Bringing In The Bells: Blythe Duff and Alex Norton on embracing nostalgia and tradition this Hogmanay

Blythe Duff and Alex Norton team up again for STV's Hogmanay.

Hogmanay is the time of year when we reflect on times past; of happy moments and traditions and of those no longer with us.

But it is also a time when we look ahead, when we make plans for the new year and maybe commit to a resolution or two.

When P.S. catches up with Blythe Duff and Alex Norton, former Taggart co-stars and good pals, they are doing all of those things.

We are at Dundas Castle in South Queensferry, where the duo are filming STV’s popular Bringing In The Bells show, alongside other celebrity pairings such as Jean Johansson and Grado, Sean Batty and Laura Boyd, and Martin Compston and Gordon Smart.

“Hogmanay was a big thing when I was a kid,” remembered Alex. “It was one of the most exciting times of the year, being allowed to stay up until midnight!

“All the family would gather at one of the houses for a party, a proper Glasgow New Year with everyone singing songs and doing party pieces. Hang Me From A Gooseberry Tree was my dad’s, my mum would do The Blackboard Of My Heart and I did Duncan Macrae’s The Wee Cock Sparra. It was always a great night.

“You leave home and start your own family, and I was determined to keep it going. We have a house in France and there’s a big room that’s great for having parties in. Every year since we bought it in 2003 we’ve had what I call the Auld Alliance New Year, because we have lots of French pals and Scots come in, and also Belgians, Germans and English, and we have a big hoolie, a great New Year just how it used to be – singing and dancing, and hooching and chooching, and good food.”

“That’s how I started my 2023, at Alex’s house for the first time,” Blythe said. “We were in France and his house was only an hour up the road from us. It’s an extraordinary house and the entertainment was amazing.”

Alex laughed: “I had been saying all through the Taggart years, you must see our house in France.”

“And it didn’t disappoint,” Blythe continued. “We always used to spend Hogmanay in my sister’s house. It was a big family get-together and every year we would have our photograph taken on the staircase, and you would see the changes over the years as the kids grew up.

“I went down to London in 2019 to do the Harry Potter stage play, so I missed it that year, and then it was Covid, and sadly there are family members no longer here and we don’t feel the same about the gathering when they’re not around, so it’s sort of drifted off.

“My girls still talk about New Year and are desperate for it to still be like that. I remember the traditions we used to have but I don’t think people bother in the same way these days. My mum used to panic if we didn’t have the old calendar down, and she would open the windows to let out the old year and bring in the new. My sister was sent outside to first foot, because she was dark-haired, and she would come back in holding a bit of cake.

“I think The Steamie, which Alex directed, really captured Hogmanay and those feelings of that age and generation, and the need to get everything done before the year is out. He harnessed that story in such a beautiful way.”

Alex said: “It was all down to Tony Roper, who wrote it, but I knew the background – I’d grown up in it and knew what I was talking about. One of the things which I think connected with the audiences who came to see it time and time again was that they recognised we had lost that special aspect of life back then. If you lived up a close, you were never alone. The women would go to the steamie together, but once you had a washing machine in the house that was all over with.”

The TV adaptation of The Steamie has long been a Hogmanay favourite, but Bringing In The Bells has also proved popular in recent years.

Blythe said: “People want to sit down and watch telly together at this time of year, and I think a show like this, with its Gogglebox feel to it, is appreciated by the audience.”

The celebrity pairings on Bringing In The Bells look back over the past 12 months and, for Blythe, 2023 has been a year of anniversaries.

“It was a really cathartic year for me and I celebrated a lot of milestone moments in my life – it was 40 years since I got into the business, 40 years since Taggart started, and 40 years since my husband joined the police,” she said.

“It was an awful lot to celebrate and moments to reflect on. It’s been really lovely – and emotional at times. I also lived in America for a month, in France for two months, and I met up with some people I’ve not seen in ages. This year has done everything I wanted it to do.”

“I also had a 40th celebration,” Alex explained. “Me and Bill Paterson celebrated 40 years since we did The Cheviot, The Stag And The Black, Black Oil. That came as a surprise to me – surely it couldn’t have been 40 years since we toured it round the Highlands?

“I also filmed series seven of Two Doors Down, which was moved to BBC One from BBC Two.”

Blythe found time to record a single, a cover of JJ Gilmour’s Glasgow Town, and made an accompanying short film. Alex remembers bringing his guitar to the Taggart set, where he and Blythe would harmonise and sing together, so he’s delighted to see her making music, describing her voice as outstanding.

Having enjoyed Christmas with their families, Blythe and Alex are now looking towards 2024 and what the next 12 months might bring.

“I’m at the age now where I’m not looking for work or calling my agent. I don’t know if we’re doing Two Doors Down again,” Alex said. “If there’s a resolution, it’s that I’m 73 and you never know how many years you have left so I’m going to enjoy them.

“I’m enjoying not having to leave at daybreak to go on set, or to live in hotels – I’ve done all that. Those were dreams and I pretty much achieved all of them, now I want to enjoy it with my family. I want to keep on like that for as long as I can and enjoy life.”

Blythe revealed: “We have a wedding to look forward to next year – my daughter is getting married. As well as that, I think you have to keep on keeping on and make sure not to miss the moments.”

Alex added: “At this time of year, you can’t help but look back as well as look forward. Like Robert Burns wrote in To A Mouse, ‘I backward cast my e’e on prospects drear, An’ forward tho’ I canna see, I guess an’ fear’.

“We’re looking forward to the year coming but we have the conflict in the Middle East and we’re thinking, ‘Please God, don’t let it lead to a terrible outbreak of war all over the world again’, so New Year is a time of renewal.

“We’ve survived, we’re still here, but lots of people aren’t, so let’s hope and pray this year is going to be better – not just for us but for everyone.”

Taggart? No mean birthday

A celebratory event was held in Glasgow in the summer to mark 40 years since the first airing of Taggart – the most iconic and successful Scottish drama every made.

The crime series ran for 27 years and 110 episodes, being sold to 140 territories around the world.

Former stars Blythe Duff, James MacPherson, John Michie and Colin McCredie, creator Glenn Chandler and former STV Head of Drama Robert Love reunited in Glasgow – with Alex Norton joining on Zoom – to mark the anniversary.

Blythe, who played DS Jackie Reid, was also behind an event at Glasgow Caledonian University – now home to a Taggart archive – where fans of the show were invited to donate stories and memories.

“I hadn’t seen James for 20-odd years, but when we saw each other again it didn’t take long for the banter to flow,” Blythe smiled. “When we all saw each other, we fell back into that world.

“It was nice to have Robert and Glenn there as well.

“With the archive event, I had a strong sense that people wanted to talk about their memories. There were some beautiful and emotional stories came from it and the university really wanted to embrace the 40th anniversary.

“It was a way of thanking the audience who had been so faithful to the show.”

Bringing In The Bells, STV and STV Player, tonight, 11.15pm