Scots at Bay as Caledonian stars lose their accents in crime drama
The new series of ITV drama The Bay is set in Morecambe, but could have been moved a few hundred miles north of the border, going by the number of Scots in the cast. Sharon Small is joined by James Cosmo, Steven Robertson and the show’s lead, Morven Christie, on the critically acclaimed drama to make up a tartan cohort. Don’t expect to hear any native accents, though. Sharon said: “Weirdly there’s a lot of Scots on this series. James Cosmo is in there, Morven is the lead of course and the guy who plays my brother, Steven Robertson, is from Shetland.
“And none of us are Scottish in it. We’ve all got that Morecombe accent then when the scene ends go, ‘aye that was awright’. “I’ve worked with James before, he’s such fun. I never knew Steven, he’s from Shetland and when he’s not acting is a sheep farmer, his life up there sounds amazing!”
A dialogue coach was brought in to help the Scots on set master the distinctive Morecombe lilt, and it was a challenge Sharon took to with verve in order to demonstrate her versatility.
“I’m pleased about not doing my own accent, it’s not until somebody sees you doing an accent and if you carry it off well enough, then they think of you outside the box.
“If you can show a bit of versatility in creating characters from different places hopefully that just opens up casting opportunities, because then you have an edge. Because when you’re a woman of a certain age there’s not a huge amount around…”
Sharon, former star of The Inspector Lynsey Mysteries, was born in Glasgow but attended drama school in Fife, a course which counts Shirley Henderson, Ewan Mcgregor and Dougray Scott as graduates. “It was just a really good springboard and was a really good basis for just figuring out what you wanted to to.
“You did everything: the lighting, the sets, the costumes, and you just got taught everything so you could work out what you liked best. That’s when I just thought, yeah, acting is what I want to do.”