Great Scot!

Denis Lawson on his pride and joy at returning to his roots for Victoria.

- Sarah Selwood

DRAMA

Victoria SUNDAY / ITV / 9.00PM

When proud Scotsman Denis Lawson calls TV Times for a chat about his guest role as the Duke of Atholl in this week’s penultimate episode of ITV’s period drama Victoria, his enthusiasm for his homeland is utterly infectious.

Denis’ scenes were filmed over two weeks in June at Blair Castle in Perthshire, which has been the real home of the Atholl family for over seven centuries, and where Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert visited on numerous occasions during her reign.

Here, New Tricks star Denis, 70, tells us why he jumped at the chance to go back in time...

So, Denis, what appealed to you the most about this role?

Playing the Duke of Atholl was lovely because I got to film in my home county of Perthshire. I love that part of the country. I was 35 minutes from my hometown and it’s quite unusual to film something so close to your roots.

How does the Duke feature?