Rab C Nesbitt star shares her precious Glasgow panto memories

The most precious ones, she says, are almost bittersweet.

“We always used to come to the Pavilion for my sister’s birthday,” says the Springburn-born actor who found fame in Rab C Nesbitt.

“Anne’s birthday isn’t until March, but that was back in the day when the pantos used to run on for months after Christmas.”

She adds, smiling: “We also came to the Pavilion to see the Alexander Brothers and one of my happiest memories is me and Anne, singing along to ‘Jessie, Jessie, Monster of the Clyde…..’”

Elaine is starring in this year's Pavilion panto (Image: Robert Perry/Newsquest)

Sadly, Anne died last year after being diagnosed with liver cancer. It has been a tough 12 months for Elaine, whose mum Ishbel has been in and out of hospital too.

The stage and screen star, known for a string of roles in Still Game, CBeebies show Me Too! and the movie Sunshine on Leith, is currently dazzling audiences at the Pavilion in Treasure Island.

“I play Sea Legs Senga and Brenda Gunn, and I have a bit of a secret,” she says, mysteriously, with a laugh.

“I love panto – it’s a long run, of course, but it’s not hard work – NHS staff do hard work. We’re all having fun.”

She adds: “And the crowds are magical. You know they will always respond, even the wee kids know what to shout. Scottish people have this shared culture and history around panto, and that’s really lovely to be part of.

“It’s winter and cold and dark, and we all get to escape to this warm fairyland in a beautiful theatre, and leave real life behind for a wee while.”

Elaine’s big break came as a result of panto, she reveals.

The cast of Treasure Island (Image: Newsquest)

“I did the Cumbernauld Theatre panto, straight out of drama school,” she explains. “And Robert Love, who was STV's head of drama came to see it and cast me as a drunk bridesmaid in Taggart.”

She grins. “It was a great experience – I was in the episode called Dead Man’s Chest, with Billy Boyd.”

Originally, Elaine had wanted to be a journalist.

“But I didn’t want to go to Edinburgh to study,” she says. “I didn’t want to leave Glasgow. I went to a drama group at Dolphin Arts Centre, and that’s what encouraged me to apply for the RSAMD.”

Elaine studied at what was then the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

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“Being in youth theatre taught me so much, not just about acting, but about social development,” she explains. “I couldn’t have afforded to go to stage school – most people can’t afford it, and that’s really sad. I do wonder how people like me make it in today’s industry.”

Known for playing Natalie in Rab C Nesbitt and Tina the pink taxi driver in Me Too! Elaine has also appeared in a diverse mix of productions such as The Twits at the Citizens Theatre, Cinderella at the King’s in Glasgow, TV dramas Garrow’s Law and Irvine Welsh’s Crime 2 and radio comedy including Watson’s Wind Up.

“I didn’t really have a plan, I don’t think you can in this industry,” she says, throughtfully. “You’d drive yourself crazy. You just have to roll with the punches. I’d never thought about working in kids’ TV, for example, until Me Too! and that opened the door to Justin’s House – so it took me along an avenue I hadn’t thought of…

She pauses. “I feel like I have been very lucky, blessed in fact,” she says, adding with a grin: “I just really like working.”

Treasure Island is at the Pavilion Theatre until January 14.