Highlights

The Sunday Post •

Declan McKenna on Edinburgh show and Sabrina Carpenter tour

After playing Glasgow’s TRNSMT festival last weekend, Declan McKenna will be heading back north of the border next month as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. We caught up with him about the upcoming show at the Edinburgh Playhouse and preparing to tour with pop’s newest megastar, Sabrina Carpenter. From a festival goer’s perspective, it’s an opportunity to catch new music, maybe something you haven’t heard before and you just bump into something. It’s so important for new bands, I gu...
The Sunday Post •

Sudden Death: Rosco McClelland explores heart condition in Fringe show

Dying is a subject often avoided or talked about in hushed tones, but not for comedian Rosco McClelland. The stand-up, one of the brightest stars in the current wave of new Scottish comedy talent, feels acquainted with death as an old friend, and it’s even one of the only things that gets him really laughing. He has Long QT syndrome, a rare and life-threatening heart condition that gives an increased risk of an irregular heartbeat which can result in fainting, seizures, or, worst case scenario,...
The Sunday Post •

Nina Conti on donning monkey suit for debut feature film Sunlight

If it wasn’t hard enough to juggle starring in and directing her debut feature film, Nina Conti gave herself an extra challenge – do it all in a giant monkey suit in the blistering heat of the New Mexico desert. Best known for her ventriloquism work, she combines her usual hectic Fringe schedule this year with premiering dark comedy Sunlight at the Edinburgh Film Festival. In it she goes further than just lending her arm and voice to Monkey and goes for full immersion, playing Jane, a woman who...
The Sunday Post •

INTERVIEW: Katherine Ryan on the Fringe, fame and family

Having established herself as a familiar face on our screens, married her teenage sweetheart and played to sold-out audiences around the world, Katherine Ryan is aiming to tick off yet another life goal – becoming besties with Shania Twain. In the latest big TV job to come her way, the comedian will soon be jetting back to her homeland to take a seat alongside the country-pop superstar on the new judging panel of Canada’s Got Talent. If you go by her lyrics, Shania is famously hard to impress, b...
The Sunday Post •

Maureen Lipman on Edinburgh memories, Corrie, and staying busy

When she sits down for a Q&A in Edinburgh later this month, Dame Maureen Lipman will no doubt cast her mind back down the decades to her first visits to the city and its famous festival. Before she became a household name, the actor, writer and comedian appeared alongside Tamara Ustinov in Kerry Lee Crabbe’s play The Burn at the Fringe in 1965, hailed as a masterpiece by the renowned drama critic Sir Harold Hobson. Maureen, who says she still has that review in a ‘dusty scrapbook’ somewhere, wou...
The Sunday Post •

Richard Armitage on how roots of real life inspired second novel, The Cut

As one of the most popular audiobook voice actors, Richard Armitage has narrated some of the biggest page-turners, cliff-hangers and whodunnits. Now the star of The Hobbit, Spooks and Red Eye is having a thrill ride of his own in a surprise new career chapter as a novelist. Following the success of his first book Geneva, which has a TV adaptation in the works, Richard released his follow-up, The Cut, as an Audible exclusive earlier this week. A lifelong lover of the escapism of fiction, the Robi...
The Sunday Post •

Jo Nesbø on Scotland and Norway's cultural ties and solace in crime novels

Whether it be works inspired by shared rugged landscapes and unpredictable climates, or our respective genres of Nordic and Tartan Noir crime thrillers, Scotland and Norway have long shared strong cultural ties. Fittingly for a man who has sold millions of books worldwide, best-selling author Jo Nesbø, puts it perfectly, describing us as ‘national soulmates’. As the Norwegian crime writer heads across the North Sea to meet fans of his page-turner thrillers, he knows he’s almost coming to a home...
The Sunday Post •

Poet Liz Lochhead on revisiting her life's work for new collection

In her hands, Liz Lochhead is holding her newest book, and most of her life’s work. “There it is,” she says. “A great big stonking thing.” It is indeed quite a hefty tome. For the first time, all of Scotland’s second modern Makar’s published poetry has been put together in one release. Titled A Handsel, it also includes her first new poems since 2016. Although she daren’t look too closely in case she’s missed a typo, there’s a clear sense of pride in bringing her legacy together. The poet and
The Sunday Post •

