the author recalls,...	Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...	A policeman in the village of Lochdubh, laid-back in dealing with the inhabitants' quirky ways. He works to avoid promotion or transfer, and is clearly more interested in keeping the peace than enforcing the letter of the law.
Wee Jock	Zippy	Hamish's dog. Dies in episode 1.5 and is replaced by another dog named simply "Jock".
John McIver ("TV John")	Ralph Riach Ralph Riach Ralph Riach is a Scottish actor from Elgin, Moray. He is best known for his role as "John McIver" in BBC One Scotland's comedy/drama Hamish Macbeth. His career began at the age of 45, when he appeared in Lost Empires...	Hamish's friend and confidant. He mans the station when Hamish is away and is gifted with the sight Second sight Second sight is a form of extrasensory perception, the supposed power to perceive things that are not present to the senses, whereby a person perceives information, in the form of a vision, about future events before they happen , or about things or events at remote locations... . He also fills out Macbeth's paperwork, impressive given that in the early days of the series he cannot read or write. He has a younger brother named Kenneth who suffers from terrible luck. TV John is guardian of a major secret of Lochdubh. In series 3 he has an ongoing subplot of predicting his own death, claiming that he will smell pomade as he dies.
Isobel Sutherland	Shirley Henderson Shirley Henderson Shirley Henderson is a Scottish actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire .-Early life:...	A reporter on The Lochdubh Listener who is in love with Hamish.
Alexandra Maclean	Valerie Gogan Valerie Gogan Valerie Gogan was born in Scotland and left her native Glasgow in the 1980s to train at LAMDA , since leaving she has become one of a small number of Scottish actresses familiar to film and television audiences in th UK....	Major Maclean's daughter, a novelist who has an on/off relationship with Hamish.
Agnes Meldrum	Barbara Rafferty Barbara Rafferty Barbara Rafferty is a Scottish actress. She is best known for playing Ella Cotter in Rab C Nesbitt between 1990 and 1999, then again from 2008 when the show made a comeback. Other notable television roles include playing Agnes Meldrum the pub landlady in Hamish Macbeth and Alice MacAllister in The...	Runs the local pub with her husband, Barney.
Barney Meldrum	Stuart McGugan Stuart McGugan Stuart McGugan is a Scottish actor.Stuart was first seen on television as a presenter on BBC's Play School in 1964 , but he is best/well known for playing the roles of Bomba MacAteer in Tutti Frutti, and Gunner 'Atlas' Mackintosh in the BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum.He...	The local publican, an "incomer" from Glasgow.
Esme Murray	Anne Lacey Anne Lacey Anne Lacey is a Scottish actress who has appeared in television series, made-for-television movies, and film shorts since 1986. Her longest appearance run to date has been in 20 episodes of the TV series Hamish Macbeth from 1995-1997 as schoolteacher Esme Murray.She trained in Scotland, France and...	The local teacher and owner of the boarding house.
Rory Campbell	Brian Pettifer Brian Pettifer Brian Pettifer is an actor who has appeared in many television shows. Pettifer was born in Lower Durban, South Africa, and briefly brought up in Glasgow and London. He intended to become a photographer, but pursued a career as an actor...	Owner of the local grocery shop, very close to Esme.
Doc Brown	Duncan Duff Duncan Duff Duncan Duff is a British actor. He trained for his career at the RADA. His first professional job was with Cheek By Jowl. He worked with the company 5 times between 1987 and 1991. Roles included Caliban in the Tempest and Horatio in Hamlet...	The kilt-wearing, pipe-smoking village doctor.
Lachlan McCrae, Sr.	Jimmy Yuill Jimmy Yuill Jimmy Yuill is an actor, born in 1959, in Golspie, Scotland.He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and later joined the Renaissance Theatre Company. He has appeared in many of Kenneth Branagh's films, most recently as Corin in the 2006 As You Like It...  (Series 1) and Billy Riddoch (Series 2-3)	The local schemer who makes unlicensed sausages.
Lachlan McCrae, Jr. ("Lachie Junior")	Stuart Davids	Son of Lachlan Sr., who starts out in the sausage business and ends up the local undertaker.
Major Roderick Peregrine ("Roddy") Maclean	David Ashton David Ashton (actor) David Ashton is a Scottish character actor who played Dr McDuff in the Granada Television Series Brass and Major Roddy Maclean in the Scottish television series Hamish Macbeth in the 1990s....	Local land-owner, former army officer, and member of the landed gentry.

