Eileen McCallum

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.

Eileen McCallum

MBE
Born
Eileen McCallum

(1936-12-02) 2 December 1936
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Spouse
Tom Fidelo
​
​
(m. 1960; div. 1997)​
[1]
Children4

Career

McCallum appeared in Glasgow drama Just Another Saturday in 1975.[2] She then gained her first major soap role in Garnock Way playing Jean Ross from 1976 to 1979.[3][4]

Garnock Way was axed to be replaced by Take the High Road, which was first aired on 19 February 1980 with McCallum taking one of the lead roles as village storekeeper Isabel Blair through the programme's full run from 1980 to 2003.[5] Series creator Don Houghton praised McCallum and her co-star Marjorie Thomson for their clarity as speakers of the Scots dialect, an essential attribute of their respective roles in the programme.[6] McCallum was awarded the MBE for her services to drama in the 1992 New Year Honours.[7]

Other notable roles include playing Dolly in the television version of Tony Roper's The Steamie and guest appearances in programmes such as Rebus, Still Game and New Tricks.[8][9] She has also worked on radio. In 2006, she joined the cast of the BBC Scotland soap opera River City as Liz Buchanan, then later Hamilton.[10] In 2015, she appeared as Mrs Gaffney in The Legend of Barney Thomson.[11]

After 12 years in River City, McCallum retired from the role in May 2018.[3] She lives in Edinburgh and runs a trust about Duchenne muscular dystrophy, due to having two grandsons with the disease.[12]

References
  1. "Obituary: Tom Fidelo, American actor turned Edinburgh art dealer". MSN.
  2. "Just Another Saturday (1975)". BFI. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017.
  3. Watkins, Mike (27 November 2018). "Viewers can revisit STV serial Garnock Way once more".
  4. "Garnock Way[14/09/78] (1978)". BFI. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017.
  5. McGowen, Alistair. "Take the High Road (1980–2003)". London: BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  6. Houghton (preface), p. 6.
  7. "Leading Scottish industrialists are knighted". The Herald. Glasgow: Herald & Times Group. 31 December 1991. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  8. "Eileen McCallum". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 May 2018.
  9. Guide, British Comedy. "Still Game Series 1, Episode 4 - Courtin'". British Comedy Guide.
  10. "BBC Scotland - River City, 07/04/2015". BBC.
  11. "The Legend of Barney Thomson (2015)". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016.
  12. "Interview: Eileen McCallum, actress". www.scotsman.com.

Bibliography
  • Elder, Michael (1990). Ten Years of Take the High Road. London: Boxtree. ISBN 978-1-85283-109-7.
  • Houghton, Don (1982). Take the High Road. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 978-0-906391-34-1.


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