Obituary: Lesley Fitz-Simons, actress

The actress Lesley Fitz-Simons shot to fame in Scotland when she was cast in the popular soap Take the High Road (later shortened to High Road). She played Sheila Ramsay for 18 years and brought to it a sincerity and grace that reflected the (not always) calm nature of a Scottish village. Fitz-Simons had battled breast cancer since 2009 and had undergone surgery but the disease had returned. She was re-admitted to hospital just a week ago.

Fitz-Simons was a well-known star before she was cast in STV’s long-running drama. On television she had appeared in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Camerons and in The House on The Hill.

Many remember her for the many pantomime appearances she made throughout Scotland – particularly at the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow.

The chief executive of the Pavilion, Iain Gordon, said yesterday: “Lesley was a real sincere performer and great fun on and off the stage. She was one of the Pavilion family.”

One of Fitz-Simmons’ earliest television successes came in 1978 when she played Clara in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with Geraldine McQueen in the title role. The following year she was in five episodes of the popular BBC Scotland series, which starred Morag Hood and Graham Crowden.

In 1981 she was in House on the Hill, which portrayed the life of the inhabitants of a house in Glasgow over a century from 1880. The six plays were well received and Fitz-Simmons played Cora, alongside Brian Cox and Annette Crosbie.

Before she joined Take the High Road Fitz-Simmons was in an STV drama, The Spaver Connection, in which she co-starred with John Gordon Sinclair.

She in fact joined High Road in 1983 as Sheila Lamont but became a prominent member of the cast in 1987, playing Sheila Ramsay with a rare but endearing gusto.

The soap, set in fictitious Glendarroch (though often filmed in Helensburgh), made Fitz-Simmons a star and made her hugely popular throughout Scotland.

The character of Sheila was always credible and realistic and Fitz-Simons, with her elegant looks and winning smile, reflected those qualities ideally.

Fitz-Simons’ calm authority in front of the camera was ably demonstrated in a hectic 1990 storyline that involved a new free sheet being set up in Glendarroch. It was to open in the high street and compete with the paid-for newspaper where she worked. Fitz-Simons, with her flowing auburn locks, cheerfully made a coffee for the rival editor but the anxiety in her eyes and stilted manner spoke volumes.

Fitz-Simons made the character very much her own and brought to it a sense of joy that, many considered, was sadly missing after she left in November 1995. It had made her a star in Scotland and abroad, where the series had built a strong following among expatriate communities.

Fitz-Simmons worked tirelessly on behalf of animal charities. She was patron of the Canine Concern Scotland Trust and a regular attender of the Scottish Showbiz Benevolent Fund Ball.

Fitz-Simons gave of her time willingly to add a touch of glamour by opening such events as the PDSA hospital in Edinburgh’s Gorgie in 2009.

In 1994 she led a sponsored team over an army assault course in aid of The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust. Other charities she supported included Wellbeing and The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals.

Colleagues who worked with Fitz-Simons testify to her complete generosity and concern for others, both in the studio and in her personal life.

One commented: “You always saw Lesley with a smile on her face and she was always on hand to help with re-takes. She had time for everyone.”

Gary Hollywood (now a star of Mrs Brown’s Boys) played her adopted son Dominic in High Road and remembered her with particular affection yesterday. “She really took me under her wing on High Road. I was only 14 at the time and she’d only been 14 when she started acting so she understood what it was like for me early in my career. We were very close and she taught me so much.”

Her professionalism was demonstrated when she appeared in a glamorous sparkling black dress at a charity fashion show in Falkirk in 1994 with the comedian John Manning. The microphones were erratic and the lights went out.

Without a pause Fitz-Simmons carried on regardless: “On we go. Have we a bridesmaid’s dress and a bridesmaid wearing it?”

Lesley Fitz-Simons lived in Milton of Campsie in Dunbartonshire. Her marriage to actor Calum Thomson was dissolved. She is survived by their daughter Marnie and her mother Sheila.

ALASDAIR STEPHEN