Take the High Road
Encyclopedia
Take the High Road was a Scottish soap opera
produced by 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
), and claims to have about 2 million fans, including the Queen Mother. It started in February 1980 as an ITV
daytime soap opera, and was dropped by the network in 1993, although various members of the ITV Network (notably Border Television
and Central Television) continued to screen the programme, while others (such as Yorkshire Television
and Carlton Television
) had no interest in doing so.
, which English ITV companies had no interest in, as they wished to have a soap, in their words, “with Scotch Lochs, Hills and purple heather” more tartan feel to the show. In mid 1979, (partly because of an ITV strike at the time) Garnock Way
was axed and production started on a new soap.
The original name for the fictitious estate and village was Glendhu; this resulted in some debate over the name of the series:
After much debate it was decided that the series would be called Take the High Road.
, which contained very similar characters and actors to the original characters of Take the High Road. Some viewers were rather displeased about Garnock Way
being axed; to help defuse some of the angry, Todd the garage mechanic, played by the late Bill Henderson, would suffer a nervous breakdown, and would move north to set up business on his own to help resolve his alcohol problems.
Unfortunately, because of shortage of time and the wish to keep most of the existing actors, it did not follow this plan. The appointed producer Clarke Tait decided to have a scenario where Bill Henderson’s character, Todd, had his named changed to Ken Calder who happened to be a garage mechanic with a drink problem.
During the course of its existence, Take the 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 once common practice; and shortly after Brian Blair was released from prison it was transformed into a walk-around store. There were a few themes in Take the High Road, in line with Scottish culture, namely the idea of Elizabeth Cunningham the rich lady laird
who owned the village and neighbouring farms, and the theme of Protestant 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 exist in any small village. Modernity was coming, and the way of thinking of the first lairds was completely different from that of the final ones.
Around 1990, the series was revamped in a bid to attract a younger audience, which resulted in some outcry about the changes and a belief that new sets had taken away the authenticity of a Scottish village. But within six months the changes were hailed as a success and enabled stronger story lines, and the introduction of five new male characters. Toward the end of the show's life, it tackled many social issues, such as lesbianism, suicide
and drug abuse, which were new to Scottish Television, although not new to the ITV network.
During its run, Take the 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. Indeed, when the series was cancelled by the ITV Network, so many protests were received from viewers in England that some ITV regions re-instated the programme.
Starting from August 5 1994, 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 April 2003.
companies when it started in 1980. Nearly all regions broadcast Take the High Road during the daytime, expect for Scottish Television
who broadcast the soap in the early evenings around 6.30pm. From 1984/85 Border Television
and Grampian Television
moved the series to peak time slot.
The issue was raised in parliament under early day motions, and the Daily Record held a protest as-well.
By the end of June Scottish Television
decided to continual producing the series mainly for the Scottish market, but within a month of the series being dropped nearly all the ITV companies reinstated the series after viewers complained about the show being dropped in the first place. Only two companies refused to reinstate the series: Tyne Tees Television
and Yorkshire Television
; both finally brought the series back in 1996.
By 1998 most of the ITV companies had stopped broadcasting the series, but a few did continue:
In Australia, it was broadcast on ABC1
; the episodes shown in early 1997 were from the beginning, and 1989 episodes were being shown when the channel ended in April 1999. Early "High Road" episodes from about 1994/95 were shown on Sky Scottish
in 1997/98.
Take the High Road was repeated briefly on Life One
from 14 February 2008. The channel started showing from episode 1000 from 1992. The channel ceased broadcasting 6 weeks later, after showing only 4 episodes.
In the autumn of 2010, nearly every episode was added to YouTube
by Scottish Television, making the series accessible to viewers across the world. Not all episodes are available on the YouTube site as some - currently 23 - are missing from the STV archive.
Scottish Blend
tea from the beginning of 1992 until 1995 or 1996. Mothers Pride also sponsored the popular Scottish TV
Soap, from August 1999 to September 2001 on Scottish and Grampian TV. The sponsorship credits revealed the adventures of one man and his dog, Doug, as they searched for the village of Glendarroch. In their search, Doug and his master got up to all sorts of adventures in a bid to capture the hearts of viewers across Scotland.
.
and was used until 1982. This version was quite "Scottish folk band" in style and pretty lively.Instruments featured included the accordion, banjo, drum kit, and synthesiser. The music for the closing credits featured a drum roll introduction.
The "Silly Wizard" theme tune was replaced by an orchestral version in 1982. This orchestral version was used from 1982 until episode 336 in 1986. Instruments featured included the oboe, clarinet, violin, and drum kit. While this version was in use, the music for the break strings tended to vary from episode to episode. Like the Silly Wizard version, the music for the closing credits also featured a drum roll introduction.
The third version was a different orchestral arrangement and was used from episode 337 in 1986 until episode 727 at the beginning of 1990. This new orchestral version was more violin led than the former, which had made more use of wind instruments, and featured no percussion.