Lucy Beaumont on reality and fiction colliding in marriage to Jon Richardson

Having attempted to fit herself into her own suitcase during a break in filming Taskmaster, the assessment of Lucy Beaumont as “consistently unpredictable” seems fairly fitting. The stand-up, writer and actor, who is one of the contestants on the current series of the Channel 4 panel game show, largely agrees with the words used by the show’s co-host, Alex Horne, in a recent interview. “You don’t really know sometimes that you’re odd until you see it in writing,” she laughs as P.S. catches up
The Sunday Post •

Love still burns bright for couple brought together by Glasgow fire strike

Rattling along the M8 at 30mph in a Green Goddess fire engine, a young RAF airman from Yorkshire had no idea his life was soon going to change forever. Steven Bentham-Bates was just 18 years old when he was drafted in to cover strike action by Glasgow’s firefighters 50 years ago this week. After a quick crash-course on how to extinguish blazes at Edinburgh’s Redford Barracks, he was assigned to a crew when they reached Maryhill. Little did Steven know that saying yes to a soldier, who asked h
The Sunday Post •

Lewis Capaldi on special bond with fans, new album and Big Weekend

As Lewis Capaldi clambers over a barricade to greet Janet Kirk, the moment encapsulates the special connection the singer has formed with his fans. For 80-year-old Janet, it was her first-ever gig and she made the journey just to see the singer-songwriter in action. He may shrug off national treasure status, but Capaldi’s honesty about his mental health in recent years – coupled with his immense talent, laid-back style and sense of humour – has formed a bond many artists could only dream of.
The Sunday Post •

Crying in the bathroom and a hug from Cate Blanchett: Lesley Paterson on her emotional rollercoaster Oscars

A big hug from Cate Blanchett was one of the highs in a rollercoaster night of emotion at the Oscars, according to triathlete-turned-screenwriter Lesley Paterson. Her film All Quiet On The Western Front was nominated for nine Oscars and won four – including Best International Feature Film – but missed out on Best Adapted Screenplay to Women Talking. “I’ve never experienced anything like it, really believing in your heart that you’re going to win something and then you don’t, but then your film
The Sunday Post •

Blackadder star and history presenter Tony Robinson on cunning new podcast

As Blackadder’s Baldrick, Tony Robinson captured hearts as the classic comedy presented a surreal, subverted version of British history. His character always had a “cunning plan” but when it comes to a 50-year career, the actor, author and presenter has simply been following his natural curiosity about the past. From documentaries ranging from Egyptian tomb hunting to the world wars, royalty and the climate, to two decades on Time Team, he is a font of historical knowledge – despite dropping o
The Sunday Post •

Implications of hurtling advances in tech to be discussed at Scottish AI Summit

We have, of course, heard it before and become used to news of technological advances threatening to upend our lives, take our jobs and transform our lives. Artificial intelligence (AI) is, according to experts and new converts, different. It is, they say, the real deal – capable of triggering change like the internet did but at a faster pace. We have only started scratching the surface of its capabilities, which seem to advance with every day that passes. From painting like Michelangelo and
The Sunday Post •

Katherine Parkinson on Significant Other, loneliness, and Taskmaster

Taking on her latest role, Katherine Parkinson found herself feeling a bit sorry for herself. Or, at least, her past self. In Significant Other, ITV’s new comedy drama, her character finds herself adrift, alone and with a heart that is sick in more ways than one. While a hectic schedule encompassing TV, theatre, interviews and the school run has her, perhaps, longing for a little solitude once in a while, playing Anna allowed her to cast her mind back to her university days where the company s
The Sunday Post •

Dreading the hordes? Experts assess post-pandemic theatre behaviour as staff report increased levels of abuse

To sing along or not to sing along has been the theatre etiquette question igniting debate since a showing of The Bodyguard in Manchester was stopped and police called to deal with an audience member insistent on giving their own rendition of I Will Always Love You. It was the latest in a string of incidents including a brawl during The Jersey Boys at Edinburgh Playhouse in January that has put theatregoers’ behaviour under the microscope. Impassioned debates over how audiences act in the thea
The Sunday Post •

