Swimming star aiming to make waves in whodunnit

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, not even a dip with George Clooney himself could entice me to jump into Scottish waters. But it seems I’m the only one not throwing caution – and their clothes – to the wind to take part in the national obsession of wild swimming.

It started during lockdown. Suddenly my Facebook was awash with photos of once sensible friends up to their neck in freezing lochs in nothing but a swimsuit and woolly hat.you couldn’t open a magazine or newspaper without reading an article extolling the health benefits of this fitness trend. Indeed, in this magazine we have featured celebrity devotees including Two Doors Down actress Doon Mackichan and husband-and-wife comedy power couple, Greg Hemphill and Julie Wilson Nimmo, who insisted on taking our photographer on an (almost) skinny dip in Loch Lomond, in December!

This week we hear from another fan: Dawn Steele, the star of new crime drama Granite Harbour. Like her comedy colleagues, she was keen to demonstrate the virtues of cold swimming in a shoot near her home on the Kent coast (which you can see on pages 6&7).

In our interview she explains why she is passionate about the sport, which helps her cope with the ups and downs of life as a working mum. Acting is an unpredictable business which was brought home to Steele recently when Holby City was dropped from the TV schedules. Being the type of women who can go with the flow has helped her, she says.that, and finding a little cold comfort during uncertain times. ..