Clare Grogan and John Gordon Sinclair go back to school

31 YEARS ON, IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL FOR GREGORY AND GIRL

John Gordon Sinclair and Clare Grogan take a nostalgic trip back to Abronhill High

At last, Gregory gets one of his girls back to the old school that made them both famous.

Film stars John Gordon Sinclair and Clare Grogan are taking the nostalgic trip back to Abronhill High in Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire, which formed the backdrop for their 1981 hit film Gregory’s Girl.

The pair are reunited at the school in documentary When Clare Grogan Met John Gordon Sinclair, to be broadcast by BBC2 on Tuesday, December 11.

These days, Abronhill High is set to be bulldozed, despite a campaign to save it.

Having both turned 50 this year, Grogan and Sinclair enjoy a meander down memory lane as they recall working together for the first time on the film that catapulted them to stardom at the age of 19.


Directed by Bill Forsyth, the cast list was a Who’s Who of Scottish talent with veterans such as Chic Murray, Alex Norton, John Bett and Dave Anderson also on board.

After sharing memories of making and promoting the film as teenagers, they reflect on their subsequent parallel careers as actors and singers – Grogan in the band Altered Images and Sinclair in stage musicals – though more recently he has taken to writing novels.

Glasgow-born Sinclair took the role of infatuated Gregory, with Clare and Dee Hepburn playing the girls who stole his heart. Hepburn, 51, capitalised on her break with a three-year stint on popular ITV soap Crossroads before quitting showbiz disillusioned to become  a full-time mother to two children.

Clare said: “I always thought of it as John Gordon Sinclair’s film. He’s amazing in it.

“The highlight was finding out what catering had for us, as the food was great. It was a blast.”

Abronhill High is facing closure under plans by North Lanarkshire Council to merge it with nearby Cumbernauld High.

A consultation into the proposed package of savings, which includes the closure of Abronhill, closed last week.

The council proposes to close the school from August 2013, with pupils going to Cumbernauld High, which itself may be replaced at a later date by a a new-build school. The Abronhill closure will save the council £1million a year.

Source (including photo): Express