0:00:03 > 0:00:05Back in the '80s,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08one film changed the landscape of film production in Scotland.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13It introduced a curious, gangly, endearingly teenage boy
0:00:13 > 0:00:18to a smart, sassy, determined young girl.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Hello, Gregory. What you up to?
0:00:23 > 0:00:26When John Gordon Sinclair and Clare Grogan
0:00:26 > 0:00:29were plucked from obscurity to star in Gregory's Girl,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31cinematic history was made.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33I want a date.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Since then, they've embraced pop careers,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39appeared on stage and screen,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41and launched themselves as authors.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50It's been a busy 30 years since they spent a heady summer
0:00:50 > 0:00:53filming iconic scenes in Cumbernauld in 1980.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00We took them back to the school where it all began.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Will they still have anything to say to each other?
0:01:02 > 0:01:03How you doing?
0:01:03 > 0:01:06- You were brilliant!- I was.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09This is what happened when Clare Grogan
0:01:09 > 0:01:11met John Gordon Sinclair.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37John Gordon Sinclair's portrayal of the innocent, captivating Gregory
0:01:37 > 0:01:39charmed the nation.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41He's back in Glasgow, the city he grew up in.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Gordon, as his family know him,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50joined Glasgow Youth Theatre as a teenager,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52so he could hang out with his mates.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Here, he caught the eye of director Bill Forsyth.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57I'll be on the telly. Ma maw'll see me! Hi, Mum!
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Within the Youth Theatre, I don't think anyone...
0:02:00 > 0:02:03really had any great ambitions of being an actor.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06It was more about having your own wee gang of people,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and they all went to the pub afterwards for a drink.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11And I thought, "If this is what acting's all about,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13"make mine a double. I'm in."
0:02:15 > 0:02:19The character of Gregory began to emerge in Youth Theatre sketches
0:02:19 > 0:02:23and eventually, Bill Forsyth made Gordon the offer of a lifetime.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28It was one kind of, like, rainy Monday night,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30he showed up at my door,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and I think I kept him standing there for about ten minutes,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36asking him questions. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"
0:02:36 > 0:02:39He said, "I've been to London and I've got the money now to do Gregory's Girl,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41"and I wondered if you would play Gregory."
0:02:44 > 0:02:46And I was working as an apprentice electrician at the time,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49so my first thought was, you know,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52"I'm going to have to take time off work, you'll need to pay me."
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Good afternoon...
0:02:56 > 0:02:58So, the lead role was in the bag,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01but who would play the elusive Gregory's Girl?
0:03:03 > 0:03:06I was working as a waitress, not in a cocktail bar,
0:03:06 > 0:03:11but in the Spaghetti Factory on Gibson Street, Glasgow.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Bill was quite a regular customer and he said,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18"I'd really like to talk to you about a film."
0:03:18 > 0:03:22And I said, "Oh, really? Well, interesting, what...?
0:03:22 > 0:03:25"What kind of film exactly are we talking about?"
0:03:25 > 0:03:28I mean, I had no intention of giving him my phone number at all,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and then, about six months later,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34the manageress of the Spaghetti Factory said to me one day,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36"Oh, listen, Bill Forsyth's been in touch,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40and it's all happening and he really does want you to be in his film."
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Of course, none of us had any idea what we were getting ourselves into.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Gordon and Clare first met at Pollock House in Glasgow,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52when Bill introduced them for an early production meeting.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56We got together just to read one of the scenes from the film,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58and Bill sat watching us
0:03:58 > 0:04:01and then Clare was a kind of exotic creature to me, you know.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03She was sort of a West End trendy.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06And then I turned up and I saw Gordon
0:04:06 > 0:04:09and he seemed like the tallest person in the whole world to me,
0:04:09 > 0:04:10AND he was wearing flares!
0:04:13 > 0:04:16She was sort of outwith my realm of experience.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18All I could think was,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22"What am I going to do about this boy's sense of style?"
0:04:22 > 0:04:25I know where all the skeletons are buried.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30I had no idea, though, on that day,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32that I was going to make a lifelong friend.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Now, the pair are going back to school,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42heading to Abronhill High School, the everyday Cumbernauld high
0:04:42 > 0:04:45that formed the backdrop to Gregory's Girl.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55- Well, hello!- Hello.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- How you doing?- I'm good, thanks.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I thought you were getting your hair done?
