ON THE set of TV drama Shetland, Lesley Hart came face to face with the woman who inspired her to become an actor. “I remember going to the theatre when I was a teenager, and it changed my life,” she says. “It was The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, at His Majesty’s in Aberdeen, and I was just blown away by the girls on the stage, particularly Ashley Jensen.
“I remember thinking - I love her, I want to be her, and I want to do what she is doing.” She adds, with a snort of laughter: “I swore I wouldn’t tell her that until at least the wrap party but within seconds of being introduced to her, I’d done it. I couldn’t help it.
” Lesley in rehearsal with Yolanda Mitchell (Image: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan) Lesley, who is directing Wasps, the latest instalment of Oran Mor’s lunchtime theatre series, A Play, A Pie and A Pint, played Noreen Stack in series nine of Shetland. In a proper didn’t-see-that-coming twist, she turned out to be the killer, tracked down eventually by Jensen’s DI Ruth Calder and partner DI Tosh McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell). “Oh, I’m glad you didn’t guess it,” says Lesley, smiling.
“My parents were equally surprised. I wish I could have watched it with them just to see their faces. “Shetland is one of the best jobs I have ever done.
It’s tough, to film in such a remote place with the extreme weather – but it never felt fraught, it was just a real joy. “Ashley and Alison have great chemistry and they bring such a fresh new flavour, .