Jings! Oor Wullie's American superfans cap off dream holiday with visit to Sunday Post HQ

A family of Oor Wullie superfans from Reno, Nevada, are heading home to the United States with a suitcase full of cartoons after a visit to the birthplace of Scotland’s favourite mischievous wee laddie. John Kitchen passed his love of the comic strip, alongside The Broons and classic characters from the Beano and Dandy, down the generations to his grandchildren Gracie, 14, Jackson, 12, and nine-year-old Caden. The youngsters love reading the adventures and antics so much that they even lapse i
The Sunday Post •

Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn: Meet the latest Scots to grapple with fame as WWE stars

There are now so many Scots wrestling for WWE that they’ve got their own WhatsApp group chat – with the Braveheart-inspired name “Freedom”. For the latest pair of warriors to get called up to the sports entertainment giant’s top shows, it’s a culmination of years of hard work that’s taken them from community centres across Scotland to the big arenas of the world. The tag team of Kayleigh Rae, who performs under the name Alba Fyre, and Courtney Stewart, who is known as Isla Dawn, were stunned t
The Courier •

Radio 1's Big Weekend: Jess Glynne can't wait to reintroduce herself when festival comes to Dundee

Thanks to seven number one hits, frequent radio airplay and her song Hold My Hand’s ubiquitous presence in summer holiday adverts, it feels like Jess Glynne has never been away. But when she appears at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Dundee, the London-born singer will be taking her first steps on stage for several years having taken time out to re-focus. Reintroducing herself at a festival in front of thousands of people is a nerve-wracking prospect, but riding high on the success of new single Sill
Press and Journal •

Katie Gregson-MacLeod on rubbing shoulders with Sting and Highland homecomings

As she rubbed shoulders with Sting at last week’s Ivor Novello awards, Inverness singer-songwriter Katie Gregson-MacLeod knew she was definitely on the right track. Complex, the viral hit which last summer that changed her life, was vying for Best Song Musically and Lyrically at the prestigious awards bash, hot on the heels of signing a record deal, moving to London, and making music her full time career.
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The Sunday Post •

BBC Radio 2's Trevor Nelson on his new afternoon show

As he takes the reigns of the afternoon show on BBC Radio 2, we caught up with Trevor Nelson about his new timeslot, music memories, and saying goodbye to The Rhythm Nation. It’s something I didn’t plan, that’s for sure, but I’m incredibly excited. For the first time in my career I’ve had a four week break from radio. I’m re-acclimatising into daytime living. Going into the BBC building was like a culture shock to me because it was buzzing with people! It’s the one thing I haven’t really done, s...
The Sunday Post •

Bethlehem Calling: Stories of young women of Palestine

Their diaries painted a picture of daily life in the West Bank for young women; talk of boybands, friendship and future aspirations interspersed with checkpoints, curfews and violence. Now, just over 20 years on, the stories of Palestinian girls growing up in the backdrop of the Second Intifada, a major uprising against Israeli occupation from 2000 to 2005, are being revisited. Mixing theatre and music, Bethlehem Calling at this month’s Celtic Connections festival creates a link between Palestin...
The Sunday Post •

Scots-based GB ice climbing team on sport's Olympic potential

In a converted church in Glasgow, a growing community could be creating the next generation of Scottish Olympians. A specially-built, world-class facility at the Glasgow Climbing Centre is the base for the GB ice climbing team to practice dry tooling, where athletes take on gruelling rock face challenges using ice axes and crampons. The sport’s elite have gathered in Cheongsong, South Korea this weekend, where a number of Scots climbers are taking part in the first round of this year’s World Cup...
The Sunday Post •

Amy Irons on making her debut in BBC Hogmanay hot seat

She’s been used to watching teams climb up the leagues in her sports broadcasting career but, this year, Amy Irons completes her own promotion run. Having worked her way up from welcoming in the New Year in the chilly confines of Stonehaven harbour and atop Edinburgh Castle, this year she’s making her debut in the BBC Scotland Hogmanay studio hot seat. “I like to think I’ve come from League Two and now I’ve been trusted with a big Champions League match,” Amy, 33, laughed. “From 2019 outside in...
The Sunday Post •

