Take the High Road
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Take the High Road | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Format | Soap opera |
| Run time | 30 minutes |
| Creator(s) | Don Houghton |
| Channel | ITV, Scottish/Grampian |
| Production company | SMG Productions |
| Air dates | 1980 – 2003 |
Take The High Road was a soap opera produced by SMG Productions (Scottish Television) and set in the fictional village of Glendarroch (exteriors were filmed in the real-life village of Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond). It started in 1980 as an ITV daytime soap opera, and was dropped by the network in 1992, although various members of the ITV Network (notably Central Television) continued to screen the programme, while others (such as Yorkshire Television and Carlton Television) had no interest in doing so. In 1995, the series' name was changed to just High Road, and from then on it continued to be produced by Scottish Television, for a Scottish audience, until it was cancelled in 2003.
High Road was introduced as a replacement for Garnock Way, which contained more or less all of the original characters of High Road, and had also spun off from an Scottish Television soap called High Living, which has not seen the light of day since its demise. The name derived from the traditional song "The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomon'", of which part of the chorus runs:
- O ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,
- And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
During the course of its existence, High Road went through a few major changes and face lifts. Perhaps the most noticeable was the renovation of Blair's store: everything was kept behind the Cashier's desk as was Scottish culture in the old days; by 1990, however, it had transformed into a walk-around store.
There were a few themes in High Road, in line with Scottish culture, namely the idea of the rich female Laird who owned the town, and the theme of religion which was always present. It also entertained the feeling that outsiders were simply not welcome into the small close-knit community, something which may, up to a point, exist in any small village. Modernity was coming, and the way of thinking of the first to final Lairds was completely different.
Towards the end of the show's life, it had tackled many social issues such as lesbianism, suicide and drug abuse, which was new to Scottish Television, although not new to the ITV network.
Perhaps one of the reasons High Road was eventually cancelled was due to the poor scripting in its final years. For example, the lead character, Mrs Mack, had been transformed from a traditional Presbyterian battleaxe to a party animal who enjoyed going to football matches. Such a character change was simply not believable. In other bids to stop the show going under, Andy Cameron, a well-known older Scottish comedian, was introduced to the show. His introduction, however, did not attract younger viewers but firmly raised the average age of the viewer to at least 60. The departure of the main younger characters, such as the Mackays, did not help, although young relationships and characters were always present and, bizarrely enough, not always Scottish.
High Road will be remembered for its changes and, at times, its very stereotyped casting of a Scottish village, rather than its fame as a soap, although its way of bringing together modernity with the old ways of the country really give it credit.
During its run, High Road was always one of the highest-rated television programmes in Scotland, and had an extremely loyal following throughout the rest of the UK, in its afternoon reactions from viewers that has ever been known. This led to some ITV regions re-instating the programme.
Talented star Micky MacPherson who played lead love interest, Scott Logan, moved on to a successful career in panto, particularly renowned for his dancing performance as the Goose in family favourite "Mother Goose". He has since become a BAFTA award winning film producer, running his own highly succesful business, Plum Films, in Edinburgh.
