''High Living'' was the first

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

to be produced in Scotland, and was produced by

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the ...

. The series was conceived by Henry Hay and episodes were written by Henry Hay and Jack Gerson, (who would later create ''

The Omega Factor ''The Omega Factor'' (stylized as ''The Ωmega Factor'') is a British television series produced by BBC Scotland in 1979. It was created by Jack Gerson and produced by George Gallaccio, and transmitted in ten weekly episodes between 13 June an ...

'').

History

''High Living'' featured the Crombie family (Andy, Kate and their children) who, in the first episode ''"The Flitting"'', moved into a new apartment in a high-rise apartment block in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

called Caulton Court (the exterior shots in the opening credits were filmed in Wyndford in Glasgow). A spin-off series entitled ''A Place of Her Own'' was first broadcast on 21 October 1971, and featured a newly widowed Kate Crombie (it ran for 13 episodes). It was also shown on

Grampian Television Grampian Television was the original name of the Channel 3 service for the north of Scotland founded in 1961 and now named STV. The northern region's coverage area includes the Northern Isles, Western Isles, Highlands (except Fort William and ...

shortly afterwards and on HTV during the summer of 1972.

Series

The first episode was broadcast on 5 December 1968. Originally episodes were 15 minutes long, broadcast three times a week; by March 1969 this changed to a 30-minute format broadcast on Thursday, with about 200 episodes being produced. The last episode was broadcast on 19 August 1971 on Scottish Television. All filmed episodes of ''High Living'' are believed to have been wiped, destroyed or lost but two scripts of ''High Living'' have survived, the first episode with a synopsis of the show and summary of characters and episode 137. A number of other

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

companies did broadcast the series: *

: All episodes, 1969 – 1971. * Border Television: All episodes, 1969 – 1971. * HTV: from 1969 until mid 1970 *

ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television stations and companies * Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourne * ATV (Austria) * AT ...

and

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...

: 6 January – July 1969, before being dropped.

Cast

* Tommy Crombie – John Buick * Kate Crombie – Clare Richards * Andy Crombie – Ken Henderson * Chrissie Crombie – Jennifer Angus * Meg Nairn – Emma Chapman * Kipper Lynch – Phil McCall * Nora Murdoch – Bobbie Willis

References

External links

*
Article from the ''Evening Times'' (Glasgow)
* http://www.atvtoday.co.uk/forgotten-regional-soaps-3904/ 1968 establishments in Scotland 1968 Scottish television series debuts 1971 Scottish television series endings 1960s Scottish television series 1970s British television soap operas 1970s Scottish television series English-language television shows ITV soap operas Scottish television soap operas Television shows produced by Scottish Television {{Scotland-tv-stub