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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Victoria Johns

Where are the stars of Balamory now as CBeebies show turns 20

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since kids show Balamory made its debut on the BBC.

In 1992 a generation of pre-schoolers were introduced to the likes of Miss Hoolie and PC Plum, who lived off the west coast of Scotland.

With over four series between 2002 and 2005, the nation fell in love with the show and its catchy theme tune - 'What’s the story in Balamory, wouldn’t you like to know?'

But then the programme came to an end and we were left wondering what happened to the show's quirky cast.

Well, they've certainly come a long way from Balamory. Here's the lowdown on where they are now.

Julie Wilson Nimmo - Miss Hoolie

Julie Wilson Nimmo starred as Miss Hoolie on the show (BBC)
The actress seen with her husband at the Pride of Scotland awards in 2022 (Stuart Wallace/REX/Shutterstock)

At the height of the show’s fame, Julie said she used to being mobbed by delighted toddlers and their parents in her local park in Glasgow’s west end.

“It wasn’t so much that they’d spot me, it was when I shouted on my own kids that they’d recognise my voice,” she told Glasgow Times.

Balamory went stratospheric after its debut with two million viewers a week in Britain.

Some 15 million kids across Europe tuned in and even the Pope was rumoured to be a fan, as the Vatican received it on the BBC Prime channel.

Recently, Julie received a reminder of how much the show still means to families across the country and beyond.

“I got a message from the uncle of a lovely boy in Ireland who has cerebral palsy and autism,” she explained “He asked me to do a wee video message for him, which I did, and his reaction went viral on Tik Tok. It was amazing."

Since Balamory, Julie has become one of Scotland’s best known actors, with regular appearances on stage and TV, most recently in BBC Scotland comedy Scot Squad, in which she ended up arresting Lorraine Kelly.

Andrew Agnew - PC Plum

PC Plum was Balamory's police officer (Geoff Moore/REX/Shutterstock)
He's now a pantomime veteran (Stuart Wallace/REX/Shutterstock)

PC Plum was Balamory's police officer - but working in a crime free village - he had little to do.

The aspiring detective took to the streets on his bike, making sure everyone was keeping their powder dry.

When Balamory came to an end, actor Andrew became a director for children's TV programmes.

The pantomime veteran, who has appeared in Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Aladdin and Cinderella, also had his own CBeebies live theatre show.

He would have starred on stage in Cat Harvey's Love Me Tinder in 2020, but it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Archie the inventor - Miles Jupp

Archie lived in a huge pink castle and sported a kilt.

The impassioned inventor was known for his amazing creations from random household objects such as yoghurt pots, plastic bottle and cardboard boxes.

Actor Miles went on to become a well-known stand-up, but admitted starring in Balamory almost scuppered his career.

Parents started bringing their kids to his comedy shows, assuming they were child-friendly, which meant the comic was forced to cut a load of gags from his Edinburgh Festival performance.

"I went on stage and there were 10 children in the front row. Nightmare," he told The Guardian.

"The show was only 40 minutes long and I had to keep cutting huge chunks of filth."

Juliet Cadzow - Eddie McCreadie

Bus driver Edie took all the kids to nursery in her striking yellow van.

The mechanic, who had travelled across the world, also helped to fix vehicles in her beautiful blue garage.

Actress Juliet went on to appear in Still Game, Doctor Who and Skins, as well as Scottish soap River City.

Her most recent role was in BBC thriller series Clique in 2018.

Miles said the show almost scuppered his comedy career (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Kim Tserkezie - Penny Pocket

Penny Pocket ran the village shop and cafe with Suzie Sweet - and was a bit of a whizz at maths.

Geordie actress Kim Tserkezie was diagnosed with a progressive neuromuscular disorder spinal muscular atrophy as a child and used a wheelchair for most of her life.

The actress was named as as one of the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK (Shaw Trust Power 100) in 2019.

In March 2021 Kim bagged two Royal Television Awards for her leading role in short film Obsession.

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