0:05:03 > 0:05:04At least I've got some!
0:05:06 > 0:05:08- Do you know where you're going?- No.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12When Clare and Gordon first walked these corridors,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Scotland had little indigenous film industry to speak of.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Gregory's Girl was a low budget, but hugely successful,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23attempt to change that.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Bill Forsyth cast unknown, amateur actors
0:05:25 > 0:05:27and locals in leading roles.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31First of all, he didn't want to...
0:05:31 > 0:05:34He didn't want to use a real actors,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37which is why...how Gregory's Girl came around in the first place,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40because he wanted to get to know a bunch of kids that were interested in acting
0:05:40 > 0:05:43and then kind of base something loosely around them.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Hey, watch the jacket!
0:05:45 > 0:05:48I have to wet, wash and polish 84 windows for this.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51He didn't know how to work with real actors.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53You know, so he wanted to get some experience of that.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56You had a sort of established relationship with Bill
0:05:56 > 0:05:59before you even got to the first day filming.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01I mean, how well did you know him at that point?
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Cos I always felt like you already were pals.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06- Well, we all knew him from the Youth Theatre...- Yeah.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10..because he came on tour with us and drove the van for us
0:06:10 > 0:06:12and we all used to shout at him across the street,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15"Look, there's that internationally famous film director!"
0:06:15 > 0:06:16But kidding on, you know.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18We didn't realise that that was, you know,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20a kind of portent of what was going to happen.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23But his style of observation and stuff like that...
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Bill can take something that's really ordinary and make it funny
0:06:26 > 0:06:28and make it kind of exceptional.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Off you go, you small boys.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40Gregory's Girl put an authentic version of Scotland on the big screen,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43nailing the accent and the banter beautifully.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Just keep the doughnuts coming, Steve.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47We're on the gravy train, but what the public says is,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49"He's off on the marzipans."
0:06:49 > 0:06:54Its naturalistic acting, tales of first love, football
0:06:54 > 0:06:57and the acutely observed pains of teenage angst
0:06:57 > 0:06:58resonated the world over.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03- Just kick at it in future, it'll be much quicker.- Good idea!
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Great idea! Do that the next time, eh?
0:07:07 > 0:07:08The thing about it...
0:07:08 > 0:07:12The way it shows Scotland, I think, was very much of its time.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Because I think kids nowadays, of that age,
0:07:15 > 0:07:17are much more sophisticated, really.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19You know, I disagree a wee bit,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22because I think the absolute cleverness of Gregory's Girl
0:07:22 > 0:07:25was the massive role reversal thing that went on in it.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30There's a girl in the football team.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Well, yes and no.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34- Yes and no?- Yes.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36What do you mean?
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Well, we could have a girl in the football team, if we wanted one.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40Do we want one?
0:07:40 > 0:07:45People talk about it as a sort of benchmark of, like,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48of tone of how they want their film to be.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51And actually, it's only Bill Forsyth that can do that.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52I think so too.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55- If you want your film to be like that, get Bill...- Get Bill to do it.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58The film's fledgling stars had no idea
0:07:58 > 0:08:01what they were letting themselves in for,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04and soon found themselves on a transatlantic promotional tour.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08We were just so naive, really. We did a tour of...
0:08:10 > 0:08:12It was the whole of America, really, wasn't it?
0:08:12 > 0:08:15We started on the East Coast and kind of zigzagged the whole way across.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Yeah, it was a massive tour, and we were interviewed breakfast...
0:08:18 > 0:08:20That's right.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22..elevenses... We just...
0:08:22 > 0:08:26- It was back-to-back interviews, the whole time.- It was just relentless.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28- I don't think we were aware of what was going on.- No.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31- Limos everywhere... - Yeah, that's right.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33"The young stars of Gregory's Girl..."
0:08:33 > 0:08:35We were always like this... "Oh, us?!"
0:08:35 > 0:08:37"Oh, we're the young stars?!"
0:08:37 > 0:08:40And then we got invited to go along to the Golden Globes,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44to meet the committee of the Golden Globes, and we said no.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47We said, "Do you know what? We're exhausted...
0:08:48 > 0:08:50"..being fabulous.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52"We're having our day off."
