SUNDAY POST (SCOTLAND)
19 OCTOBER 2003

Hamish Clark has become famous the world over for playing the accident-prone but lovable Duncan in Monarch of the Glen (BBC1 8pm)

Tonight Duncan is on a secret mission to Glasgow so let¹s hope it goes without mishap.

For Hamish himself, a trip to Australia and New Zealand last year had a surprise in store. “I went on a promotional trip to Auckland,” he explains, “and I was sitting by the hotel swimming pool waiting to have breakfast when someone told me the Prime Minster of New Zealand wanted to meet me! I was ushered in to meet Helen Clark, who¹s a big fan of the show. I was in tee shirt and jeans but she was fine about it. She had security guards with her and I pointed out a nice pair of cufflinks one of them had. Later that day I found an identical pair waiting for me in my room.”

Mind you, being recognised often has its lighter moments. “I switched on the Christmas lights in Edinburgh once and this granny came up to me for my autograph, thinking I was Ewan McGregor. Then she said, “Oh no, - you’re that daft laddie from Monarch of the Glen.”

But playing Duncan has made Hamish instantly recognisable to most people. “I met a lot of nice, mad people who tell me their family history. One woman told me all about her cousin Eric who has a glass eye! I often get a bit of stick in pubs and often get my hair ruffled, but people see Duncan as a vulnerable character. If girls are chatting to me their boyfriends don¹t mind. Guys don’t feel threatened because of the character I play.”

Hamish lives in London now, in a house bought from the proceeds of a series of mobile phone adverts, but he loves his lengthy six-month spells in the Highlands filming Monarch. “I love the walking and the fishing, although after six months you do start to miss things like pavements,” he laughs.

Hamish enjoys doing community work and loves visiting schools and handing out prizes. “I even opened someone’s new fireplace the other day. They had a little ceremony to commemorate it and I went along to do the honours.”

Duncan became a bit of a hit with the ladies this series, but Hamish has definite ideas when it comes to the notion of Duncan getting married. “I don¹t think it would be a good idea. He’s too much of a lad ­ a bit of a Just William. Marrying him off would kill the character.”

Hamish enjoys keeping fit to play the part. “I start every December doing weights and bulking up a bit. I’m running five miles a day in the hills at the moment, “he boasts.

It sounds like one of the world’s most famous kilt wearers is having a lot of fun raising smiles in Glenbogle