From episode 728 in 1990, the fourth, rock-style, version made its debut and continued to be used until the end of the series. This version was electric guitar led (played by session guitarist Duncan Finlay) and featured percussion during the "middle" section. From 1994 when the programme name was shortened to High Road, the length of the closing credits
was cut, so the closing theme was faded in just before the mid point. The theme tune was written by composer Arthur Blake, who was STV's Musical Director at the time.
Another version was released on record in 1980 and was also performed by Silly Wizard.
)
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
produced by Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
, and set in the fictional village of Glendarroch (exteriors were filmed in the real-life village of Luss
Luss
Luss is a village in Argyll & Bute, Scotland, on the west bank of Loch Lomond.-History:Historically in the County of Dunbarton, its original name is Clachan dubh, or 'dark village'...
on the banks of Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
), and claims to have about 2 million fans, including the Queen Mother. It started in February 1980 as an ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
daytime soap opera, and was dropped by the network in 1993, although various members of the ITV Network (notably Border Television
Border Television
Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
and Central Television) continued to screen the programme, while others (such as Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
and Carlton Television
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
) had no interest in doing so.
History
Origins
During 1979, ITV wished to have a Scottish soap for its daytime line up. Unfortunately, at the time the only soap made by STV was Garnock WayGarnock Way
Garnock Way was a short-lived Scottish soap opera, produced by Scottish Television for the ITV network, running from 1976 to 1979. Set in a mining community in a town halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh...
, which English ITV companies had no interest in, as they wished to have a soap, in their words, “with Scotch Lochs, Hills and purple heather” more tartan feel to the show. In mid 1979, (partly because of an ITV strike at the time) Garnock Way
Garnock Way
Garnock Way was a short-lived Scottish soap opera, produced by Scottish Television for the ITV network, running from 1976 to 1979. Set in a mining community in a town halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh...
was axed and production started on a new soap.
The original name for the fictitious estate and village was Glendhu; this resulted in some debate over the name of the series:
- The Glendhu Factor - was dropped as some English viewers may have found it difficult, resulting in the fictitious village's being renamed to Glendarroch
- High Road - Low Road - also dropped, as it sounded like a take-away shop
After much debate it was decided that the series would be called Take the High Road.
Links to Garnock Way
Take the High Road was introduced as a replacement for Garnock WayGarnock Way
Garnock Way was a short-lived Scottish soap opera, produced by Scottish Television for the ITV network, running from 1976 to 1979. Set in a mining community in a town halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh...
, which contained very similar characters and actors to the original characters of Take the High Road. Some viewers were rather displeased about Garnock Way
Garnock Way
Garnock Way was a short-lived Scottish soap opera, produced by Scottish Television for the ITV network, running from 1976 to 1979. Set in a mining community in a town halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh...
being axed; to help defuse some of the angry, Todd the garage mechanic, played by the late Bill Henderson, would suffer a nervous breakdown, and would move north to set up business on his own to help resolve his alcohol problems.
Unfortunately, because of shortage of time and the wish to keep most of the existing actors, it did not follow this plan. The appointed producer Clarke Tait decided to have a scenario where Bill Henderson’s character, Todd, had his named changed to Ken Calder who happened to be a garage mechanic with a drink problem.
Production and Changes
Many of the early scripts were written by Michael Elder, who also made guest appearances in the show. Books by the same name as the show were also produced by him. In the early days of the scripting, the show was fairly credible, but as time went on poor storylines were to follow.During the course of its existence, Take the 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 once common practice; and shortly after Brian Blair was released from prison it was transformed into a walk-around store. There were a few themes in Take the High Road, in line with Scottish culture, namely the idea of Elizabeth Cunningham the rich lady laird
Laird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
who owned the village and neighbouring farms, and the theme of Protestant 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 exist in any small village. Modernity was coming, and the way of thinking of the first lairds was completely different from that of the final ones.
Around 1990, the series was revamped in a bid to attract a younger audience, which resulted in some outcry about the changes and a belief that new sets had taken away the authenticity of a Scottish village. But within six months the changes were hailed as a success and enabled stronger story lines, and the introduction of five new male characters. Toward the end of the show's life, it tackled many social issues, such as lesbianism, suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and drug abuse, which were new to Scottish Television, although not new to the ITV network.
During its run, Take the 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. Indeed, when the series was cancelled by the ITV Network, so many protests were received from viewers in England that some ITV regions re-instated the programme.
Starting from August 5 1994, the series' name was changed to just High Road, and from then on it continued to be produced by Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
, for a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
audience, until it was cancelled in April 2003.
Outcome
Take the High Road helped STV to produce the only soap for the ITV network which was not made by the big 5 companies. This helped the company to give Scotland a place on the Network and also provide sufficient revenue to help Scottish television to produce more programmes for ITV and CH4.Regional Scheduling
Take the High Road was broadcast by all ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
companies when it started in 1980. Nearly all regions broadcast Take the High Road during the daytime, expect for Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
who broadcast the soap in the early evenings around 6.30pm. From 1984/85 Border Television
Border Television
Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
and Grampian Television
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
moved the series to peak time slot.
