Spotlight: Stuart McGugan (Jimmy Beattie in Buddyboy)

Blonde and burly McGugan was born into a farming family on 2nd March 1944 and spent his childhood in the village of Letham, near Dundee, on the east coast of Scotland. As a teenager he joined the Thrums Dramatic Society and the Kirriemuir Amateur Operatic Society and was involved in several amateur productions. After leaving school, Forfar Academy in Angus, McGugan had ambitions to enrol at drama school, but due to poor family finances, he instead went into a career in journalism, working on both regional, such as The Aberdeen Evening Express, and national newspapers – his last role in the industry was as a sub editor at The Daily Mail. After three years he decided to reapply to drama school as a mature student and was surprised to find this entitled him to a full grant which would finance his studies.

From 1962 to 1965 he studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Dramatic Art (now called The Royal Scottish Conservatoire) in Glasgow and on graduation he went into local repertory theatre at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. This was followed by further rep work in Newcastle and Leeds. Early television credits during this period consisted of small roles in a couple of BBC drama series; playing Michael Dunn in the This Man Craig episode ‘Early Days’ (24th September 1966) and a credit as Boy in ‘Evidence Partial and Impartial’ (13th October 1966), an episode of The Revenue Men. December 1967 and into January 1968 saw McGugan as a cast member of the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Marlowe theatre in Canterbury.

This was quickly followed by a spell at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-Upon-Avon for a year under the directorship of the newly appointed Trevor Nunn. McGugan appeared in small supporting roles, known in the business as “spear-carrying”, in productions such as King Lear (April 1968) and Doctor Faustus (July 1968). When the season had finished the RSC, complete with McGugan, toured America during 1969. Eventually, at the end of the RSC tour, the young actor found himself gaining work with a San Francisco theatre company, the American Conservancy Theatre, but this was short lived as his work permit had ran out. The authorities quickly caught up with him and McGugan had no option but to return to the UK. December 1969 and into January 1970 saw McGugan employed in the pantomime Dick Whittington and His Wonderful Cat at the Newcastle Playhouse. During October 1970 he had the role of David Byrne in the James (‘Callan’) Mitchell play The Wrecker based at the Newcastle Playhouse. During December 1970 and January 1971 McGugan appeared in the pantomime Mother Goose at the Derby Playhouse. He also began to slowly get more TV work starting with the BBC detective series The View From Daniel Pike as the character Bell in the second episode entitled ‘The Manufactured Clue’ (2nd December 1971).

He had a small role as a sailor in the film Madame Sin (1972), a thriller starring Bette Davis. On television he appeared in the Thirty-Minute Theatre production ‘They Don’t All Open Men’s Boutiques’ (17th January 1972) written by Willis Hall. This was followed by the role of Fox Major in the first two episodes of the series Man of Straw – ‘Esprit De Corps’ (30th January 1972) and ‘Young Love’ (6th February 1972). He then had a small role as a policeman in ‘Phase 1’ (11th May 1973) the first episode of the BBC thriller series Scotch on the Rocks.

His big break came with his casting as Gunner Atlas Mackintosh in the sitcom It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. McGugan would appear in fifty six episodes between 1974 and 1981. McGugan later reflected “I was supposed to be the strong man and they helped me enormously by hiring midgets like Melvyn Hayes and Don Estelle. They made me look very big.” Leading up to his appearance in Beasts McGugan found himself in a very busy period during 1975 with his ongoing role as Gunner Mackintosh balanced with guest roles in several other series. He played Billy Gillis in a single episode of the period drama Anne of Avonlea (1975) and he was Auchinlech in 'The Wallace' (3rd March 1975) an episode of Churchill’s People. His next role was as Police Constable Rankin in ‘The Brief Facts’ (19th May 1975), an episode of the courtroom drama Six Days of Justice, and this was followed by the role of Alan Miller in ‘Workhorse’ (21st October 1975) an episode of BBC drama Oil Strike North. His final TV role for the year was as Hicks in The Sweeney instalment ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ (24th November 1975). On top of this he started possibly his most famous role, one that cemented him in the minds of a generation of children and their parents, as a presenter of Playschool. McGugan would continue to present the show for the next ten years.

