Scot Squad and Still Game stars on why they love wild swimming

“I was tired, it was freezing, and I was honestly thinking – yoga on the beach, that’s a bit weird,” says the Scot Squad and Balamory star.

“But I did it, and it felt amazing. Being in the water gave me such a buzz, and I was hooked from that moment.”

Julie’s husband and fellow actor Greg Hemphill, one half of Still Game’s cheeky pensioner duo Jack and Victor, took a little longer to get involved, but once he did, he loved it.

“Initially, I did think Jules was a bit mad,” he acknowledges. “I mean it’s Scotland, and you’re swimming outdoors? But as soon as I did I took to it - like a duck to water...”

The couple have made a documentary for BBC Scotland all about their own experiences of wild swimming around the country, and the people they have met along the way.

Jules and Greg’s Wild Swim – which will be shown on Hogmanay – is a funny, frank and unexpectedly moving film which follows the couple and their dog Bonnie on a road (and loch, river and sea) trip through some of Scotland's most beautiful scenery.

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It also reveals a lot about Julie and Greg, who have been married for more than 20 years and have two sons.

“Do you mean the bit where we’re sitting round the fire and I talk about the menopause and our sex life?” grins Julie.

“Aye, I do feel a bit mortified about that, but not really, actually, because I think it is important to say it. Most couples who get married and bring up kids....eventually you do get to a point where it’s important to do something that’s just for the two of you.

“It’s not sexy worrying about your teenagers, it’s not sexy doing all the boring stuff – but this? This is actually quite sexy and it made us feel a bit like we did when we first started going out together.”

In the programme, Greg reveals he is, despite appearances, a "bit of an introvert".

“I had a conversation with Billy Connolly about that once and he said most performers were introverts because being an extrovert was a defence mechanism,” he explains. “I can really relate to that.

“For me, it’s about the age we’re at too. In your 50s you care a lot less about the things you worried about when you were in your 20s.”

He adds, with a laugh: “I don’t want everyone to think we’re in some kind of cult, though. We’re absolutely fine with people thinking we’re crazy. And the documentary is not about persuading people to go wild swimming, either. It’s just us trying to show something that brings peace and calmness into our lives, and sharing that with people.”

Julie and Greg with John McMillan of the Edinburgh Blue Balls group. (Image: Alan McRedie/Solus Productions)

Julie agrees. “We’re really proud of it,” she says. “We learned a lot from the people we met, and of course there were nerves, on both sides – we’ve never presented like this before – but eventually everyone was relaxed. It was so chilled, in fact.”

Greg cuts in. “Yeah, so relaxed I ended up on the telly in a pair of budgie-smugglers,” he groans.

Despite the title, the programme is as much about the people they meet around Scotland – on the banks of Loch Lomond at Luss, in the wild rivers of Glen Etive and in the sea at Portobello in Edinburgh – as it is about Julie and Greg.

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Women share stories of surviving breast cancer, of coping with illness and anxiety; men talk about how swimming together has helped them beat social isolation.

“Talking to people is the bit I loved most,” agrees Julie. “It’s so important their stories come across. The boys at the Edinburgh Blue Balls group - who even piped us in to the sea - were amazing. They spoke so openly and honestly about addiction and suicide, that we couldn’t stop thinking about them for ages after we left.”

She adds, wryly: “That was real bravery. Puts me blabbing on about my libido into perspective.”

The documentary has been a rare chance for the couple to work together – Julie is currently starring in the Tron’s panto, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, while Greg has been working on sketch show Queen of the New Year, a festive romp through the big talking points of 2022.

Julie with (left to right) Tyler Collins, Johnny McKnight and Lauren Ellis Steele in the Tron panto. (Image: Eoin Carey)

“I thought I was done with sketch shows after Chewin’ the Fat, but getting the chance to work with some of Scotland’s most talented writers and actors, is a real gift and I’m glad they asked me,” he says.

Julie is back at the Tron for a seventh time. “I love it, the Tron is like my second home,” she says. “I love the absolute carry on of panto. And if there’s even one wee boy or girl seeing a show for the first time who loves theatre because of it, our job is done.”

Julie and Greg also worked together on children’s TV show Olga di Polga, about an adventurous guinea pig, in the summer.

“That was lovely, but it’s been nice to just be ourselves,” says Greg, and Julie adds: “We went full no-make up for this, by the way – that was a decision we made at the start. You’re always getting pampered and fussed about on telly, so we said for this we weren’t going to do that."

She frowns: “Having seen it, right enough, the next time we’ll be doing full wardrobe, make-up, hair, going to the gym – oh my god, the look of us going into the water….we’ll probably get a massive slagging for it but you just have to put that to one side.”

Julie grins: “And Greg absolutely nailed the voiceover stuff. Everyone in the studio was raving about his smouldering voice, while there’s me, sounding like the mouse from Bagpuss….”

Jules and Greg's Wild Swim is on BBC Scotland on Sunday, January 1 at 10.30pm. Queen of the New Year airs on BBC One Scotland on Hogmanay at 11pm.