Dropped by the ITV network
During 1993 the new ITV network centre, was reviewing all "long standing series" made by ITV companies, the issues of the series being dropped even more apparent as the regions south of the Border were months behind in their transmissions in Scotland. On 2 June 1993, Marcus Plantin, ITV's network director, announced the termination of Take The High Road From September 1993, as "ITV's statisticians believed English audiences have had enough" This resulted in public protest as many believed that without ITV companies south of the border the series had no chance.The issue was raised in parliament under early day motions, and the Daily Record held a protest as-well.
By the end of June Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
decided to continual producing the series mainly for the Scottish market, but within a month of the series being dropped nearly all the ITV companies reinstated the series after viewers complained about the show being dropped in the first place. Only two companies refused to reinstate the series: Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
and Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
; both finally brought the series back in 1996.
By 1998 most of the ITV companies had stopped broadcasting the series, but a few did continue:
- Central Television until 2001
- Border TelevisionBorder TelevisionBorder Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
until 2002 - UTVUTVUTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
Completed the series in 2004.
International
Take the High Road was broadcast in a number of countries around the world.In Australia, it was broadcast on ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
Repeats
Take the High Road was repeated on Sky SoapSky Soap
Sky Soap was a British Sky Broadcasting channel that showed a mix of American and British soap operas, including Emmerdale and Take the High Road....
; the episodes shown in early 1997 were from the beginning, and 1989 episodes were being shown when the channel ended in April 1999. Early "High Road" episodes from about 1994/95 were shown on Sky Scottish
Sky Scottish
Sky Scottish was a short lived satellite television channel operating on the analogue Sky TV service for 18 months ....
in 1997/98.
Take the High Road was repeated briefly on Life One
Life One
Life One is a British television channel owned and operated by Life TV Media which launched in August 2007 as the fourth television channel from the company. Life One is the only Life TV Media channel presently broadcasting on Sky Digital....
from 14 February 2008. The channel started showing from episode 1000 from 1992. The channel ceased broadcasting 6 weeks later, after showing only 4 episodes.
In the autumn of 2010, nearly every episode was added to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
by Scottish Television, making the series accessible to viewers across the world. Not all episodes are available on the YouTube site as some - currently 23 - are missing from the STV archive.
Sponsorship
Take the High Road was sponsored by Brooke BondBrooke Bond
Brooke Bond is a brand-name of tea owned by Unilever, formerly an independent manufacturer in the United Kingdom, known for its PG Tips brand and its Brooke Bond tea cards.- History :...
Scottish Blend
Scottish Blend
Scottish Blend is Scotland's second most popular brand of tea.Manufactured by Unilever UK Foods, who also make PG Tips and Lipton, it is specially blended to optimise taste in the soft waters of Scotland....
tea from the beginning of 1992 until 1995 or 1996. Mothers Pride also sponsored the popular Scottish TV
Soap, from August 1999 to September 2001 on Scottish and Grampian TV. The sponsorship credits revealed the adventures of one man and his dog, Doug, as they searched for the village of Glendarroch. In their search, Doug and his master got up to all sorts of adventures in a bid to capture the hearts of viewers across Scotland.
Books
These books were all written by Michael Elder except from Summers Gloaming which was written by Don HoughtonDon Houghton
Don Houghton was a British television screenwriter.Born in Paris, Houghton started writing for radio in 1951 before moving into film and television in 1958...
.
- Summers Gloaming (November 1982)
- Danger in the Glen (January 1984)
- Mist on the Moorland (1985)
- The Man From France (1986)
- The Last of the Lairds (May 1987)
- 10 Years of Take the High Road (1990)
Theme tune
There were 4 versions of the theme tune over the 23 year run. The first version was performed by Silly WizardSilly Wizard
Silly Wizard was a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students—Gordon Jones and Bob Thomas...
and was used until 1982. This version was quite "Scottish folk band" in style and pretty lively.Instruments featured included the accordion, banjo, drum kit, and synthesiser. The music for the closing credits featured a drum roll introduction.
The "Silly Wizard" theme tune was replaced by an orchestral version in 1982. This orchestral version was used from 1982 until episode 336 in 1986. Instruments featured included the oboe, clarinet, violin, and drum kit. While this version was in use, the music for the break strings tended to vary from episode to episode. Like the Silly Wizard version, the music for the closing credits also featured a drum roll introduction.
The third version was a different orchestral arrangement and was used from episode 337 in 1986 until episode 727 at the beginning of 1990. This new orchestral version was more violin led than the former, which had made more use of wind instruments, and featured no percussion.
From episode 728 in 1990, the fourth, rock-style, version made its debut and continued to be used until the end of the series. This version was electric guitar led (played by session guitarist Duncan Finlay) and featured percussion during the "middle" section. From 1994 when the programme name was shortened to High Road, the length of the closing credits
Closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...
was cut, so the closing theme was faded in just before the mid point. The theme tune was written by composer Arthur Blake, who was STV's Musical Director at the time.
Another version was released on record in 1980 and was also performed by Silly Wizard.
External links
(STV PlayerSTV Player
The STV Player is a website based video on demand service accessible though the main STV website and separately in the distinct domain name stvplayer.tv. Current programmes are available for 30 days after transmission on the main STV channel, with archive programming available longer-term...
)