University in Glasgow on the hunt for Taggart archive investigator

Glasgow Caledonian University is searching for a PhD student to investigate an archive of Taggart scripts and memorabilia that were once owned by actress Blythe Duff.

The actress, who played Detective Inspector Jackie Reid in the police drama, donated scripts from 95 episodes to the university in 2018, along with a collection of material from her career, including books, press cuttings, awards and rare photographs.

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) is now seeking a PhD candidate to research the "really significant cultural archive" as part of a three-year studentship.

An archive of Glasgow

Duff made her first on-screen appearance in Taggart in the episode Death Comes Softly in 1990 and was part of the final cast in the last episode screened by STV, called Ends Of Justice, in 2010.

Speaking about her career-long material being used for a three-year long study, she said: "It's an extraordinary thing and I'm really delighted, slightly bashful about it, but I'm really happy that it's going to happen."

She added: "Not only is this an archive of Taggart, it is an archive of the city of Glasgow when it was there, when things were knocked down, so there's an awful lot more to the programme when you start to delve into it from an archival point of view.

"There is quite a lot to tap into and I think that'll be part of the challenge, for the PhD student to actually go, right what is my starting point - what do I need to sift through.

"It's an incredible investigation, and I look forward to feeding in some of my thoughts."

A window into Scottish TV history

Professor John Cook, of GCU's Department of Media and Journalism, said: "It is a really significant cultural archive. Blythe kept everything throughout her long and successful acting career.

"The archive gives us a new window not only into the history of Taggart and Scottish TV drama but wider Scottish culture, including tartan noir.

"We are delighted to offer the right student the opportunity to investigate this previously unexplored full archive."

Taggart also starred John Michie as Detective Inspector Robbie Ross.

The university said possible research themes include the contribution of the archive to understanding the history of Scottish TV drama production and scriptwriting, and the wider history of television and theatre in Scotland from the perspective of a female actress breaking into a male-dominated industry.

Professor Cook said the studentship will start this August, exactly 40 years after the first episode of Taggart aired in 1983.

Students on GCU's TV fiction writing course, which the university said is the only postgraduate course in the UK dedicated to writing television drama, use the scripts as part of their studies.

Anyone interested in applying for the PhD can find out more at https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/investigating-the-blythe-duff-archive/?p156293

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