The Scotts: Louise McCarthy on TV role and inspirations

“I went to see the midwife on the Monday and the consultant told me, ‘I think you can come in tonight. Go get your bag – you are ready to pop.’”

Hang on. Didn’t this happen to her on another TV series? “Yes, that is twice I have done it,” laughs McCarthy, confirming that in 2019 she gave birth only days after filming the Scot Squad spin-off, Scotland Unsolved.

“I am off my head,” she jokes. “But it was good fun filming and I was well looked after. Plus, I didn’t need to wear a fat suit to be pregnant, which was quite nice.”

The other upside, adds McCarthy, is that when her sons – Danny, three, and 15-week-old Olly – get a bit older she can show them the scenes where she was pregnant with them. “I’ll have that forever with both my kids. It’s such a lovely thing to be able to look back on.”

McCarthy, 37, is racking up an impressive body of work that includes a recent stint in the National Theatre of Scotland musical Orphans and popular TV staples Scot Squad, The Scotts and Only An Excuse? She is one half of the comedy duo, The Dolls, with River City star Gayle Telfer Stevens.

Here, the actor talks about her early life, career ambitions and the sublime joy of serendipity.

HER ROLE IN THE SCOTTS

Styled as a spoof fly-on-the-wall documentary, The Scotts charts the outlandish antics of a dysfunctional Scottish family, complete with candid confessionals and no-holds-barred access to their lives.

Newly returned for a second series, the comedy is the brainchild of Burnistoun creators Robert Florence and Iain Connell. The pair star as chalk-and-cheese brothers with Connell playing Henry, a salt-of-the-earth scaffolder, and Florence as Vincent, an egotistical cosmetic surgeon.

McCarthy plays their sister Colette, a self-described “influencer” and aspiring pop singer, with Lee Greig (a professional wrestler whose ring name is Jack Jester) as her fitness-obsessed, long-suffering boyfriend Darren. The cast also includes Shauna Macdonald, Barbara Rafferty and Sharon Young.

It is fair to say that McCarthy – as the bold Colette – nabs many of the best one-liners. Is it as fun a character to play as it is to watch?

“She is probably the person I wish I was,” muses McCarthy. “Colette says what is on her mind. She is vocal about her opinions. There is a real freedom about her but also real heart – she is a good lassie deep down.”

PUSHING THE COMEDY ENVELOPE

The Scotts puts strong female characters at the heart of the show – something that McCarthy is thrilled Florence and Connell have made a concerted effort to do.

“They have put women at the forefront and they collaborate with us,” she says. “They will ask, ‘Are we tonally doing your character justice? Do you feel that is how a woman would speak?’ They are amazing.”

She is grateful for male allies but would like to see more Scottish women breaking into TV comedy. “It is long overdue if I am honest,” says McCarthy. “The last time we championed a female comedy performer it was Karen Dunbar and that was a long time ago. She is fantastic, but we need to continue to support women in comedy.

“There is a real lack of female comedy commissioning and female comedy directors – I am yet to work with one. We need more representation. I would love to see more female-led and diversity-led stories.”

TEENAGE KICKS

The youngest of two daughters, McCarthy grew up in north-west Glasgow. “Kelvindale/Maryhill. My mum says it is Kelvindale but her postcode says otherwise,” she laughs.

Her mother was a home help and estate agent, while her father was a mechanic and later worked on the oil rigs. “A normal, working-class, hands-on family,” she says. “My parents are both retired now.”

What was McCarthy like growing up? “When I was younger, I was naughty,” she admits. “I was never bad, but I was cheeky and would push the boundaries. I liked winding my mum up. Never in a nasty way – I loved a wind-up.

“I was a wee minx but with a good heart. I was never rotten to people. I am still the same – anything for a laugh.”

EARLY INSPIRATIONS

“The Steamie was probably the first thing I watched and thought, ‘Oh my God, a voice like mine can be on the telly,’” says McCarthy. “Dorothy Paul reminded me of folk in my own family – she was a real representation of all the wee wimmin that you knew.

“That was when I started wanting to be an actress. I auditioned for an after-school drama club and the monologue I chose was Isn’t It Wonderful To Be A Woman? from The Steamie. I remember watching the VHS and pausing it to write down the lines – we didn’t have Google back then.”

HER PATH TO COMEDY

“I did the play Men Should Weep [in 2011]. That was my first big role on stage,” she says. “It was a gritty, Glaswegian play and I thought, ‘This must be the kind of thing I’ll be cast in’. It felt like I was going down that route.

“Then I got a play called Yer Granny in 2015 with Gregor Fisher and Barbara Rafferty. It was the creme de la creme of Scottish comedy talent – and me, who was maybe the risky casting. It turned out great and I loved working with them.

“Johnny Watson – who was also in Yer Granny – gave me a job on Only An Excuse? It snowballed from there. I started working with The Comedy Unit. It all happened by accident, really.”

A BAPTISM OF FIRE

McCarthy and Gayle Telfer Stevens made their debut as comedy double act The Dolls in 2014, performing in pubs, bowling clubs and community venues. They have since gone on to sell out several multi-night runs at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow.

“Our first gig was at Easterhouse Masonic Hall,” recalls McCarthy. “I will never forget it. It went well which is why I think we decided to keep going. But then, after the second and the third gigs, we were told, ‘Nah, youse are crap – get out.’

“This wee guy in an anorak came up to us and said, ‘We had Billy Connolly in last night and he was brilliant. Are youse as good as him?’ and we were like, ‘Well, naw. Of course, we’re not …’ Obviously, this wasn’t the real Billy Connolly – it was a tribute act.

“You learn your craft in a bowling club because people will tell you exactly what they think of you. From the outset, it was like, ‘You had better not be s****’. It was brutal honesty. After one gig we were told, ‘Nah. That wasn’t good, lassies. I’ll need to cut your money the night …’

“It was terrible. We were in a McDonald’s car park at 4am, greetin’ and saying, ‘We’ll just chuck it. We are rotten. We won’t go back there.’

“But we found strength from somewhere and told ourselves, ‘Look, it is only the beginning. It is early days. We will hone the act and get better.’ Then we went back and had another shot at it.”

SERENDIPITY AND SUCCESS

“I went for a role in The Steamie years ago,” says McCarthy. “It was the Dundee run – I think around 2012/13. I was struggling for work at the time, but I thought, ‘I am Glaswegian, this is how I speak, and it is the play that made me want to be an actor – if I am going to get a part, it is going to be this one.’

“After I got the call to say it didn’t go my way, I remember thinking, ‘I’m done.’ I sat with my mum, breaking my heart, and told her I was going to chuck it. She said to me, ‘You will be fine in the morning’, then handed me a vodka and Diet Coke.

“And lo and behold she was right; I was fine in the morning. And I got back on the horse. It then came full circle when I did The Steamie at the Hydro in 2019. I realised that was why I didn’t get the part before, because it was meant to happen the way it did.

“That is probably the biggest lesson: things happen for a reason. They come good in the end. When I did the Hydro, I said, ‘This is how it was meant to be.’ I was able to let go of the past and promised myself I would never let a job hurt me like that again.”

The Scotts, BBC One Scotland, Wednesday, 10.50pm. All episodes available on BBC iPlayer now