CLARK: OFF-LICENCE TO THRILL!

Just five years ago, Hamish Clark was stuck behind the counter of an off-licence dreaming of hitting the big time.

Having left his native Dundee for the bright lights of London he was finding it hard to get a foot on the ladder to success.

Day after day he would turn up at the shop for another shift of back-breaking work, lugging crates of booze from shelf to shelf.

He was just another wannabe actor stuck in a dead-end job going nowhere fast.

But, as he stood handing out advice on world wines, he couldn’t have imagined that fame and fortune lay just around the corner.

Everything changed after a chance meeting with old Edinburgh University pal and Braveheart movie star Angus MacFayden.

Angus just happened to pop into the Oddbins where Hamish was working one afternoon. Hot from playing Robert the Bruce alongside Mel Gibson, he instinctively knew Hamish was unhappy and unfulfilled.

A chat between old mates soon changed all that. Angus convinced Hamish he had what it takes to make it big in showbiz.

He went one step further and took it upon himself to line his old pal up with castings for TV shows and stage plays.

Before Hamish knew it the dream was reality.

Now he is best known as the star of hit pounds 6million BBC TV show Monarch Of The Glen and the face that launched a 1,000 phones for Vodafone. Hamish the heart throb is here.

But the actor from Broughty Ferry, Dundee, isn’t getting big-headed over his new found fame.

In a restaurant in London’s trendy Soho he draws the attention of more than a few female admirers.

He said: “It’s weird at the moment I am at the stage where people know my face but don’t know my name.

“They just say ‘Oh there’s that bloke from Monarch of the Glen or from the Vodafone ads.’

“It even happens at the parties I go to where other famous people sort of stop and stare at me and think ‘Do I know you from somewhere.’

“It’s still a bit odd when you open a newspaper, look in shop windows or watch the TV to see yourself staring back.

“I just don’t think it’s me anymore. I don’t look and think ‘Oh that’s Hamish that cheeky Scottish chappie.”

The 32-year-old is happy with life at the moment.

He’s been a hit in Monarch of The Glen as kilted handyman Dunc and looks set to star in the second series.

He’s just about to buy his first house in London - thanks to Vodafone.

And the phone rings non-stop with great job offers.

He says: “Yeah, it’s not bad at the moment but it’s been a long time coming.

“I spent nine years working in factories and bars dreaming of getting into acting.

“At times it did get hard to keep the faith but I always thought I would make it.

“And when I got the break, thanks to Angus, it was perfect.

“He got me some script readings which landed me a starring role in My Wonderful Life.

“It was mad. On the Monday I was working in an off-licence and by the weekend I’d realised my dreams had come true.

“It had to be like that though, I couldn’t have afforded to take the job of a robber in The Bill or a guy a broken leg in Casualty. I wouldn’t have been able to get the time off work. It was all or nothing and luckily for me it was.”

But there’s no arrogance about Hamish - far from it. He’s paid his dues and worked hard and now it’s all paying off.

He says: “I always knew I could act. You hear people say that it’s no job to go into, there are too many actors around and not enough work.

“But that’s rubbish. There may be a lot of people who want to be actors because of the lifestyle but then there are those of us who do it because we literally have to act.”

You sense Hamish is on a mission and has only just begun to show people what he can do.

As he talks about his plans for the future he constantly fidgets ruffling his huge thatch of hair always one step ahead of you in the conversation.

“Movies,” he bursts out. “That’s where I want to be next year.

“I love TV and stage but it would be fantastic to do a film at some point in the future.” So is Scotland’s latest star going to follow in the footsteps of that other cheeky Highlander Ewan McGregor?

“God no, well not yet. It would be fantastic but one step at a time.

“You don’t need to cross the Atlantic to star in a great film.

“I’ve been for a few script readings but not got anything yet.”

It seems his career is going so well at the moment that there is little room in his life - including women.

Hamish chuckles: “No I’m not seeing anyone at the moment.

“I haven’t found Miss Right but that’s fine because I’m so busy at the moment.

“I was with someone a while back but that is over now and it took me quite a while to get over it - I’m happy being single at the moment.”

So you read it here first girls - the most gorgeous man in Scotland is also the most eligible bachelor.

Hamish giggles to himself when he thinks of all the fame and adoration.

“It’s very flattering of course and it can give you a real buzz but I’m honestly not in it for all that.

“That’s really not me. I just couldn’t live with myself. Although I have to admit I wouldn’t mind meeting Daisy Donovan of the Eleven O’Clock Show. She’s gorgeous, she seems like a lot of fun - I guess you never know.”

So does the local boy done good plan to head back north some day?

He says: “London’s where I have to be at the moment and I love it. It’s got it all, it never stops.

“Just moving down here was a major step six years ago so I won’t be moving back to Dundee just yet.

“My life now is something I dreamed of for years and years, now it’s finally arrived and I’m going to live every second of it.”

So what can we expect to see Hamish in next?

“Well you’ll keep seeing me in all those Vodafone ads. I’ve just made another one and they really are great fun, they can’t get rid of me that easy.

“And hopefully they’ll be another series of Monarch of the Glen. That’s been great fun to make but a lot of hard work traipsing around all over the wet and windy Highlands.”