Scottish actor Angus Lennie dies aged 84

Lennie had a long and successful acting career. Picture: Contributed

The Glasgow-born actor, who also starred in Keeping Up Appearances and Monarch of the Glen, passed away in a nursing home in London on Sunday.

His most famous movie role was portraying Scottish prisoner of war, Archibald “The Mole” Ives, in the 1963 blockbuster The Great Escape, when he starred opposite Hollywood legend Steve McQueen.

In a famous scene in the movie, his character is shot by German guards as he attempts to escape over the prison camp’s barbed wire fence. The film also starred Richard Attenborough, who died last month.

It was while playing the character of Ives that he also delivered a line of dialogue which has tested pub quiz fans ever since – namely which two Scottish racecourses are mentioned in the star-studded movie?

The answer is found in the scene between his character and Steve McQueen’s onscreen role of Virgil Hilts, also known as the “Cooler King”. Ives tells Hilts that he used to be a jockey back in his homeland and reminisces about he how used to love his visits to Musselburgh and Hamilton racecourses.

Lennie’s other film roles included appearances in 633 Squadron, Tunes of Glory and 1969 musical Oh! What a Lovely War, directed by his Great Escape colleague Richard Attenborough, with a cast that included Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Olivier.

Lennie’s other most notable role was that of amorous Scottish chef Shughie McFee in ITV’s Crossroads.

Having first joined the show in a small role in 1972, he returned as the saucy Shughie in 1974, spending nine years in the role while the show enjoyed its highest rating years, at its peak pulling in 18 million viewers a night.

Mike Garrett, of the Crossroads fan club, said: “Angus became one of the most popular and loved characters in Crossroads thanks to his perfectly timed comedy performances.

“While he had much success in films and other television series, he never forgot Crossroads and was always keen to be involved with reunion events. He had been unwell for quite some time, but always tried his best to remain in contact with his fans.”

His character of Shughie had blagged his way into working at the motel. Just one of many tall stories, he listed his previous work as being on a luxury cruise ship – it turned out to be a workers’ ferry on the Clyde.

In a 1981 interview with Titbits magazine, Lennie recalled how the viewers took the show very seriously.

“I was once in a large Birmingham department store, when an elegantly dressed lady rushed up to me and said ‘I hate you’,” he said.

Born in 1930, he spent his early years in Glasgow, attending Eastbank Academy in the city.

He also joined the Boys’ Brigade in Shettleston before taking up acting, first in amateur productions then landing parts in theatres across the UK.

He frequently returned to Scotland to appear in pantomime, often as a double act with his friend Stanley Baxter, their partnership as pantomime dames becoming part of the legend of Scottish theatre.

They are especially remembered for their Ugly Sisters in Cinderella at the King’s Theatres in Edinburgh and Glasgow in the early Eighties.

His last acting part was a recurring role as the butler Badger to Julian Fellowes’ character Lord Killwillie in BBC highlands drama Monarch of the Glen, before ill- health forced his retirement. Lennie’s last appearance on television was as a guest on ITV’s This Morning in 2005 to mark the 40th anniversary of Crossroads.

The Scottish star was also cast as a bagpipe-playing innkeeper during several appearances in Dr Who.