29/02/2008

First Minister, Alex Salmond, has long demonstrated a flair for the theatrical flourish in the Scottish Parliament; it could well be landing him a part in the long-running, Scottish TV crime drama, Taggart.

This potentially unusual diversion in his career followed a speech he gave on Wednesday about the future of Scottish broadcasting. Among the audience at the Royal Television Society event was Elizabeth Partyka, stv’s acting head of content, who oversees the making of Taggart.

Partyka mentioned to Salmond that Scottish TV presenter, Lorraine Kelly, had recently expressed a desire to play a dead body in the hit drama, and asked if there was any role that he would like to play.
 
The First Minister replied he’d rather play the young new detective as opposed to a grizzly old copper and said: “If you’re offering me a part in Taggart, I accept. But I’m not playing the corpse.”
 
Said Partyka: “It’s great to have the occasional guest on Taggart, and now that we’ve just had another ten episodes commissioned, we’d be delighted to have the First Minister on in a guest role. Quite what his role would be though, would have to be carefully considered.”
 
SMG Productions, which produces Taggart for ITV and stv, has just received its largest commission for the drama ever, in a multi-million pound deal. Ten brand new, hour-long episodes of the UK’s longest-running drama will go into production this summer, with cast members Alex Norton, Blythe Duff, Colin McCredie and John Michie returning to Glasgow for filming.
 
Taggart also celebrates its 25th birthday later this year, and this latest commission will see the show film its 100th episode.


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