Regular supporting characters

These characters do not form the centre of any storyline, and appear infrequently, although each may be seen in multiple episodes, as a regular part of village background life.

Character	Actor	Description
Malkie Clunie	Jon Croft	The Major's groundsman and gamekeeper.
Edith ("Edie")	Mona Bruce	The Major's housekeeper.
Flora	Dolina MacLennan	The secretary and receptionist at the local newspaper office, and prolific knitter.
Neil the Bus	Iain McColl	Operator of the local omnibus. (Lochdubh also has a small, unstaffed railway station.)
Peter the Fireman	Ronnie Letham	Station Officer at the local fire station. Lochdubh has locally stored fire-fighting equipment, which local men are trained to use until the fire brigade arrive.
Zoot McPherrin	Ron Donachie	Leader of a hippie Hippie The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...  colony, with various Lochdubh associations.
The Reverend Alan Snow	Laurie Ventry	Local clergyman of undisclosed denomination - context suggests he is Anglican Church of England The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...  or Presbyterian.

Series 1

Ep#	Title	Airdate	Description
1.1	The Great Lochdubh Salt Robbery	26 March 1995	Hamish must investigate the disappearance of the local bully, Geordie Robb.
1.2	A Pillar of the Community	2 April 1995	Hamish must keep the peace when a newcomer tries to teach the villagers about their own "traditional" heritage.
1.3	The Big Freeze	9 April 1995	Hamish investigates Major Maclean's insurance claims.
1.4	West Coast Story	16 April 1995	Hamish sets out to expose the hypocrisy of a bank manager and joins the village production of West Side Story West Side Story West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins... .
1.5	Wee Jock's Lament	23 April 1995	Hamish tracks down two escaped convicts who ran over his dog.
1.6	A Bit of an Epic	30 April 1995	Hamish goes on a mountain trek which leads to a dangerous situation.

Series 2

Ep#	Title	Airdate	Description
2.1	A Perfectly Simple Explanation	24 March 1996	Hamish is branded a devil by a religious group who claim that Lochdubh is the new Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources.... .
2.2	In Search of a Rose	31 March 1996	Hamish investigates the disappearance of a local seafarer.
2.3	Isobel Pulls It Off	7 April 1996	Hamish becomes jealous when Isobel breaks a big story and finds a new boyfriend.
2.4	Radio Lochdubh	14 April 1996	Hamish is ordered to close down a local pirate radio Pirate radio Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...  station, and breaks up with Alex.
2.5	No Man Is an Island	21 April 1996	Hamish takes off to a remote island and meets a woman in trouble.
2.6	The Lochdubh Deluxe	28 April 1996	Hamish has to intervene in a family feud, and there may be aliens in Lochdubh.

Series 3

Ep#	Title	Airdate	Description
3.1	The Honourable Policeman	16 March 1997	Hamish is invited to be the best man at the local laird's wedding, whilst also training a new woman police constable.
3.2	Deferred Sentence	23 March 1997	Hamish investigates a twenty-year old mystery which has divided the island of Laggan-Laggan.
3.3	The Lochdubh Assassin	30 March 1997	Hamish must protect the village from a gang of ruthless villains.
3.4	The Good Thief	6 April 1997	Hamish has to uncover the secret of Frankie's best friend from Glasgow, Tusker Gray.
3.5	The Trouble with Rory	13 April 1997	Hamish investigates a fire at the local primary school.
3.6	More Than a Game	20 April 1997	Hamish suspects that there may be cheating at the annual shinty Shinty Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...  match against Dunbracken.
3.7	Destiny: Part 1	27 April 1997	Hamish investigates the location of the Stone of Destiny Stone of Scone The Stone of Scone , also known as the Stone of Destiny and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone, is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and later the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom... .
3.8	Destiny: Part 2	4 May 1997	Hamish and friends trek across the mountains to rescue TV John.

External links

• The Wee Hamish Macbeth
• Hamish Macbeth, Gossip from Lochdubh