Scots actress Liz Ewing: 'I loved the West End but flying back to The Nest felt like coming home'

Actress Liz Ewing has revealed how a role in the most-talked-about television series of the year felt like a “welcome home” gift after she returned to Scotland.

After a successful stage career in London’s West End, appearing in sell-out shows such as Les Miserables, Mrs Henderson Presents, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Gypsy, Liz thought she might end up spending more time as a mum than on stage when she came home to Motherwell.

Little did she expect to get a call for a part in hit drama The Nest, which came to a thrilling climax on Easter Monday to an audience of five million viewers.

“I hadn’t even unpacked my suitcase when my agent called to tell me I’d got the part of social worker Janis in The Nest,” said Liz. “It was the best welcome home gift I’ve ever had, and I’m looking forward to lockdown being lifted as I’ve got several other projects I’m looking at.”

The Nest’s Martin Compston, Sophie Rundle and Mirren Mack

At the age of 21, Liz knew she had to leave her beloved family and head to London if she was ever going to “make it” on stage.

She said: “I was fresh out of acting school, and London was the only place to be at the time. It was scary and daunting. I spent my first year in tears because I was so homesick. That was 32 years ago and, luckily, I immediately landed a role in the original London cast of Grease as Jan, one of the Pink Ladies. I never looked back.”

As well as pantomime at the London Palladium with Dawn French and Julian Clary, Liz, 53, has starred in some of the biggest musicals in London alongside a host of stars, including Patricia Hodge and Imelda Staunton.

She said: “Both were absolutely wonderful to work with. There was barely enough time to be mum to my two amazing girls, Jasmin and Zara, never mind doing television too. I’d squeezed in a few things, like Gentleman’s Relish with Billy Connolly. But I was so tied up with musical theatre I didn’t really get a chance to do more.

“Last autumn, we made a family decision to move out of London and, of course, coming home to Scotland was the thing to do as our girls are getting older and I’d been missing my folks. I decided now was the time to put my toe back in the water as far as acting was concerned. I hadn’t even begun unpacking our bags when I got the call.”

Liz said working alongside The Nest actors Martin Compston, Shirley Henderson, David Hayman and Sophie Rundle was “a delight”. She added: “They’re all wonderful, and young Mirren Mack, who played Kaya, was a wee star in the making.”