Take the High Road

Alexander William Monteath (22 May 1941 – 9 March 2021) was a Scottish television actor and broadcaster. He was best known for playing the part of crofter Dougal Lachlan in Take the High Road from 1980 until 1992.Monteath was born in Doune, Perthshire on 22nd May 1941. He was a graduate of the Glasgow College of Dramatic Art and went on to act at leading Scottish theatres (including Kilmarnock, Pitlochry and Perth) before entering broadcasting. His wife, Caroline Grant, was also an actress. His son David Monteath has also been an actor on Coronation Street, Dramarama, Take the High Road and Endeavour amongst various other TV shows and films.Monteath's earliest acting appearances on TV were in a half-hour drama for St. Andrew's Day called Rory Aforesaid in 1961, where he appeared as a extra alongside Hannah Gordon followed by guest roles in episodes of Witch Wood and Judith Paris (both 1964) and appeared in an episode of Scottish Playbill as a TV announcer in 1966.Monteath joined Scottish Television as an continuity announcer and newsreader in 1964, After doing some relief announcing for the first two years, Monteath was brought in as STV's new weekday announcer in the autumn season of 1966, then joined the announcing team at BBC Scotland in 1969 - in addition to his announcing and newsreading duties on TV and radio, Monteath presented some radio shows on Radio 4 Scotland, including a weekly lunchtime show 'Twelve Noon' in the early 1970s.After a spell working at Pitlochry Festival Theatre (1973 - 1978), Monteath returned to acting in the late 1970s, some of his TV credits include appearances in The Omega Factor (1979); Grange Hill (1996); Taggart (1997); and Monarch in the Glen (2000), but he is perhaps best known as one of the original characters – Dougal Lachlan – in STV’s Take the High Road, a role he played for 12 years (1980 – 1992).
In January 1992, it was announced that his character would be retired from Take the High Road. Monteath said he was "paying the price for one too many rows with the series' scriptwriters".In November 2021, it was announced by Equity that Monteath had died. His death occurred in Balfron, Stirlingshire on 9 March, at the age of 79.

Eileen McCallum, MBE (born 2 December 1936) is a Scottish actress who is best known for playing the part of shopkeeper Isabel Blair through the complete run of soap opera Take the High Road from 1980 to 2003, and as Liz Hamilton from 2005 to 2018 in the BBC Scotland soap River City.

George Stewart Auchinleck (3 March 1932 – 17 March 1990), known professionally as Paul Kermack, was a Scottish television actor who is best known for playing Archie Menzies in Take the High Road from 1980 until he died, suddenly, from a heart attack on 17 March 1990.Kermack studied drama at the Rose Bruford College in London. His ambition was to become an opera singer but, lacking the necessary vocal range for leading roles, he decided to become a full-time actor instead. Like several of his colleagues in Take the High Road, he had a long career in Scottish theatre, playing a wide variety of roles.He made his TV debut in 1961 and went on to make guest appearances in several drama programmes, including four in Dr. Finlay's Casebook and three in Sutherland's Law. He frequently played police officers. He was Jamie's father, Mr Knox, in the Bill Douglas trilogy of My Childhood (1972), My Ain Folk (1973) and My Way Home (1978). In 1976, he was cast as Jock Nesbit in Garnock Way and, when that series was axed in 1979, he was offered the role of workshy handyman Archie Menzies in Take the High Road.