0:08:52 > 0:08:54I don't think I knew what the Golden Globes were.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56- I don't think I did either. - I hadn't a clue.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Was it not your mum that was in New York
0:08:58 > 0:09:01and she tried to get into a restaurant and they said,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- "Oh, I'm sorry, it's full." - Was this in Martin Scorsese...?
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Martin Scorsese's place. And she said, "Oh, my daughter's in films,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09and she did this film Gregory's Girl," and he went,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12"Hey, that's Marty's favourite film." You know?
0:09:12 > 0:09:14My mum, my Aunt Emma and my Aunt Betty.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17I was actually with them at the time, and they were going,
0:09:17 > 0:09:18"Clare's in films."
0:09:18 > 0:09:21And I was like, "Shut up! Stop!"
0:09:21 > 0:09:23But we got our table.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27The pressure was on after such a runaway hit,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30and the big question was what to do next.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Really?
0:09:32 > 0:09:34- SHE SNEEZES - Just like that.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37I can remember feeling a bit bereft when the film finished,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39because I didn't know what was next,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42I didn't quite know how I was going to keep it going
0:09:42 > 0:09:45and it had a wee taste of it and I knew I wanted it to keep going.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50The hard part of it was, there was no-one to talk to about it. You know?
0:09:50 > 0:09:53It was really weird not having someone you could phone up and say,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56"Listen, I've just done a movie, right? It's just finished,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58"I'm feeling a bit upset, what is it you do again?"
0:10:00 > 0:10:03- That was pretty... That was quite tough.- Yeah.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Gregory's Girl changed lives, and suddenly,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09making films in and about Scotland was cutting-edge.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13In 1983, Gordon zipped around on his motorbike
0:10:13 > 0:10:16for Bill Forsyth's award-winning Local Hero,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20which explored the tension between big business and small communities.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25And in 1984,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Clare starred in Forsyth's tale of Glasgow ice cream wars,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Comfort and Joy.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34My thought at the time was that it gave people the confidence to say,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36"Yeah, we can make films and do movies."
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It simply just made people think it was possible.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Did you ever, ever expect, 32 years later,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45that you and I would be sitting in this room talking about it?
0:10:45 > 0:10:46No. No.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49# Happy birthday, happy birthday...
0:10:52 > 0:10:54# Happy birthday, happy birthday... #
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Clare had been developing a parallel career in music.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Since her schooldays, she'd been in a band with some classmates.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Altered Images had already attracted the attention
0:11:08 > 0:11:11of Siouxsie And The Banshees and DJ John Peel.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13# Happy, happy birthday in a hot bath
0:11:13 > 0:11:15# To those nice, nice nights... #
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Their first album, Happy Birthday, came out in September 1981,
0:11:19 > 0:11:23and its title track spent three weeks at number two.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Actress and now pop star,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Clare was living every girl's dream.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31# If they were me, if they were me
0:11:31 > 0:11:35# And I was you, and I was you... #
0:11:35 > 0:11:37- Can you remember what you recorded? - I can't remember...
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Clare and Gordon are returning to the studio
0:11:39 > 0:11:42where Altered Images made their early recordings.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49In the 1980s, Cava Sound was at the heart of the Glasgow music scene,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53hosting artist such as Hue And Cry, Simple Minds and Deacon Blue.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Were you signed at the time when we did the film?
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Yeah, the summer...
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Literally the summer I left school, I got signed to Epic
0:12:04 > 0:12:05and made the film.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08You know, I didn't tell the record company I was making the film
0:12:08 > 0:12:10and I didn't tell Bill that... uh-huh.
0:12:10 > 0:12:11Because I didn't actually think
0:12:11 > 0:12:14it was particularly relevant to any of them.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17I remember the label phoning me up when Gregory's Girl came out
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and said, "We've read this press thing..."
0:12:20 > 0:12:21- "You've just done a film?"- Uh-huh.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23"Why didn't you tell us?" And I was like,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26"Well, I didn't really think you'd be interested."
0:12:26 > 0:12:29I think, when you think about it, nowadays,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32- you'd probably have a manager... - ..figuring out a strategy.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34But no, we were just muddling our way through.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Cos I remember coming to see you at the Bungalow Bar and...
0:12:37 > 0:12:40and Kathleen, your sister, was up doing the lights.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42But it wasn't like...
0:12:42 > 0:12:46It wasn't like a lighting board, it was, like, the light switches.
0:12:46 > 0:12:47She was flicking them...