Hannah Laing on helping others experience benefits of music she did

When DJ Hannah Laing gets on stage, she’s more than happy to let the music do the talking. So much so, she reckons the huge dance festival she’s bringing to her home town of Dundee next year might be the first time she braves going on the mic for a chat. It’s the connection through music that’s built her up into one of dance music’s fastest rising stars in an incredible couple of years which has brought a UK top 10 single, festival appearances around the world and more than three million monthly...
The Sunday Post •

Why Christmas films are the festive gift that keeps on giving

Over the next fortnight, many of us will be feasting our eyes on some of the finest Christmas films available at our fingertips. While we’re spoiled for choice, one person who’s watched more than most is author and historian Tom Christie, who has just completed the fourth and final volume of his book series on festive flicks and their enduring themes. His deep dive begins with early productions like It’s A Wonderful Life from 1946, and 1947’s Miracle On 34th Street. “If you go back to around 194...
The Sunday Post •

No Ordinary Dad: Author tells story of tracking down father's secret family

The first clue came in a phone call. While her father was in hospital, Fiona Barrett overheard her mum Joyce telling her aunt Lena that the kids should visit him before his condition worsened. But which kids did she mean? Fiona and sister Beverley knew their dad had Alzheimer’s and living with him they’d seen he was deteriorating before their eyes – so it couldn’t be them. Taken aback but unwilling to question it directly, his death set in motion a search for answers that would span the next cou...
The Sunday Post •

Ellie Taylor on Strictly, soft-play injuries and returning to stand-up

Ellie Taylor tangoed to the Casualty theme as part of 10 gruelling weeks of training and performance on Strictly and even made it through Celebrity Gladiators mostly unscathed. But it was a trip to the soft play that would see her luck run out and have her hobbling off to A&E. “It’s so ridiculous,” she tells P.S. “I survived Strictly, then being beaten around the head by women made of pure protein powder. “Then I do a three-foot little ramp at the soft play and my calf muscle explodes. “As my hu...
The Sunday Post •

Alexandra Mardell on Smoggie Queens, Strictly and life after Corrie

Former Coronation Street star Alexandra Mardell tells us all about her new show, Smoggie Queens, being a Strictly Christmas champ, and life after leaving the cobbles. It’s all about Dickie (played by Phil Dunning) and his fabulous friends. They’re a bunch of misfits in this chosen family supporting each other and having weird and wonderful times. It follows them individually, but also together through thick and thin and it’s a good old laugh! It’s definitely a show that I personally would love t...
The Sunday Post •

Hebridean Isles: Master sheds a tear on ferry’s final voyage

The fact that islanders braved a freezing cold night to say goodbye showed clearly the affection held for the retiring veteran of the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet – MV Hebridean Isles. On Monday, her engines were turned off for the final time in Glasgow’s King George V dock after sailing down from Stornoway, something of a farewell tour for a vessel that’s served on almost all routes of Scotland’s ferry network. Like saying goodbye to a faithful companion or a distinguished long-serving colleague,...
The Sunday Post •

Family's art exhibition celebrates stories of beloved yacht

As the Law family finally bid farewell to beloved yacht Kirsty after 25 years, they knew they were just a small part of the boat’s history. The family of artists decided to combine their various talents in a new project celebrating their fond memories of sailing round Scotland’s coast, but also the other stories woven into the fabric of the vessel in the course of over 100 years at sea. Pat, Kirsty, Mhairi and Andy Law are behind new exhibition GAFFER: Impressions from a Loch Fyne Skiff, newly u...
The Sunday Post •

André Rieu on Scottish shows, the joy of music and living to 140

We chatted to musical icon André Rieu about making happy music, kilt wearing and playing violin until he’s aged 140… It was a big celebration, but I’m glad that it’s over. It’s only once in a lifetime, 75. Everybody thinks it’s a big milestone. But I’ll tell you, I’m going to live to be 140, so I’m a little bit over half-time! It’s so fantastic to make music. It’s not only that I want to make the people happy, I make myself happy. Music is the most beautiful treasure we have in life. It’s always...
The Sunday Post •