At the start of 1975 McGugan could also been seen in the Leeds Playhouse production of The Tempest lead by Paul Schofield as Prospero. His role as Jimmie Beattie in the Beasts episode ‘Buddyboy’ was his next television job. Post-Beasts McGugan continued his regular role in It Ain’t Alf Hot Mum as well as making appearances alongside Big Ted and the other toys when he presented Playschool. Aside from these credits he also made appearances as Thorncliffe in the first two episodes of an adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s adventure novel Rob Roy (13th and 20th February 1977). He was seen as a Scottish Army Sergeant in the Dad’s Army instalment ‘Number Engaged’ (30th October 1977). On the stage he was cast as John Procter in a version of The Crucible presented at Ipswich Theatre during March 1979. Up next were the first two episodes of BBC thriller series The Mourning Brooch (17th and 19th April 1979) as the character Samson and the sitcom Sykes playing Jack in the episode ‘The Six Million Dollar Sykes’ (9th November 1979).

His role as Gunner Mackintosh sustained him through the next few years before ending in 1981 though he continued with his Playschool appearances. During March 1982 he could be seen in a production of Harold Pinter’s play Betrayal based at the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead. July 1983 saw him appear in the play The Last Tram at the Gate theatre in Notting Hill, London. On TV he popped up as Jim Trease in the BBC drama Grey Granite (August 1983) and then went into performing in the play The Shutter Falls during the Edinburgh Festival. Later he brightened up a post-party New Year’s Day as a thief in the BBC pantomime Aladdin and the Forty Thieves (1st January 1984) and played Chief Superintendent Mackay in ‘On The Edge’ (11th September 1984) an episode of drama The Brief.

The Personal Touch (1985) was a Scottish Television single drama in which McGugan co-starred alongside future Doctor Who Peter Capaldi in the tale of a couple who meet through the personal column of a newspaper. Next was a role as a jailer in ‘De Profundis’ (28th March 1985) the third episode of the BBC biographical drama Oscar which featured Michael Gambon as the writer Oscar Wilde. May 1985 would see him appear in a production of Golden Girls at the Leeds Playhouse. He was a policeman again for his next TV role, as DS Ron Stapley, in the one off ITV drama Operation Julie (4th November 1985) before returning to comedy with a role as a telephone engineer in an episode of the George Cole sitcom Comrade Dad (10th February 1986).

His next major role was as temperamental drummer Bomba McAteer in the six part BBC comedy drama Tutti Frutti (3rd March 1987 – 7th April 1987). The role still reverberates with McGugan “I still get people shouting ‘How’s it going big yin?’ and that series hasn’t been seen for twenty years.” More police work was next with McGugan featuring as Detective Sergeant Marks in the first two episodes of the second season of the drama series Floodtide (8th and 15th January 1988), created and written by Roger Marshall. He was the character Walter Fairley in the opening episode of season four of Scottish police drama McTaggart – ‘Dead Giveaway’ (7th September 1988). Between 1989 and 1990 he appeared as Gordon Stewart in eleven episodes of the drama Wish Me Luck across seasons two and three. The series was created by the same team behind Tenko, Jill Hyem and Lavinia Warner, and followed the exploits of British women recruited as undercover agents during the Second World War.

He made his debut as the recurring character Jock Macgregor in the opening second season episode of the sitcom You Rang, M’Lord? (11th November 1990) and made the first of five appearances in the police series The Bill when he played the role of Kemble in the episode ‘Favours’ (12th February 1991). His final appearance as Jock Macgregor in You Rang, M’Lord came with the last episode of the fourth season – ‘Well, There You Are The’ (24th April 1993). He then went into the cast of the second season of the BBC Scotland drama series Strathblair during 1993. During May 1994 he was part of the cast of Peripheral Violence at the Soho Theatre, London.

He made his first appearance as Detective Superintendent Sean McCloud in the opening episode of season three of police drama The Chief which also featured his ‘Buddyboy’ colleague Martin Shaw as a series regular. McGugan would portray McCloud throughout the third and fourth seasons of the programme with his character promoted to the level of Detective Chief Superintendent in later episodes. His last appearance was in the ninth episode of season four transmitted 4th March 1995.

