A well-known Lanarkshire actor is preparing to make his presenting debut by finding out more about Scotland's new towns, including the one he grew up in.
In his new programme, Meet You At The Hippos, Mark Bonnar, star of Guilt, Unforgotten and Line Of Duty, explores the street sculptures made by artists including his own dad in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Mark's father, Stan, made sculptures that remain to this day on the streets of places such as Glenrothes, East Kilbride, and the Scottish new town that never was, Stonehouse.
These new towns employed artists to produce works for the housing precincts the new residents were moving into.
Stan Bonnar was the first assistant to town artist David Harding in Glenrothes in the early 1970s, before he became a town artist himself at East Kilbride and Stonehouse Development Corporation later on that decade.
Stan's first new town artwork was the concrete hippos that have adorned Glenrothes for almost 50 years. He also went on to design concrete elephants for both East Kilbride and Stonehouse.
Mark recalls playing on some of the structures when he was growing up, such as the Untitled Sculpture, a large abstract work by Jim Barclay.
This used to be situated in Princes Square in East Kilbride town centre, but it has now been moved to the park beside Dollan Aqua Centre.
Mark Bonnar said: “Thanks to my dad, who worked as a town artist in Glenrothes and East Kilbride in the 1970s, art - particularly town art - has been in my life since I was a wee boy.
"Glenrothes residents across the generations know dad’s concrete hippos well, while in East Kilbride and in Stonehouse, his concrete elephants are also a familiar landmark.
“I’ve been on a safari through Scotland’s five new towns to find out how the art came into the world and became an integral part of these post-war towns.”
Meet You At The Hippos will air next Tuesday, November 30 on BBC Scotland at 10pm.
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