Caron McKinlay, TV Reporter
Published: 14:15, 22 Nov 2024
Updated: 14:15, 22 Nov 2024
Gregor explains that he enjoys acting because it lets him pretend to be someone else
GREGOR Fisher has opened up about being orphaned and adopted at three after his mother died - and that he didn't find his siblings for decades.
Only Child star Gregor was born in a village near Stirling in 1953 and his mother Kit McKenzie had two other children, but she had a heart problem and died when the actor was three.
Gregor was adopted after his mother died when he was only threeCredit: Alamy
He is probably best known for his character Rab C NesbittCredit: Handout
He plays the role of Ken in the new comedy show Only ChildCredit: BBC
Gregor and his two sisters were split up - against his mum's wishes - and he was adopted by Jim and Ellen Fisher.
However, Ellen died and Jim's sister Cis took him to a place near Barrhead to live with her and her family instead.
He had a loving family with his mother Cis and it wasn't until he was 18 that he discovered that he had a sister called Maureen - and to his surprise - other relatives.
In his memoir called The Boy From Nowhere, written with journalist Melanie Reid, Gregor went on a journey to find out the truth about his origins and to discover what happened to his birth mother.
In an interview with The Scotsman about his new comedy series, Only Child, which he stars alongside Greg McHugh from The A Word. Gregor revealed how his upbringing affected him.
When asked if it meant he looked for stability in his life he replied: “Yes. It’s not a conscious thing, but family is important to me. I suppose you always attract the things you need."
"Sometimes the things you get are maybe not the things you want but you probably need them, in a lesson from the universe. You think why does this keep happening?
"Maybe you haven’t progressed Gregor, maybe because you haven’t learnt the bloody lesson boy!”
When prompted to explain what lessons he had learnt over the years Gregor replied: "“Ahhhhh, I knew that was coming. I think acceptance and to not take things too seriously.
"Not get so bloody wound up about things, and accept there are things you can do very little about.
"It’s a buggeration but there’s nothing you can do about it. And to be grateful, because there’s a lot to be grateful for.”
The Rab C. Nesbitt star then explained how he went into acting because he enjoyed pretending to be someone else and added: "I find that increasingly interesting now I’m an old boy. I just find it great fun and very engaging.
"I can remember as a child getting dressed up in bed sheets, and building a camp
underneath the kitchen table and inviting my mother into my tent in the middle of the desert.”
In his new show Only Child, subjects like grief and pensioners losing the plot don’t sound like a barrel of laughs, but they’re handled beautifully.
Gregor explained: “We avoided mawkish. We’re not making a documentary. It’s a half-hour amusement so we held back on that and played the reality of it.
“I hope in these scenes where life and death get talked about, or whatever it is being talked about, we play the truth and move on.”
As well as Gregor and his co-star Greg, Only Child has appearances from Amy Lennox, Stuart Bowman, Clare Barrett, Robin Laing and Paul Rattray, with Jennifer Saunders as the voice of Richard’s acting agent.
Gregor plays Ken, a 71-year-old, strong-willed technophobe living in the north-east coast of Scotland, who has recently lost his wife.
His son, Richard has a part in a daytime drama until his agent casually tells him the show’s over, while he’s back in Scotland visiting Ken, who’s struggling.
Soon Richard’s battling bank call centres for hours about his dad’s forgotten passwords and diffusing tension with Ken’s neighbours.
But could being stuck with dad at least lead to romance for Richard?
Gregor enjoys acting because it means he can pretend to be someone elseCredit: BBC
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