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- She was flicking the light switches on and off.- Yeah.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54# See those eyes... #
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Altered Images scooped Best New Group at the NME Awards.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Clare was a fashion icon and cover girl.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06The band's second album, Pinky Blue, released in 1982,
0:13:06 > 0:13:11included the hits I Could Be Happy and See Those Eyes.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13# Forget those eyes... #
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Their third and final album, Bite,
0:13:16 > 0:13:18reunited Gordon and Clare in the music video
0:13:18 > 0:13:21for the single Bring Me Closer.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23REPORTER: 'The peace is broken,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27'as Altered Images fly in with their latest idea for a video.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29'James Bond in just three minutes.'
0:13:31 > 0:13:33What were we thinking?
0:13:33 > 0:13:38'It stars the band and guest actor, John Gordon Sinclair.'
0:13:38 > 0:13:39Look at the state of me!
0:13:39 > 0:13:43# ..fills me with unease
0:13:43 > 0:13:47# Something that you do to me
0:13:47 > 0:13:49# Do to me... #
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Your manager at the time phoned...
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and said, "Do you want to come down and do this?"
0:13:54 > 0:13:56"We're looking for a James Bond type character,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58"and you seemed the obvious choice?"
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Yeah, "and we couldn't find anyone, so we got you."
0:14:01 > 0:14:05# Again, and again, I lose myself again... #
0:14:05 > 0:14:07And, of course, then, everybody's videos
0:14:07 > 0:14:11were getting more and more sort of outrageous and, it was the '80s,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and it was just like you couldn't be over-the-top...
0:14:14 > 0:14:18- ..enough.- You couldn't have a daft idea.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20There was a big scene going on at that time,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23it was kind of around the new romantic thing, but...
0:14:25 > 0:14:28We were hanging out with the Spandau boys quite a lot...
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Spandau Ballet and, yeah, and Wham, and stuff.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Yeah, yeah, I've been on the dance floor
0:14:32 > 0:14:35with George and Andrew and the girls.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38I suppose we just took it all a bit for granted at that time, really.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40- Yeah.- I think everyone did, though, you know.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- It didn't seem that unusual, really, did it?- No, no.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46I think, looking back on it, we didn't quite realise how...
0:14:46 > 0:14:48what a lucky position we were in.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50- It became a bit like that was what life was.- Yeah.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53So, we just expected it to kind of keep going like that.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56I think we were quite blase about a lot of it, and it was almost...
0:14:56 > 0:15:00It's the naivete of youth, and the arrogance of youth as well.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02And we just didn't really question it.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05And the danger is, when you start questioning it...
0:15:05 > 0:15:07When you start questioning it, and when you take time out.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Because I think when my kids and stuff like that came along,
0:15:10 > 0:15:11I didn't really want to...
0:15:11 > 0:15:13I wanted to be with them.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15I kept reading things about parents that weren't around
0:15:15 > 0:15:18when their kids were young and how hard it was to get that back
0:15:18 > 0:15:20and I thought, "I don't want to be one of these people,
0:15:20 > 0:15:21I want to be one that they say,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24"It was great, my dad was around all the time when I was a kid."
0:15:24 > 0:15:26- Oh, I know, it's very hard. - You know?
0:15:26 > 0:15:29So, that, in combination with being a bit more selective,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31because, there was jobs to do, but you think,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33"No, I don't want to be away for six months..."
0:15:33 > 0:15:36So, that reflection thing happened a bit later for you, I think,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38than it did for me.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40I mean, I've often said this to people,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42that it is...the being away from home thing
0:15:42 > 0:15:44eventually really got to me.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Just being constantly on the move.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48It was me and the boys,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52and I just got so weary of being in that sort of...
0:15:52 > 0:15:54environment,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57and meeting people that had a certain expectation of you.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00And actually, all you really felt like,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02was that wee person from Glasgow.
0:16:02 > 0:16:09From the moment I left school, my life was just extraordinary.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13I just wanted to come back and be less extraordinary.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16You did well.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21It's an ongoing dilemma for me.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Oh, I tell you, I struggle with that every day.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26I'm starting to run...
0:16:26 > 0:16:27to run like hell...
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Gordon also had a small taste of the pop world.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35He narrated the Scottish football team's 1982 World Cup song,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38optimistically entitled We Have A Dream.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41# I have a dream...
