Exclusive:Liza Goddard: Renowned English actress 'a bit frightened' about debuting Scottish accent in Edinburgh play

The Croft tells the story of the last woman to live on a remote croft in Applecross.

Actress Liza Goddard has said she is "a bit frightened" to debut her Scottish accent when she performs on stage in Edinburgh next month.

The 75-year-old star, who has appeared in TV shows including Doctor Who and Bergerac, as well as 1969 series Take Three Girls, said she had been "trying out" her accent in shops in preparation for playing 19th-century crofter Enid McRae in a production of play The Croft, at the Festival Theatre. The play has already been performed in theatres across England.

Ms Goddard also revealed she had enlisted the help of Lewis folk singer Dolina Maclennan to help her pronounce some Gaelic phrases required for the part.

Based on a true story, The Croft, which also stars Coronation Street and Casualty star Gray O’Brien, charts the life of the last woman to live on a remote croft on the Applecross peninsula.

“I’m a bit frightened about performing in Edinburgh,” Ms Goddard said. “I've had lots of practice and a very good voice teacher. Sometimes, apparently, I go to Morningside, but mostly I stay in the Highlands.

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“I quite like accents. I do practice all the time in shops. I don't know why I feel that people in shops are going to say ‘oh, you're not Scottish’. But of course, they don't. They're probably accepting of however you talk.

Liza Goddard stars as Enid. | The Croft

“So, I don't know if that's a good thing, but I have a happy time being Scottish most of the time.”

Ms Goddard added: “Gray [O’Brien] is very useful because he’ll tell me if my vowels are going a bit south.”

Mr O’Brien said the pair have a ritual to get Ms Goddard into her Scottish accent before going on stage.

“I say ‘guid’ and she says ‘guid’ and then I say ‘aye’ and she says ‘aye’,” he said. “Her accent is pretty good. She’s so jolly hockey sticks normally that it is funny to see her playing this dour, crofter woman.”

He added: “It’s been a really difficult play. It makes you feel guilty that people are turning these old crofts into holiday homes, after all that happened in the Clearances. I know the audience in Edinburgh will have a good awareness of that. I’m not sure how much our audiences in England knew before.”

The Croft writer Ali Milles was inspired by stories of local women told at the Applecross visitor centre. The play moves between the life of Ms McRae, in the 1870s, to modern times, when other characters stay at a holiday home next door to Ms McRae’s remote croft.

Ms Goddard said she had called on Ms Maclennan, a friend of Scottish actor John Bett, to help her with the Gaelic lines.

Liza Goddard, while appearing in Bergerac in 1997 | PA

She said: “She very kindly recorded it for me so I could then practice. I feel confident doing it all because of her. It'll be a great treat to meet her when she comes to Edinburgh to see the play.”

Director Alastair Whatley said he found the location a "really spooky place" when he visited out of season to get a feel for the area before starting work on the play. He recounted finding himself in the Applecross Inn with just one other guest.

“I went up and I visited it a few times, and it's an amazing, beautiful place,” he said. “But when it's raining and it's dark and you're on your own, it's a really spooky place.”

Mr Whatley said of staying at the award-winning Applecross Inn: “It was just me and one other guest, who I never met, and the owners. It was the off season and nothing was open out there, and it was pouring with rain. It was really kind of bleak, but also magical, it was quite easy to get into the play.”

He added: “There's something about it, particularly when you learn the history and the tragedy that's come its way, which is quite powerful.”

The Croft will perform its only Scottish dates at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre from June 25.