McGugan appeared as Stuart Browning in the award winning Granada single drama Some Kind of Life (1995) which was written by Kay Mellor and starred Jane Horrocks. The drama was nominated for the 1997 BAFTA Best Single Drama award and was awarded the Royal Television Society award for Best Sound. His second appearance in The Bill saw McGugan portray the character Frank Knox in the episode ‘Value for Money’ (24th March 1995). A rare excursion in to cinema came with an uncredited cameo role as a taxi driver in the film Trainspotting (1996). More regular TV work came with the role of Barney Meldon in all three seasons of the quirky police drama Hamish Macbeth which was headlined by Robert Carlyle. Meldon would appear in nineteen of the twenty episodes made between 1995 and 1997.

He returned to comedy with an appearance in the sitcom The Creatives playing Cameron in the episode ‘By The Way’ (19th January 2000). Kid’s science fiction comedy series Mike and Angelo featured McGugan as the character Derek Frost in two episodes during its mammoth run – ‘The Merry Widow’ (23rd February 1999) and ‘Overnight Frost’ (29th February 2000). Granada single drama Little Bird (1st October 2000) included McGugan in a small role as Eddie Hughes Snr. Another small role as a shopkeeper saw him cast in the James Nesbitt vehicle Murphy’s Law and he appeared as Hemmings in an episode of the cosy Sunday night police drama Heartbeat – ‘Closing the Book’ (13th January 2002).

One of the certainties of an actor’s career when they become middle aged or elderly seems to be that, at some point, Casualty will have a role that requires your talents. McGugan’s chance came with the episode ‘Taking It All Back to the Street’ (15th June 2002). He then appeared as Barry in two episodes of the second season of racy ITV drama Footballers Wives –‘Bitter Medicine’ (19th February 2003) and ‘Fall From Grace’ (26th February 2003) and moved on to the daytime medical soap Doctors (26th March 2003). He was next seen as a hotel receptionist in an episode of the drama Rockface which was based around the exploits of a Scottish mountain rescue team. McGugan appears in the fifth episode of season two (22nd June 2003). His final TV role for the year was in an episode of Silent Witness – ‘Answering Fire: Part 1’ (11th October 2003).

During September 2005 he was a cast member of the play Top Dogs at the Royal Exchange Studio in Manchester. The production later toured the country until November. His final role in The Bill was as Bruce Burns in two episodes transmitted 7th and 8th March 2007. During early 2007 he appeared in a Middle Ground Theatre Company production of a stage version of the 1960 film Tunes of Glory which toured Jersey, Wolverhampton and Scotland. McGugan took the role of Jock Sinclair, portrayed by Alec Guinness in the film. Further stage work included Living Quarters at Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh during October 2007.

On television he proved popular in modern comedy series; he was the supporting character Malcolm in the Martin Freeman starring series Boy Meets Girl (1st – 22nd May 2009) and was seen as Wink in an episode of ITV sitcom Benidorm’s third season (6th November 2009). More police work, this time as Detective Inspector Flinn, in the single drama Postcode (15th March 2011). He played Ken Letham in the ITV period drama The Royal when he appeared in the episode ‘Below the Surface’ (24th July 2011). Theatre work during this period included So Great a Crime at the Finborough Theatre, London during January 2013, with McGugan in the lead role as Hector MacDonald. Also in the cast was Elizabeth Counsell, who was a voice actor in the Beasts episode ‘During Barty’s Party’ and the wife of Murrain actor David Simeon.

McGugan continued to be active with a role in the film Playing Dead (2014) as Alfie and a national tour of a stage production of The Holly and The Ivy for the Middle Ground Theatre Company between 2012 and 2014. More recently was cast in the low budget surrealistic British comedy film The Fitzroy (2017) as Captain Hunt who has an unusually close relationship with his pet chicken, Henrietta.

McGugan is still active. He recently recorded an entire book for Spotify of Aesop’s Fables in Scots Verse with his son, Mitch McGugan – a classically trained violinist and heavy metal drummer, providing the musical backing. He is also writing his memoirs of being in the business. He has a lot of ground to cover, but let’s hope he can find space to discuss his role in Beasts.