0:16:41 > 0:16:45# We have a dream... #
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Gordon, I have got absolutely no idea
0:16:47 > 0:16:50how you got involved in that World Cup song.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52What happened? How did that come about?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56You know, I don't know either. I don't...
0:16:56 > 0:16:58I remember getting a call...
0:16:59 > 0:17:02..from my agent saying they were doing one for the World Cup.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05I met up with BA Robertson and he played it to me and I thought,
0:17:05 > 0:17:06"Oh, that sounds great, actually."
0:17:06 > 0:17:09I know he hasn't paid me. That's the only thing I remember.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12- BA Robertson still owes me for it! - That wasn't unusual.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14No-one got paid back then.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18# Then bonny Scotland
0:17:18 > 0:17:23# We'll score the winning goal for you... #
0:17:23 > 0:17:27How high did you get in the charts? What was the highest you ever got?
0:17:28 > 0:17:30In which continent?
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Oh, touche.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38No, over here. Did you ever get to number one?
0:17:38 > 0:17:39Number two.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43- You got to number two? I thought it was number five.- No, number two.
0:17:43 > 0:17:44- Oh, it's the same as me, then.- Ah!
0:17:44 > 0:17:46I got to number two as well.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Even if the World Cup didn't make Gordon a singing star,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55the 1994 stage musical She Loves Me certainly did.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57# She loves me
0:17:57 > 0:18:00# True, she doesn't show it
0:18:00 > 0:18:01# How could she?
0:18:01 > 0:18:03# When she doesn't know it?
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Standing up in front of people and singing is an amazing thing to do.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09There's definitely something that just makes you feel good.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11It makes you happy, yeah, it really does.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13I can remember being quite nervous for you
0:18:13 > 0:18:16on your opening night of that show, cos I was a bit like,
0:18:16 > 0:18:18"Gordon, are you sure about this?"
0:18:18 > 0:18:22- I know. You're singing. - "You're going to have to sing in front of lots of people."
0:18:22 > 0:18:24And you're like, "No, it's fine," and then...
0:18:24 > 0:18:26you were brilliant!
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Well...you know...
0:18:28 > 0:18:29I was.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31THEY LAUGH
0:18:31 > 0:18:32And the winner is...
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- John Gordon Sinclair. - APPLAUSE
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Gordon won an Olivier Award for his performance,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Best Actor in a Musical.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45That recognition stood him in good stead in 2005,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48when he auditioned for the part of the Leo Bloom
0:18:48 > 0:18:51in the West End hit musical The Producers.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57The Producers was the happiest year I've ever had in my life.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02It's like a...a train that leaves the station and it doesn't stop.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It's like a rollercoaster, and right until the end,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09and it's just full of fun and Mel Brooks nonsense.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13And I can remember me asking you if you were nervous about it,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15just in the build-up to it, and you went,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18- "I'm actually not nervous, Clare, I just can't wait to do it."- Yeah.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Meanwhile, Clare was proving her comedy credentials
0:19:21 > 0:19:24in cult hits like Red Dwarf and Father Ted.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26If there's one thing I hate, it's hypocrisy.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28I mean, the sexism...
0:19:28 > 0:19:31LAUGHTER
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Then she played a private detective
0:19:33 > 0:19:37in one of the UK's best-loved soaps, Eastenders.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39We really could do with sussing this bloke out.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41I suppose we know he's not even in the country.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44See where she goes, who she meets. I want to know more about him.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46I need to know what I'm up against.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48And recently, she carved out a new niche,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50as a presenter on prime-time television.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- Christine?- Yeah.- Alicia? It's Clare.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57- Can I come in?- Yeah. - Cup of tea?- No problem.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58Are you OK?
0:19:58 > 0:20:02And Gordon, one minute he's making us laugh...
0:20:02 > 0:20:04- Great.- I have nothing to hide.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08..the next, he's cast in meaty dramas.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10You're under arrest for murder.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19Over the years, versatility has been one of their most precious assets.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22If someone says, you know, "Do you want to have a go at this?"
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and I haven't done it before, I think, "Yeah, that'll be an experience."
0:20:25 > 0:20:28But once you've done it...as well, if someone says,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31"Do you want to do that again?" You think, "No, not really."