Author Dave Broom on new version of The World Atlas of Whisky

With new whisky distilleries popping up constantly and more countries than ever making the spirit, there’s hardly been a greater time for dram lovers. Guiding them along has been The World Atlas Of Whisky, labelled one of the best whisky books ever, which has been a go-to to chart the ever-adapting landscape that is as fluid as the drink itself. So much has changed in the decade since the last edition was published that the latest version is virtually a rewrite, bringing in a plethora of new Sco...
The Sunday Post •

Thousands of listeners worldwide are streaming Gaelic metalcore

Get ready to hear Gaelic as you’ve never heard it before – in ear-shattering metalcore music. Under the name Gun Ghaol, musician Colin Stone has combined his passion for the loud fusion genre with his family heritage to put a surprising twist on songwriting in the language. It may most often be found in the domain of rural choirs, waulking songs and the legendary Runrig, but Colin’s debut album has proved popular, with listeners ranging far beyond the Celtic heartlands. “The response has been ov...
The Sunday Post •

Bright Places: Playwright on exploring her MS diagnosis on stage

As Rae Mainwaring prepared to watch a run-through of Bright Places, the play she’d written about her MS diagnosis, she thought she’d felt all the feelings she could about it after 20 years. But as the story of a young woman getting shattering news was brought to life in the rehearsal room, it brought everything back. Having grown frustrated by the negative depictions of people living with the condition, Rae explores the impact of her diagnosis in a glittering production. With a 90s pop soundtrac...
The Sunday Post •

Brave voyagers fled Norway to Scotland during Second World War

When the Nazis invaded Norway during the Second World War, many looking to flee the brutal occupiers looked back to their Viking ancestry and knew what to do. As Hitler’s forces descended on the neutral country in the first half of 1940, over 4000 people took to small boats to cross the North Sea to Scotland and join up with forces there, determined to one day return to avenge their oppression. Most of the boats were small inshore fishing vessels, but some were far from shipshape for the rough s...
The Sunday Post •

Taskmaster's Emma Sidi on making Sue Gray a comedy character

After a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, actress and comedian Emma Sidi is taking her show, where she takes on the role of Partygate report author Sue Gray, on tour. Here, she tells us all about how she brought the Labour special adviser and former civil servant to life as a comedy character, as well as her experience on Taskmaster and sitcom Starstuck. It was my first one for six years. I’d always said I’ll never come back, but I think most comedians say that after a Fringe. I just couldn’...
The Sunday Post •

Comedian Susie McCabe on health, stand-up and honeymoons

Last month, Susie McCabe finally managed to find a space in the diary to jet off on her long-awaited honeymoon. Lounging in the tropical sunshine, the Scots comedian was afforded the chance to celebrate her first anniversary with wife Nicola and reflect on a year that was, by anyone’s standards, fairly hectic. And that’s without factoring in a scramble to secure tickets for her beloved Oasis on day one of the holiday. As well as tying the knot, she’d entertained thousands at her stand-up shows,...
The Sunday Post •

Recordist Martyn Stewart gives nature a voice in final project

Armed with a microphone and recorder, for six decades Martyn Stewart has been on a one-man mission to give nature a voice in its fight for survival. It’s been a lifelong dedication and, having been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer in December 2019, he is now using his final project as a rallying call to preserve the ecosystems of his adopted homeland. Martyn has teamed up with Scottish producer Robert Shields, a.k.a. ONR, for an album that combines the sounds of the wilderness with indie-...
The Sunday Post •

Galleries celebrate 40 years of Scotland’s Photography Collection

With over 55,000 images, Scotland’s Photography Collection is the fastest- growing part of the National Galleries of Scotland’s archives and a vast, world-class treasure trove. So to celebrate its 40th anniversary, curators are giving visitors a snapshot of what lies within, and shout loud and clear about how important Scots have been on the world stage. Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection runs at the Portrait Gallery from October 26 until March 15, spanning from early imag...
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