Gary O'Brien

In the final instalment of Celebrity Scotland, Christopher Fisher speaks to Scottish actor Gray O’Brien, best known for playing Billy Davies in Scotland’s leading soap River City and his cameo appearance in film The Queen

Gray talks about his Scottish roots Do you find with your filming commitments, you don’t get very much time to enjoy Scotland?

“Yep. We are very lucky, because for River City we have a disused whisky warehouse which is four miles from Loch Lomond. Often we have lunch there. It has to be known for me to jump in the car and go off as you are positioned at the start of Loch Lomond.” With more viewers tuning into River City through satellite channels, do you think it puts Glasgow on the map for you?

“From my point of view, I wouldn’t say it is a great advert because let’s face it, it’s a look at real life in a dramatic sense and what people get up to. It’s not glamorous. Shows such as Monarch Of The Glen, 2000 Acres Of Skye are the glamour shows and the picture postcards that people want to visit. I don’t think people would want to visit Shieldinch. I’m not saying they shouldn’t because they can do a tour, I’ve just done a little film they can see when they go in. But it’s not a good advert for Glasgow”

Tell us about your favourite Scottish places.
“My favourite place in the whole world? I think, my first trip was when I was 15, so it must be Glen Etive which is between Glen Coe and Bridge of Orchy.

“It’s a great place. I often go on my own and I love to camp – I’ve always loved that. And for some reason I always go back to the same place.

“On Glen Etive there are more midges than anywhere I know in the world. I’ve tried every sort of cream but they eat through absolutely .....

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By Christopher Fisher

Section : Celebrity Scotland

Page number : 28