Forty years after it first aired, Taggart creator Glenn Chandler is ready to share a wealth of tales from behind the scenes on the world’s longest running crime drama at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
‘There’s Been A Murder: An Evening with Taggart Creator Glenn Chandler’ reveals the origins of Glasgow’s most famous cop and recalls the many Hitchcock-like cameos he himself played in episodes along the way.
Twenty-seven series and 110 episodes on, Edinburgh -born Glenn is now a theatre director, playwright and true crime author.
Now known as the Godfather of Scottish Noir after producers of a number of Nordic Noir TV dramas revealed Taggart was their inspiration, Glenn is set to reflect on the impact his character, played by the late Mark McManus, has had on the crime genre.
The two events, the first at 2pm followed by a second at 7.30pm on 20 August, will be chaired by award winning writer and broadcaster Liam Rudden and find Glenn returning to Loretto School, Musselburgh, where the Taggard episode Out of Bounds was filmed.
Glenn said: “I’m looking forward greatly to returning to Loretto School.
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“Loretto School became Borderdown Academy in the Taggart episode “Out of Bounds”. It was one of my personal favourites.
“The episode tackled the subject of bullying in a top public school, and we used the whole of John Lennon’s Imagine to underscore the entire sequence.”
Out of Bounds is just one of the many Taggart investigations Glenn recalls fondly and admits he can’t quite believe the series started 40 years ago this year.
Glenn said: “I had to pinch myself to really believe this was the 40th anniversary of Taggart.
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“I look back on it with great affection and I am surprised that it lasted so long. The stories were dark, yes, but always shot with humour. It was never, as some people think, a gritty detective series.
“Taggart was always an old-fashioned whodunit that kept us guessing until the last few minutes. Perhaps that was the reason for his abiding success.”
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There’s Been a Murder will also find Glenn talking about his new book, Sydney Fox’s Crime, which will be available at each performance as well as take part in an audience Q&A session.
THERE’S BEEN A MURDER: An Evening with Taggart Creator Glenn Chandler, Loretto School, Musselburgh, 20 August, 2pm & 7.30pm, £16 (£14),
https://bit.ly/3BEBdK8
