NEIGHBOURS STARS IN SCOTLAND TRY TUNNOCKS AND IRN BRU

NEIGHBOURS stars Stefan Dennis and April

Rose Pengilly tucked into Irn Bru and Tunnocks teacakes while Alan Fletcher explored Oran Mor during a trip to Scotland. 

The Neighbours cast visited Glasgow and Edinburgh as part of their Celebration Tour which had initially been organised to mark the end of Neighbours being broadcast in the UK - before it was saved by Amazon. 

And they were on top form as they told of their love of Scotland and mingled with lifelong fans of the show.

The cast, who were staying at the Hilton Glasgow hotel over the weekend, spent most of their time at the city’s Armadillo for meet and greets and the show but some managed to go for a walk in the morning during the cold spell. 

Dr Karl Kennedy, played by Alan Fletcher was accompanied by his wife Jennifer Hansen as he took a stroll in the West end - visiting Oran Mor where he is due perform music from his new album next month. He also visited Bannermans in Edinburgh where he will also tour. 

As he had a drink with his wife at the Glasgow Hilton bar after the show he told the Daily Record: “I can’t wait for you to be Neighbours with me again when the new season starts. I got my first taste of snow here in Glasgow with my wife. We are having the time of our lives thanks to all the wonderful Neighbours fans surrounding us with their love of our show.”

Stefan Dennis who plays Paul Robinson and April Rose Pengilly who is Chloe Brennan on the show tried out some of our Scottish delicacies. 

Stefan, who used to live here with his wife, while starring in River City said it was great to be back in Scotland - his other home. 

As Stefan put on his Weegie accent and told her the correct pronunciation, April pulled a face and said: “So everybody’s been telling me to drink this Irn Bru.  It’s good. It kind of just tastes like fizzy. It’s alright. Now we’re going to try these Tunnocks tea cakes which we actually have in Australia.  I just didn’t know they were a thing. That gets the thumbs up. I like that better than the Irn Bru.” 

April said of her trip to Glasgow that it was ‘more like GlasWOAH’ and that she had had an excellent night. 

She had also visited a chihuahua cafe in Edinburgh and said it was ‘a dream come true.’

Annie Jones who plays plain Jane Harris also admitted her trip to Scotland was the first time she saw snow, commenting: “It’s snow out there - so exciting. It’s the first time I’ve seen it. I did a happy dance.”

GOING WILD WITH GAVIN MITCHELL, PAOLO NUTINI, JESSIE WARE, TIMELESS CANDLES

THE LYONS SHARE
Gavin Mitchell’s brilliant Still Game character Boaby The Barman might have had a heart attack with 18 stents, but the actor is very much alive and kicking.
He was on top form as we gabbed away following his appearance on The Wright Stuff this week.
It’s great to see another one of our own on the Channel 5 UK wide show.
Gavin revealed that his appearances on the panel are all down to a weird twist of fate.
He explained: “Matthew is a huge fan of Still Game and told Jonny Freeman who I was with in MI High. When Still Game Live 2 was on at the Hydro Matthew even came up to watch it with his wife.”
It gets weirder, as Gavin revealed: “I was in London to see David Bowie’s art collection and walked into a pub on Primrose Hill. I overheard someone telling their friends that Still Game was fantastic and that they needed to watch it. I tapped the person on the arm to surprise them and it was Matthew. He was freaked out and so was I. It was insane, a complete and utter coincidence and he invited me on the show there and then.”
Gavin has now appeared on the show twice but he says he finds it hard to muster up an opinion on some topics. He laughed: “You’ve got to fight against yourself for the sake of it.”

JUNGLE VIP
SAY You Love Me singer Jessie Ware was er, worse for wear after losing her voice following her gig at Glasgow’s Fruitmarket.
The Fifty Shades of Grey hitmaker emerged from the Merchant City venue tired but in great spirits.
She had warned fans it wasn’t worth waiting around for her as she had to rest her voice under doctors orders.
However, Jessie still managed a smile as she came out the  venue and walked to her tour bus while inhaling steam from a clay pot to help her vocal chords.
She will return to Glasgow for TRNSMT festival this summer.

