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Take the High Road
Take the High Road (renamed High Road from 1994 to 2003) is a British soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in the fictional village of Glendarroch, Scotland, with exteriors filmed in the village of Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond.
The series was dropped by most ITV stations in the 1990s, while Scottish, Grampian, Border and Ulster stations continued to screen it until its last episode. From April 2020, the entire series was made available to stream to UK viewers on the STV Player app.
In 1979, the ITV network decided its daytime schedule would be improved by the inclusion of a soap opera set in Scotland. At the time the only soap opera being made by any of the three Scottish regional companies was Scottish Television's Garnock Way, set in a Central Belt mining community between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It had been running in Scotland for three years but was dropped for a new concept to feature a more picturesque view of rural Scotland, with "lots of lochs and hills". It was decided its replacement should focus on a highland estate community, comprising a village and several farms. As Michael Elder puts it, the series would have a scenic backdrop against which the everyday events would be set.
As the original name for the setting was 'Glendhu' and focussed on the role of its estate manager, known in Scotland as a factor, the proposed title was The Glendhu Factor. The network disliked the village name and rejected the title, thinking its meaning was unclear. As a result, the setting was renamed 'Glendarroch'. Once the village of Luss on the western shore of Loch Lomond was proposed as a filming location, the title Take the High Road was suggested by the folk song about the area, "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" which contains the line "O ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road".
Production began in late 1979 once Garnock Way was axed.
Producers sought to keep the audience of Garnock Way by featuring some of its key cast members in Take the High Road and suggesting continuity by having a character, Todd the garage mechanic, played by Bill Henderson, leave Garnock Way to set up business in the highlands. As a direct cross-over was not possible a similar character with the same origin story was created and played by the same actor in Take the High Road.
The main writer was series creator Don Houghton with many early scripts written by actor Michael Elder, who played Dr Wallace in the show. Until 1986, the series broadcast for 40 weeks of the year, with a break in the first quarter of the year. Themes broadly reflected a nostalgic view of Scottish highland culture through relationships between crofters and villagers, the gentry and an estate manager (or 'factor'). Dramatic use was made of the external threats of commercialisation, tourism and redevelopment. Historically one family had owned the estate, the village and neighbouring crofts and farms. The series begins with their struggle to resist plans to convert Glendarroch into a leisure resort for wealthy tourists. In 2005, this scenario was echoed when Donald Trump bought and decimated an Aberdeenshire estate to build a controversial golf resort.
In March 1990, the series was revamped to appeal to a younger audience which jarred with the sense of authenticity of a Scottish village. Within six months, the changes were considered successful and enabled stronger story lines and the introduction of new characters.
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Take the High Road
Take the High Road (renamed High Road from 1994 to 2003) is a British soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in the fictional village of Glendarroch, Scotland, with exteriors filmed in the village of Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond.
The series was dropped by most ITV stations in the 1990s, while Scottish, Grampian, Border and Ulster stations continued to screen it until its last episode. From April 2020, the entire series was made available to stream to UK viewers on the STV Player app.
In 1979, the ITV network decided its daytime schedule would be improved by the inclusion of a soap opera set in Scotland. At the time the only soap opera being made by any of the three Scottish regional companies was Scottish Television's Garnock Way, set in a Central Belt mining community between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It had been running in Scotland for three years but was dropped for a new concept to feature a more picturesque view of rural Scotland, with "lots of lochs and hills". It was decided its replacement should focus on a highland estate community, comprising a village and several farms. As Michael Elder puts it, the series would have a scenic backdrop against which the everyday events would be set.
As the original name for the setting was 'Glendhu' and focussed on the role of its estate manager, known in Scotland as a factor, the proposed title was The Glendhu Factor. The network disliked the village name and rejected the title, thinking its meaning was unclear. As a result, the setting was renamed 'Glendarroch'. Once the village of Luss on the western shore of Loch Lomond was proposed as a filming location, the title Take the High Road was suggested by the folk song about the area, "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" which contains the line "O ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road".
Production began in late 1979 once Garnock Way was axed.
Producers sought to keep the audience of Garnock Way by featuring some of its key cast members in Take the High Road and suggesting continuity by having a character, Todd the garage mechanic, played by Bill Henderson, leave Garnock Way to set up business in the highlands. As a direct cross-over was not possible a similar character with the same origin story was created and played by the same actor in Take the High Road.
The main writer was series creator Don Houghton with many early scripts written by actor Michael Elder, who played Dr Wallace in the show. Until 1986, the series broadcast for 40 weeks of the year, with a break in the first quarter of the year. Themes broadly reflected a nostalgic view of Scottish highland culture through relationships between crofters and villagers, the gentry and an estate manager (or 'factor'). Dramatic use was made of the external threats of commercialisation, tourism and redevelopment. Historically one family had owned the estate, the village and neighbouring crofts and farms. The series begins with their struggle to resist plans to convert Glendarroch into a leisure resort for wealthy tourists. In 2005, this scenario was echoed when Donald Trump bought and decimated an Aberdeenshire estate to build a controversial golf resort.
In March 1990, the series was revamped to appeal to a younger audience which jarred with the sense of authenticity of a Scottish village. Within six months, the changes were considered successful and enabled stronger story lines and the introduction of new characters.