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James MacPherson (born 18 March 1960) is a Scottish
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, best known for his role as
Detective Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...
Michael Jardine in the STV drama, ''
Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 19 ...
''.


Early life

MacPherson was raised in
South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...
. He left
Hamilton Grammar School Hamilton Grammar School is a secondary school serving Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Its predecessors can trace their history back to 1452. With the introduction of comprehensive schools and the abolition of selective schools such as Ha ...
at 17 and got a job as a laboratory technician at the Institute of Neurosciences at the
Southern General Hospital The Southern General Hospital (SGH) was a large teaching hospital with an acute operational bed complement of approximately 900 beds. The hospital was located in Linthouse in the south west of Glasgow, Scotland. All facilities and services have b ...
in Glasgow. Part of his job was to collect brain samples for experimentation. MacPherson worked in the lab for five years and met his future wife Jacqueline while he was there. MacPherson went for an interview to be a police officer, but soon realised that he did not have the requisite personality for the job. It was then that his thoughts turned to acting. He joined an amateur dramatic group in
Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
, before moving on to a repertory theatre in
East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...
and a place in drama school. It was after MacPherson landed the part of Hugh Hamilton in ''
Citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
'' on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
that his television career began to take off. While he was based in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, MacPherson auditioned for a part in the children's series ''Dramarama'', but was unsuccessful. Then, in 1986, his agent told him about a part that had come up in ''Taggart'' and, after he regained his Glasgow accent, which had been diluted by working in London, he was offered the part.


''Taggart'', career and personal life

Initially the character of Jardine was to be a foil to DS Livingstone, assistant to DCI Jim Taggart (
Mark McManus Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor. He has played roles in British television series '' Sam,'' '' Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and ''Dramarama'' and starred in the feature film '' 2000 Weeks''. He was ...
), but when Neil Duncan left the show shortly after MacPherson joined it, Jardine became Jim Taggart's permanent right-hand man. He then became the central character following McManus's death in 1994. McManus was godfather to MacPherson's daughter Katie. 2002 saw MacPherson's last appearance as DCI Michael Jardine. MacPherson was forced to leave the show due to ill health. He had a collapsed lung and underwent life-saving surgery, which resulted in the lung being stapled to the inside of his chest. This prevented him from doing many of the activities that acting as Jardine required. MacPherson's final episode, "Death Trap", was aired on 14 January 2002. Since ''Taggart'', MacPherson has concentrated on the theatre. Much of his early stage work saw him cast as a policeman. He appeared as Jardine in all but name in a TV documentary investigating claims that Scottish MPs were
bribed Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...
to pass the
Acts of Union of 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...
. He also guest-starred in several episodes of ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...
'' as a former officer whose sister was
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
d by other policemen. He provided the voice for
Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a schoo ...
's ''
Inspector Rebus The ''Inspector Rebus'' books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Sir Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh. They are considered an important contrib ...
'' in the talking book series. In 2000 MacPherson appeared in a Channel 4 Schools History series ''The Scots Detective'', playing DI Scott. In July 2002, he set up an acting company with the Scots actress Emma Currie called Acting Up. In October 2003, MacPherson formed a rock and roll band called The Cams with ex-
Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit "Love Is All Around", which w ...
drummer
Tommy Cunningham Thomas Cunningham (born 22 June 1964, Drumchapel, Glasgow) is a Scottish musician, best known as the drummer for Wet Wet Wet. Biography Cunningham's father, Tom Sr., bought his son his first drum kit in 1977, "down the Social Club for £15 ...
, and was seen singing with the band on Children in Need on BBC One Scotland the following month. Christmas 2003 saw MacPherson appear as Abananzar in ''Aladdin'' at His Majesty's Theatre in
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
. In 2007, he starred in the stage version of ''
Dial M for Murder ''Dial M for Murder'' is a 1954 American crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was ...
'' with
Faye Tozer Faye Louise Tozer (born 14 November 1975) is an English singer, dancer, and actress, best known as a member of British pop group Steps. Career Music Steps are a pop group that have had a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2020. Their ...
of Steps. In May 2010, MacPherson co-starred as Martin Schulse in the
Tron Theatre The Tron Theatre is located in the corner of Trongate and Chisholm Street, in what was formerly the Tron Kirk which had started as the Collegiate Church of Our Lady and St. Anne in the Trongate area of Glasgow, Scotland. The Tron Steeple still ...
's production of ''Address Unknown'' adapted from the short story by
Kathrine Kressmann Taylor Kathrine Kressmann Taylor or Kressmann Taylor (born 1903 in Portland, Oregon – 14 July 1996) was an American writer, known mostly for her '' Address Unknown'' (1938), a short story written as a series of letters between a Jewish art dealer, liv ...
. In 2014, amidst widespread speculation, it was confirmed that MacPherson narrated Sir Alex Ferguson's
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
. MacPherson has three children with his wife.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, James 1960 births Living people People from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Scottish male television actors Scottish male radio actors Scottish male stage actors People educated at Hamilton Grammar School