0:20:31 > 0:20:36No matter what, to be 30 plus years down the line with all of this,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39we're the exception as opposed to the rule, really.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42A lot of people would have just given up. They'd have seen sense.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45I think a lot of people out there are thinking, "I wish you had."
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Their shared desire for new experiences
0:20:50 > 0:20:54has led both Clare and Gordon to develop another talent,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58a passion that has consumed them both - writing.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03In 2011, Gordon completed a crime thriller
0:21:03 > 0:21:05set in Northern Ireland and America.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08The manuscript was the subject of a bidding war,
0:21:08 > 0:21:13before being snapped up by Faber, for publication in 2012.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15It's called Seventy Times Seven and...
0:21:17 > 0:21:21..it's about a guy in Northern Ireland whose brother is murdered,
0:21:21 > 0:21:23and he kind of spends most of his...
0:21:25 > 0:21:28..young adult life trying to find out who did it
0:21:28 > 0:21:30and exact revenge on him and stuff like that.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33And where did the idea come from? What was the spark?
0:21:33 > 0:21:36I've always been fascinated with Northern Ireland.
0:21:36 > 0:21:37We lived in London in the '80s,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40when there was bombing campaigns going on and stuff like that.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42- I don't know about you...- A bomb at the end of my street!
0:21:42 > 0:21:44And I used to sit and watch the news, thinking,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47"I have got no idea why this is happening."
0:21:47 > 0:21:50I would think that that would make a lot of people quite...
0:21:50 > 0:21:53want to shy away from the subject, because it's kind of...
0:21:53 > 0:21:56- There's a contention to it, almost. - There's definitely...
0:21:56 > 0:21:57Did you think about that?
0:21:57 > 0:22:01I think it is a bit contentious, but, by the same...
0:22:03 > 0:22:05I'm still kind of fascinated by it.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07So, are you going to read me a little bit?
0:22:07 > 0:22:09- I've got a wee bit of it. - I won't laugh out loud.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13So, the guy that's hiding out in America, Finn O'Hanlon...
0:22:13 > 0:22:17There's a couple of guys go into a bar and try and kill him.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21And so, he suddenly realises that his past's kind of catching up with him.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24So, he's standing at the end of this alleyway and it goes,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26"Finn O'Hanlon had always known the day would come.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30"What surprised him most was the overwhelming sense of relief that he felt.
0:22:30 > 0:22:31"Something was finally happening.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33"They wouldn't stop until he was dead,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35"but at least it would all be over.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37"Finn stared up at the cloudless blue sky.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40"Over the years, he'd come to realise that running to save your life
0:22:40 > 0:22:44"was only worthwhile if you had a life worth saving."
0:22:44 > 0:22:46And do you think the reaction to it,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48in terms of the industry and people that you've spoken to
0:22:48 > 0:22:51and your publishers, were they all quite surprised at your subject
0:22:51 > 0:22:54- when you first told them what you'd written about?- I think, yeah...
0:22:54 > 0:22:57They were thinking it was going to be, like, a comedy or...
0:22:57 > 0:22:58So, I said, "No, have a read at it first."
0:22:58 > 0:23:01And everyone said, "That's just not what we were expecting."
0:23:01 > 0:23:04And I thought, "That's good," because I didn't want you to.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07- And you're already on book two? - I've just started book two, yeah.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10So, it's kind of like a long-term prospect for you now?
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Well, I'll hope so.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17# I would like to climb high in a tree
0:23:17 > 0:23:20# I could be happy, I could be happy... #
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Clare put pen to paper for a very different audience.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Her novel, Tallulah And The Teen Stars was written for,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29and inspired by, her daughter, Ellie.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33In the case of art imitating life, it's about a little girl
0:23:33 > 0:23:35who realises her dreams of forming a pop band.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41I think I had thought about the idea for so long,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44because it was all completely formed in my head.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47All I had to do was physically sit down and do it,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50and that was the bit that I actually found quite hard.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53I did quite a lot of procrastinating, you know.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56- Chocolate biscuits and going swimming...?- Mm-hmm.- Shopping?
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Anything would do, I even hoovered once. Just once.
0:24:00 > 0:24:06Yeah, so, I have so much respect for writers and what they do
0:24:06 > 0:24:08and their discipline...
0:24:08 > 0:24:11and I could never really describe myself as a writer.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Did you do it so that you could hang out with...
0:24:14 > 0:24:16to be at home, and stuff like that?
