I had to share a bed with my grandad ..When I had a cough he’d pour me some whisky
Kenneth Cranham is one of the most versatile and highly-regarded performers in theatre, film and TV – and he’s fiercely proud of his Scottish heritage
HIS mother never managed to go from Lochgelly to Hollywood but Kenneth Cranham has.
The 74-year-old is Scotland’s greatest acting secret.
Despite being born in Dunfermline and being inspired to act watching films in Fife, he is known for his cockney geezer roles in films such as Layer Cake, Gangster No1 and 80s TV series Shine on Harvey Moon.
But Kenneth, currently appearing in BBC1 comedy Scarborough, is fiercely proud of his Scottish heritage.
He said: “I’ve had Scottish car drivers around the world while I’ve been on acting jobs who, when I’ve talked to them about the homeland, have had to pull over and have a little weep.
“I tell them stories like when the morning rolls would be delivered by a horse and cart in Lochgelly and my granny would would fry a slice of sausage and an egg and put them in the roll. It was the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. It would take Scottish drivers back and they’d have a blub.”
Kenneth, who has worked with the likes of Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and John Gielgud, has a London accent and spent his early life split between Scotland and Camberwell, London, where his family had settled.
His mum Margaret MacKay Ferguson was a librarian in Cowdenbeath when a 19-year-old Royal Engineer from Essex Ronald walked in.
Ken said: “My dad did what I do when I’m in a place I don’t know and went to the library. He was trying to take out the chief librarian and ended up with assistant librarian, who was my mum.”
It was the start of World War II and soon his mum had joined his dad in uniform. They both got stationed in Bury but she was arrested for smoking in uniform at Manchester Piccadilly.
“It still angers me now,” said Kenneth, “Everybody smoked then for f***’s sake. They made her clean toilets for a week. She then got pregnant with me and left the army and went back to Scotland.”
His dad, meanwhile, was sent to Africa and Kenneth didn’t see him until he was 18 months old.
His parents had no home of their own so the young Kenneth and his mum lived with her mum and dad in a small house on Dundas Street in
Lochgelly. His grandad Harry was a butcher in Hill of Beath. He lived there for four years and then two more years with his English grandparents in Essex before the three of them moved to a place in Camberwell, where Kenneth shared a bedroom with his parents until he was 10.
While he was living in London, he kept visiting his grandparents two or three times a year.
He said: “Lochgelly was like a Wild West town with one main street. But where my granny lived it was 150 yards from the Opera House cinema and there was also the Cinema De-Luxe.
“My grandparents were very poor and there was only one room where everyone lived, so you didn’t want to stay there in the evening. I went to the cinema. I went practically every night in Lochgelly and then sometimes on a Sunday I’d go to Cowdenbeath to see what was on there.”
Despite having his life split between London and Scotland, he didn’t feel an outsider or reluctant to be leaving the bright lights of London for Fife.
He said: “I didn’t think it was going up to the sticks. It was so unique. I had to share my grandfather’s bed when we went up there. He would sleep with his long johns on and smoke full-strength Capstans. He was a character. He worked for a butcher and also as a bookies’ runner at the weekends.
“When I had a cough, he’d give me some whisky – even when I was very young. The whisky was whipped out for most ailments.”
No wonder then that, as a child, the young Kenneth couldn’t wait to drive back north. As long as his mum wasn’t driving.
He laughed: “We used to drive up the old A1. Mum would drive some of the way which I’m sure is why I never learnt to drive because it was terrifying.
“Then you crossed the Forth, which at that time was by ferry. There were no bridges. I remember mum driving on to the ferry and thinking ‘Oh I’m not enjoying this’”.
His love for Scotland never left him. He married second wife actress Fiona Victory in Perth.
And Kenneth, who has one daughter Nancy with former partner Charlotte Cornwell and Kathleen with Fiona, has worked here on stage and on radio and nowadays enjoys trips to the Highlands, which he says is “God’s country”.
In one of his photos from Scotland, there’s an image of Kenneth as a baby on the banks of Loch Ness. On the left is his mother Margaret and beside her is her second cousin, also called Margaret.
Kenneth said: “Everyone seemed to be called Margaret in Scotland. Margaret Thatcher put a stop to that. Margaret is still alive and in her 90s. She lives outside Inverness.”
Now living in Islington, Kenneth has had an incredible career in theatre, winning the Olivier Award for best actor just three years ago for The Father.
He’s been in films as wildly different as Chocolat and Hellbound: Hellraiser II.
He has popped up constantly on our TVs since 1967 including his breakthrough Shine on Harvey Moon in the 80s to this year’s Hatton Garden and currently BBC1’s Scarborough, which reaches its conclusion tonight. He plays Mr Ferris who may have popped the question to Stephanie Cole’s Marion.
Kenneth said: “I was offered a part in Benidorm by Derren Litten as a character who was going to sing Elvis at the karaoke but I would’ve had to wear a thong.” Sighing with comedy timing, he added: “My thong days are long gone.”
He’s proud of being part of Scarborough. He said: “It’s such an unusual show to have on the telly because it’s kindly and pleasant.”
Next up is playing Bill Bailey’s father in the second series of Idris Elba’s In the Long Run. Kenneth roared: “It’s ridiculous. I play Bill Bailey’s father. Give me a break. He looks as old as God.”
He may be in his 70s but he’s still stealing every scene he’s in.
Kenneth laughed: “When I tell women I’ve been acting with Idris, they are very impressed.” ●The last episode of Scarborough is on BBC1 tonight at 9.30pm.
Lochgelly was like a Wild West town with one main street KENNETH CRANHAM ON CHILDHOOD IN SCOTLAND