THE WEEK’S PRIDE
YOU can’t beat a loveable doggy and I met a little hero this week at STV.
The incredible Mitch is a retired rescue dog with the Trossachs Search and Rescue team and has served his time looking for people stuck up mountains and under rubble.
The border collie who is now a wee bit deaf helped out at the Glasgow Clutha after the awful helicopter crash.
He once trained as a drugs dog but didn’t make the cut, although he still has a penchant for looking into handbags. 

He’s becoming a bit famous now - having met David Hasselhoff during his panto run at the SEC and also recently starring in a Bollywood Film - Tum Bin 2. His owner Stuart Ballantyne admitted the on set catering was incredible - with a homemade curry each day.

PURR
I’ve had a few late nights this week and my voice dropped a few octaves. Thankfully it came in handy when I was asked to do the voiceovers for The Scottish Style Awards which take place this weekend in Glasgow’s incredible Kelvingrove art gallery and museum. I had to try out different voices from smiley to serious, formal to casual and it’ll be interesting to see what works on the night. It’ll be even more interesting to see what I end up wearing. No pressure!


JUNGLE DRUMS...
IT was a low key affair as Paolo Nutinicelebrated his mum Linda’s sixtieth birthday this week.
The New Shoes and Iron Sky singer joined Linda and dad Alfredo to party with some of their closest friends and family.
Rather than a Paisley location near their home, they opted to come to Glasgow and took over The Savings Bank in Bridge Street.
As well as bringing him up, the lovely Linda has played an important part in Paolo’s career -  being responsible for signing his first recording contract - as Paolo was too young to be legally recognised.

BIG CATS
I don’t really do football, politics or religion but I did have the pleasure of hanging out with two Scots playing legends this week.
Former Rangers man Gordon Smith and former Celtic man Jim Melrose had a quick lunch meeting and bite to eat in Glasgow’s Dhabba restaurant.
Both former rivals are now working together on lots of projects including a new disinfectant business.
They took great delight at spraying their antibacterial foot spray inside one of my shoes, leaving my sock slightly damp.
I didn’t feel right about asking them to spray the other one.
Speaking of their friendship Gordon said: “We used to be against one another but we became team mates at Manchester City and moved to England at the same time.”
Jim said: “We were against one another at one point when I was at Partick Thistle and Gordon was at Kilmarnock. Now we’ve got a bromance - although I prefer to be in less of the spotlight than Gordon.”

IN THE LYONS DEN 

My wee pal Gail Porter made a flying visit to her homeland of Scotland to complete some work with John Hartson that had been delayed during the snowy weather.
She also revealed it was her 47th birthday week and had been given two books by her daughter Honey - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and The Girl Before.

WHAT EVERYONE IS GOING WILD FOR...
Excuse me for waxing lyrical but...I felt like one of the Kardashians as I popped into Fraser’s department store after hours for an evening with Timeless Candles.
The fab fragrance company had taken over the wooden panelled boardroom to show off their two latest products.
They decked it out with blossoming trees and candles galore and it smelled divine. Scottish born owner Liana Mullen, who started the company in 2014 to create scents for her beauty salon clients, told me she’s had a few odd requests to create candles for different people and companies.
Amongst those she can mention were a scent for Loch Lomond golf club using ingredients from their walled garden and a sensual candle in Black Plum Pomegranate for someone who wanted to spice things up in the bedroom.
Liana got each of us to recall our favourite smells from childhood and I kept thinking fondly about my dad’s cigars when we had visitors.
Her two new scents are at polar opposites. One is to energise and invigorate while the other is to calm and relax. I opted for the Lemongrass and Lavender candle (£35) even though I’m already hyper. Palmarosa and Rose Geranium is perfect as a pillow or room spray to calm you at the end of the night. (£17)