0:24:16 > 0:24:18I needed to create a happy ending in my life.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Right, OK.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24And also, I wanted to find a way to explain to Ellie...
0:24:27 > 0:24:30- ..what Mummy does.- Does.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32I hate being preachy with young people,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35but I get so depressed about...
0:24:35 > 0:24:37meeting young people who want to be famous
0:24:37 > 0:24:39and then you set them, "What for?"
0:24:39 > 0:24:41And then they can't tell you.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43Everyone says, "Write about what you know."
0:24:43 > 0:24:46So, the only thing that I sort of knew about was being...
0:24:46 > 0:24:50- Being famous?- Yeah, in a sort of weird way.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53But I wanted to explain to Ellie, in a way,
0:24:53 > 0:24:58that it's all right to have fantastic dreams and aim for them,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00as long as you were...
0:25:00 > 0:25:02..realistic about it?
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Recognising that there was some work involved in that.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06I think that's what I...
0:25:06 > 0:25:10that's why I enjoyed writing the book so much, is...
0:25:10 > 0:25:12It's not having anyone say to me,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15"You can't do that," or, "You can't..." you know?
0:25:15 > 0:25:18So, I got to direct the shots, you know,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22as well as being every actor in the piece.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24- You give yourself a lead role... - And the lead role...
0:25:24 > 0:25:26I was all the female parts,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28I was the whole thing.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31I liked that, actually, not having someone saying,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33"Oh, no, I don't think you can do that."
0:25:33 > 0:25:35And you think, "No, you can. I can do whatever I like."
0:25:35 > 0:25:38I mean, I don't really think that I'm that ambitious
0:25:38 > 0:25:40or that bolshie or that...
0:25:40 > 0:25:43I'm not going to shove anyone out of the road to get there...
0:25:43 > 0:25:46- Now, come on, I've known you... - But, do you know what?
0:25:46 > 0:25:47I can't hear the word "no".
0:25:47 > 0:25:51When somebody says, "No, I don't think that's going to happen,"
0:25:51 > 0:25:54that just makes me go, "I think you'll find..." You know?
0:25:54 > 0:25:58- I've got a bit of that too. - And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
0:25:58 > 0:25:59I just can't help myself.
0:26:02 > 0:26:03You know, this is really good.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06- I'm really enjoying myself.- Good.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09I'm glad we bumped into each other.
0:26:09 > 0:26:1330 years after the release of the iconic Gregory's Girl,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16its two leads are still securing big-screen roles.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20It's really good. You just lie flat down...and dance.
0:26:22 > 0:26:23This year, Clare's playing
0:26:23 > 0:26:27the mother of a notorious Glasgow gangster, in The Wee Man...
0:26:29 > 0:26:31..and Gordon is a Navy SEAL
0:26:31 > 0:26:33in the Brad Pitt thriller, World War Z,
0:26:33 > 0:26:38the film which temporarily transformed Glasgow's George Square
0:26:38 > 0:26:40into the city of Philadelphia.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44For these friends, 2012 is a special year,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48not just for work, but in their personal lives too.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53Born in 1962, they are both now celebrating turning 50.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57# Happy birthday, happy birthday
0:26:57 > 0:27:00# Ooh-ooh-ooh
0:27:00 > 0:27:04# Happy birthday, happy birthday
0:27:04 > 0:27:10# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh. #
0:27:11 > 0:27:13That was amazing!
0:27:16 > 0:27:18Hey, excuse me, that's my job!
0:27:20 > 0:27:21How could you not sing it like that?
0:27:23 > 0:27:25- That was amazing. - That was lovely, guys.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Gonnae just do that once more. That was brilliant.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31The harmonies were brilliant. Go on, one more time. Please.
0:27:31 > 0:27:32One, two, three, four...
0:27:32 > 0:27:35# Happy birthday, happy birthday
0:27:35 > 0:27:39# Ooh-ooh-ooh
0:27:39 > 0:27:42# Happy birthday, happy birthday
0:27:42 > 0:27:48# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh. #
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Wow! That was knock-out!
0:27:52 > 0:27:55# Happy birthday, happy birthday
0:27:55 > 0:27:58# Day, day, day... #
0:27:59 > 0:28:02So, raise a glass to Gregory and his girl.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05- Cheers.- Here's to being 25...twice.
0:28:07 > 0:28:08I'll drink to that.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd