Wikipedia

Take the High Road

Take the High Road (renamed High Road from 1994 to 2003) was 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.

Take the High Road
Opening titles
GenreSoap opera
Created byDon Houghton
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes1,517 (+3 specials)
Production
Producers
  • Clarke Tait (1980–1981)
  • Brian Mahoney (1981–1990)
  • Frank Cox (1991–1993)
  • John G. Temple (1994–1998)
  • Liz Lake (1998–1999)
  • Mark Grindle (1999–2003)
Running time30 minutes
(1× 45 min Hogmanay special; 2× 60 min Millennium special)
Production companyScottish Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release19 February 1980 (1980-02-19) –
27 April 2003 (2003-04-27)

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.

History

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Location crew on Loch Lomond at Millarochy Bay, Balmaha. This was the first of two locations for the 'Boathouse'; because of access difficulties, the scenes were eventually switched to the west side of the Loch at Rossdhu House (1984)

Origins

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In 1979, the ITV network decided its daytime schedule would be improved by the inclusion of a soap opera set in Scotland.[1] 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".[2] 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.[3]

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.[2] 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".[2]

Production began in late 1979 once Garnock Way was axed.[4][2]

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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.[2] 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.[2]

Production and changes

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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.[5]

In March 1990, the series was revamped to appeal to a younger audience which jarred with the sense of authenticity of a Scottish village.[6] Within six months, the changes were considered successful and enabled stronger story lines and the introduction of new characters.

Take the High Road was the only soap for the ITV network which was not made by one of the "Big Five" companies.[a] This helped to give Scotland an identity on the network and also provide sufficient revenue to help STV to produce more programmes for ITV and Channel 4.[citation needed]

Dropped by the ITV network

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When ITV reviewed all long-standing series made by ITV companies in 1993, it became apparent regions outside of Scotland were months behind in their transmissions, suggesting a lower demand.[7] On 2 June 1993, Marcus Plantin, ITV's network director, announced Take the High Road would be dropped from English schedules from September 1993, as 'ITV's statisticians believed English audiences have had enough'.[8] This resulted in public protest, as many believed that without the support of English ITV companies, the Scottish series had no future.[9] The issue was raised in parliament under early day motions, and the Daily Record held a protest.[10]

By the end of June, Scottish Television resolved to continue producing the series regardless and it was reclassified as a product other ITV networks could purchase as a cheaper rate. To cut costs, the number of episodes was cut and the cast took a reduction in salaries.[11] When English viewers campaigned to their local broadcasters to keep the series nearly all ITV companies agreed, except Carlton, Central, Tyne Tees and Yorkshire, who ceased transmitting it from 7 September 1993.[12] Subsequently, popular demand forced Carlton to reinstate the series from 16 October 1993,[13] and Central from 5 November 1993. The two companies that initially declined to reinstate the series, Tyne Tees Television and Yorkshire Television,[14] eventually brought it back in early 1996, screening it from where they left off.

On 22 July 1994 the series' name was permanently shortened to High Road, the name viewers knew it by colloquially.

From 1995 the number of ITV areas broadcasting the soap gradually reduced; however, some did complete the series:

By October 2000 Scottish Television had run up a larger stockpile of episodes, with many believing the series was about to get axed.[15] The last episode of the series was screened in April 2003.[16]

Theme tune

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The original theme was written by composer Arthur Blake, STV's Musical Director. The first instrumental version was recorded by Silly Wizard and used until 1982 reflected the Scottish folk themes. This was replaced by an orchestral version from Episode 127 on August 1982 until episode 334 in 1985. Instruments featured included the oboe, clarinet, violin, and drum kit. While this version was in use, the music for the break strings tended to vary from episode to episode. Like the Silly Wizard version, the music for the closing credits also featured a drum roll introduction.

The third version was a different orchestral arrangement and was used from episode 335 in 1986 until episode 727 at the beginning of 1990. This new orchestral version was more violin led than the former, which had made more use of wind instruments, and featured no percussion.

From episode 728 in 1990, the fourth, rock-style, version made its debut and continued to be used until the end of the series. This version was electric guitar led (played by session guitarist Duncan Finlay) and featured percussion during the "middle" section. From 1994 when the programme name was shortened to High Road, the length of the closing credits was cut, so the closing theme was faded in just before the middle eight.

Cast and characters

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Main article: List of Take the High Road characters

Broadcasting

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STV series

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Dates are for Scottish Television, which on some occasions was ahead of the ITV network daytime showing.

  • Series 1: 19 February 1980 – 28 May 1980: episodes 1–30[17]
  • Series 2: 14 October 1980 – 7 January 1981: episodes 31–56[18]
  • Series 3: 7 April 1981 – 2 July 1981: episodes 57–82[19][18][20]
  • Series 4: 6 October 1981 – 18 March 1982: episodes 83–126[21][20]
  • Series 5: 24 August 1982 – 23 December 1982: episodes 127–162[22]
  • Series 6: 5 July 1983 – 20 March 1984: episodes 163–234[23]
  • Series 7: 4 September 1984 – 7 February 1985: episodes 235–276[24]
  • Series 8: 14 May 1985 – 28 November 1985: episodes 277–334[25]
  • Series 9: 18 March 1986 – 18 December 1986 to episodes 335–415
  • 3 March 1987 – 27 April 2003: episodes 416–1517.

From February 1987 onward, the series was broadcast all year round twice a week. In May 1993 the series became weekly, due to the fact that English stations were 20 episodes behind. Later in the run, however, there were several gaps during which the series was not shown, although the storylines continued uninterrupted each time the series resumed. The gaps were from 12 September to 22 October 2000; from 16 April to 12 May 2001; from June to August 2001; from 24 September to 27 October 2001; from 18 February to 6 April 2002; from June to September 2002; and in February 2003.[citation needed]

Regional scheduling

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Take the High Road was broadcast by all ITV companies when it started in 1980. Nearly all regions broadcast Take the High Road during the daytime, except for Scottish Television who broadcast the soap in the early evenings around 7.00pm, instead of Emmerdale. From 1984 Border Television moved the series to a peak-time slot. Grampian Television did the same too in September 1987.[26]

International

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Take the High Road was broadcast in a number of countries around the world, including Canada, the United States and New Zealand. In Australia, it was broadcast on ABC1. In Ireland, the series was shown five days a week from the beginning on RTÉ One. As episodes caught up with the UK transmissions, the number of broadcasts were reduced.[citation needed]

Repeats

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Take the High Road was repeated on Sky Soap; the episodes shown in early 1997 were from the beginning, and 1989 episodes were being shown when the channel ended in April 1999. Early episodes from about 1994–95 were shown on Sky Scottish in 1997/98. It was repeated briefly on Life One from February 2008. This channel began with episode 1000 from 1992 but it ceased broadcasting after only six weeks having shown only four episodes.

In the autumn of 2010, STV added nearly every episode to its YouTube channel, making the series accessible to viewers across the world.[27] It was removed once it began repeating on STV's new local channel, STV Glasgow from 3 June 2014, broadcasting one episode each weekday, with an omnibus at the weekends. The series was also shown on STV Edinburgh from its launch in January 2015. When STV Glasgow & STV Edinburgh were renamed STV2, the series was moved to a Saturday morning between 9am and 11am until June 2018, when the STV2 channel closed down.[28] STV continued to make the series available online via the STV Player, from the same point where STV2 left off. Five episodes were uploaded every week from 8 July 2018 on Sundays. From 14 September 2019 this increased to five episodes each Saturday and five episodes each Sunday. This run ended after the final episodes were uploaded on 18 April 2020.

Current availability

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Starting on 26 April 2020, STV began a complete rerun of by loading five episodes per week onto their STV Player app. They are free to UK viewers. Each block of five episodes remains available for six months, with the first five removed on 23 October 2020 and so on. UK viewers can access the available episodes on mobile media by registering with STV Player and can watch them on television by linking their membership to the STV Freeview function.[29]

As of 15 July 2021, a few selected episodes from the series are available on BritBox, a subscription only service curated by the BBC and ITV.[30]

Sponsorship

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During its network transmission Take the High Road was sponsored by Brooke Bond and Scottish Blend tea from the beginning of 1992 until 1995 and Mother's Pride from August 1999 to September 2001 on Scottish and Grampian TV. The STV Player rerun has been sponsored by Tunnock's bakery, McDonald's, and ScotRail, among others.[29]

Media

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Books

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Novelisations of broadcast episodes were published from 1982, with a production special in 1990:

  • Summer's Gloaming by Don Houghton (November 1982)
  • Danger in the Glen by Michael Elder (January 1984)
  • Mist on the Moorland by Michael Elder (1985)
  • The Man From France by Michael Elder (1986)
  • The Last of the Lairds by Michael Elder (May 1987)
  • 10 Years of Take the High Road by Michael Elder (1990)

DVD releases

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Take the High Road became available for the first time ever when distribution company Go Entertain commenced releasing the series in 2012 on DVD.[citation needed]

Rights to the series were later acquired by Alba Home Entertainment in 2013, with sets released in the same format, with the exception of each set now available with one disc. The series ceased releasing in 2014 after 16 volumes and 96 episodes, possibly due to poor sales. It is currently unknown if any future sets will become available.[citation needed]

In an unusual occurrence, the series was not rated by the BBFC for home video release, which is normally the case for all television series and films. It received an 'E' (Exempt from classification) rating, an unofficial rating only applied to documentaries or sports events released on home video.[citation needed]

Title Year Episodes No. of discs Release date (Region 2) Ref
Volume 1 1980 1–6 2 1 October 2012 [31]
Volume 2 1980 7–12 2 24 October 2012 [32]
Volume 3 1980 13–18 2 12 November 2012 [33]
Volume 4 1980 19–24 2 4 March 2013 [34]
Volume 5 1980 25–30 2 25 March 2013 [35]
Volume 6 1981 31–36 1 27 May 2013 [36]
Volume 7 1981 37–42 1 24 June 2013 [37]
Volume 8 1981 43–48 1 9 September 2013 [38]
Volume 9 1981 49–54 1 21 October 2013 [39]
Volume 10 1981 55–60 1 20 January 2014 [40]
Volume 11 1981 61–66 1 14 April 2014 [41]
Volume 12 1981 67–72 1 14 April 2014 [42]
Volume 13 1981 73–78 1 14 July 2014 [43]
Volume 14 1981 79–84 1 14 July 2014 [44]
Volumes 1–10: Collector's Edition 1980–81 1–60 15 13 October 2014 [45]
Volume 15 1981 85–90 1 27 October 2014 [46]
Volume 16 1981 91–96 1 27 October 2014 [47]

Theme tune

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The theme tune was written by composer Arthur Blake, who was STV's Musical Director at the time, and there were four versions of it over the 23-year run. The first version was performed by Silly Wizard and was used until 1982. This version was quite "Scottish folk band" in style and pretty lively. Instruments featured included the accordion, banjo, drum kit, and synthesiser. The music for the closing credits featured a drum roll introduction. Silly Wizard performed another version which was released on record in 1980.

The "Silly Wizard" theme tune was replaced by an orchestral version from Esp 127 on 24 August 1982. The orchestral version was used from 1982 until episode 334 in 1985. Instruments featured included the oboe, clarinet, violin, and drum kit. While this version was in use, the music for the break strings tended to vary from episode to episode. Like the Silly Wizard version, the music for the closing credits also featured a drum roll introduction.

The third version was a different orchestral arrangement and was used from episode 335 in 1986 until episode 727 at the beginning of 1990. This new orchestral version was more violin led than the former, which had made more use of wind instruments, and featured no percussion.

From episode 728 in 1990, the fourth, rock-style, version made its debut and continued to be used until the end of the series. This version was electric guitar led (played by session guitarist Duncan Finlay) and featured percussion during the "middle" section. From 1994 when the programme name was shortened to High Road, the length of the closing credits was cut, so the closing theme was faded in just before the middle eight.

Notes

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  1. ^ The so-called "Big Five" of the ITV network were, at that time, Central, Granada, LWT, Thames and Yorkshire.

References

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  1. ^ Elder, p. 12.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Duncan, Haldane. "Part 04: The Glendhu Factor". Transdiffusion.org. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  3. ^ Elder, p. 13.
  4. ^ "TV review". The Glasgow Herald. Glasgow: The Herald & Times Group. 24 December 1987. p. 11.
  5. ^ McGowen, Alistair. "Take the High Road (1980–2003)". London: BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  6. ^ "High Road revamp 'a risk'". The Herald. 5 March 1990. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  7. ^ Young, Andrew (5 May 1993). "High Road's future rests on network decision". The Herald. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  8. ^ Young, Andrew (3 June 1993). "ITV network cuts off the Scottish High Road". The Herald. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  9. ^ Cusick, James (16 June 1993). "Fans of doomed soap take high road to protest rally: Viewers are fighting to save a Scottish television series". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  10. ^ "Future of Take the High Road series (EDM2107)". Edms.org.uk. 7 June 1993. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  11. ^ Simpson, Cameron (17 June 1993). "Scots will still take the High Road". The Herald. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  12. ^ Published: Thursday 2 September 1993 Newspaper: The Stage Page: 25 "Television Review: Plenty to get your teeth into"
  13. ^ Newspaper: The Stage, Thursday 14 October 1993, P20 "Snaps"
  14. ^ "Taking the high road all over Britain". The Herald. 5 October 1993. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  15. ^ "END OF THE HIGH ROAD; Cast facing dole as STV cancel filming for next 18 months. - Free Online Library".
  16. ^ "Luss-based soap Take the High Road was axed 10 years ago". 15 February 2013.
  17. ^ "Episodes 1–30". Take the High Road. Glasgow: STV. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Episodes 31–60". Take the High Road. Glasgow: STV. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  19. ^ "TV listings". The Glasgow Herald. Glasgow: The Herald & Times Group. 7 April 1981. p. 28.
  20. ^ a b "Episodes 61–90". Take the High Road. Glasgow: STV. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  21. ^ "STV Highspot". Glasgow Evening Times. Glasgow: The Herald & Times Group. 6 October 1981. p. 2.
  22. ^ "Take The High Road". Stv.tv. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Take The High Road | STV Player". Player.stv.tv. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Soapsuds". Glasgow Evening Times. Glasgow: The Herald & Times Group. 4 September 1984. p. 8.
  25. ^ "TV listings". The Glasgow Herald. Glasgow: The Herald & Times Group. 28 November 1985. p. 26.
  26. ^ "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Forgotten gems of STV's archive can be enjoyed once more thanks to deal with YouTube". 29 June 2010.
  28. ^ "Take the High Road fans rejoice as STV will not reschedule the cult soap". 23 April 2017.
  29. ^ a b "Take the High Road". Glasgow: STV. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  30. ^ "BritBox July 2021 Highlights". Itv.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  31. ^ "Take the High Road, volume 1, episodes 1–6 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  32. ^ "Take the High Road, volume 2, episodes 7–12[DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  33. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 3, episodes 13–18 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  34. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 4, episodes 19–24 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  35. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 5, episodes 25–30 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  36. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 6, episodes 31–36 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  37. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 7, episodes 37–42 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  38. ^ "Take the High Road, volume 8, episodes 43–48 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  39. ^ "Take the High Road, volume 9, episodes 49–54 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  40. ^ "Take the High Road, volume 10, episodes 55–60 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  41. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 11, episodes 61–66 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  42. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 12, episodes 67–72 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  43. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 13, episodes 73–78 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  44. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 14, episodes 79–84 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  45. ^ "Take the High Road, volumes 1–10, episodes 1–60 [DVD gift set]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  46. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 15, episodes 85–90 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  47. ^ "Take The High Road, volume 16, episodes 91–96 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 18 December 2016.

Bibliography

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