The BBC drama Monarch of the Glen is set to return after a 20-year absence, with a six-part reboot commissioned by Channel 5. The original series, which ran for seven series from 2000 to 2005, was a Sunday-night favourite, attracting up to eight million viewers at its peak. Set in the Scottish Highlands, it starred the late Richard Briers as laird Hector MacDonald, Susan Hampshire as his wife Molly, and Alastair Mackenzie as their son Archie.
The new version, produced by Ecosse Films, will introduce a fresh storyline. It follows Isla Campbell, a high-flying London lawyer who returns to her family's crumbling Highland estate for her estranged father's funeral. Expecting a brief stay, she instead discovers she has inherited a million-pound debt and must work with her brother to save the ancestral home from the bank.
Jeremy Brock, creator of A Very Royal Scandal and The Last King of Scotland, will write and executive produce the reboot. He has promised a “rich, romantic and humorous family saga” with new characters. Filming is scheduled for later this year in Scotland and Northern Ireland, though no cast has been announced yet.
The original show was known for its ensemble cast, including Julian Fellowes (later of Downton Abbey), Tom Baker, Martin Compston, and Alexander Morton, who appeared in all 64 episodes and died earlier this year. The reboot will air on Channel 5 in the UK and on Masterpiece in the US.
