John Michie

Early life

Michie was born in Burma and boarded at Windlesham House School while his family were based in Kenya. The family later settled in Edinburgh, and he attended the boarding school Glenalmond College from the age of twelve. At the age of nineteen, he worked his passage to Australia on a cargo ship, where he spent a year as a jackaroo herding cattle before returning to Scotland. He took a job as a stagehand at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, where his interest in acting started. He returned to Kenya when he was 22, beginning his acting career in A Private Matter at the Donovan Maule Theatre, Nairobi in 1980.

Career

Films

Michie's first film role was in the 1989 film The Conquest of the South Pole but his first leading role came in the film adaptation, Monk Dawson in 1998. Based on the Piers Paul Read novel, it gained a good reception from the critics despite only a short run at the UK box office. Michie played the character David Baird in John Madden's 1996 film Truth or Dare starring Helen Baxendale and John Hannah.

In 1999, Michie starred alongside Richard Harris in To Walk with Lions, a film based on the life of George Adamson which featured Michie back in his childhood home of Kenya playing the wildlife conservationist Tony Fitzjohn.

Television

In 1989, Michie appeared in series 5 of Taggart. He appeared in Moon and Son in 1992. He then had a role in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries in 1994, co-starring with Colin Firth. He played a pet shop owner, in the two-part episode "Master of the Moor".

In 1998, he was given a regular part in Taggart, playing DI Robbie Ross, a dedicated detective not afraid to go about things his own way and fly in the face of authority when he needs to.

From 2011 to 2013, Michie played Karl Munro in Coronation Street. His character was the partner of Stella Price (Michelle Collins). Since leaving Coronation Street, Michie has played a regular role in hospital drama Holby City, playing Guy Self and while continuing the role in 2014, he has also appeared in its sister show Casualty. Michie left Holby City in November 2016 after Guy handed in his resignation but he returned in August 2017. It was announced in the autumn trailer that Guy will return during the 20th series.

In 2022, Michie played Detective Chief Superintendent Jack Mulgrew in series 3 of the BBC police drama London Kills.

Michie is the voice behind Windfall Films' Big, Bigger, Biggest and Monster Moves series for Five. Big, Bigger, Biggest explores the engineering marvel of large buildings and sky scrapers, while Monster Moves documents the most daring and dangerous relocation projects ever attempted. Other voice over work has included Channel 4's The Gunpowder Plot, and six titles in the series Football Stories.

Presenting

Michie's first presenting role was for the one-hour documentary Murder Capital, which was produced by STV for The Crime & Investigation Network. During filming of Murder Capital Michie met STV producer Mick McAvoy and together they developed the idea for Michie's next series, Highlands. This six-part historical documentary series focused on the Highland Clearances of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Michie also presented STV's Made in Scotland, for which he is also executive producer. This documentary series examines the symbols of Scotland.

Theatre

Michie began his acting career on the stage and has appeared in several West End productions. Past roles include playing Arthur in Jean Anouilh's comedy, Number One, at the Queen's Theatre in 1984. He also played John in Noël Coward's play, Easy Virtue, at the Garrick Theatre in 1988–1989, before going on to play Walker in Andrew Davies' Prin at the Lyric Theatre, 1989–1990, directed by actor/director Richard Wilson. Michie was directed by Wilson twice more in Michael Wall's Women Laughing at the Royal Court Theatre and in Simply Disconnected at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1996. He played Danny in Breed, a new play from emerging playwright Lou Ramsden, staged at Theatre503 in 2010.

Michie played Leontes in the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale (2017), the fireman in the Traverse Theatre's production of Rob Drummond's The Mack (2019), and John Rebus in Ian Rankin's A Game Called Malice at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch in February 2023. In autumn 2023, he played Professor Rennie in the Lyceum Theatre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre production of Peter Arnott's Group Portrait in a Summer Landscape.

Politics

In 2008, Michie publicly backed the Scottish Labour Party in the run up to the Glasgow East by-election. It later emerged that Michie, in a report for the BBC's This Week programme the previous year, appeared to back Scottish independence, which the Labour Party officially opposes. Michie said, "An independent Scotland would find a new confidence. It would slow down the brain-drain that causes this country to lose so many of its most brightest and most skilled." The Labour Party subsequently issued a statement on behalf of Michie claiming he did not support independence.

In August 2014, Michie was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Personal life

Michie has three children with his partner Carol Fletcher, a former Hot Gossip dancer. His nephew is actor Jamie Michie, who has appeared in The IT Crowd, Game of Thrones and alongside John in Karen Pirie and one episode of Taggart in 2010.

In September 2017, his 24-year-old daughter, Louella Fletcher-Michie, died at the Bestival music festival in Dorset after taking the recreational drug 2C-P. Her 28-year-old friend, Ceon Broughton – who had videoed her over a period of six hours hallucinating and begging for help, and failed to take her to the festival hospital tent only 400 metres away – was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder and questioned by police. In February 2019, Broughton appeared at Winchester Crown Court charged with manslaughter. On 28 February 2019, he was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence, as well as supplying a Class A drug, and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. His manslaughter conviction was quashed on 18 August 2020 after Court of Appeal judges ruled that Fletcher-Michie's death was an accident, but the conviction for supplying a Class A drug stood.

Filmography

Film

Television

Presenting

• Murder Capital (2007)
• Highlands (2008)
• Made in Scotland (2009)

Voice over

• Black Watch (BBC Scotland) (1997)
• Hellraisers (Channel 4) (2000)
• Fire, Plague, War and Treason (Channel 4) (2001)
• Gunpowder, Treason and Plot (Channel 4) (2001)
• The Volcano That Blew a World Away (Channel 4) (2001)
• First Out of Africa (Channel 4) (2001)
• Swamp Tigers (Cicada) (2001)
• Jimmy Hill: Football's First Revolutionary (Channel 4) (2002)
• Who Got the Bay City Rollers' Millions? (Channel 4) (2004)
• Amazon Abyss (BBC) (2005)
• Football Stories (Channel 4) (2006)
• Jock Stein (BBC) (2007)
• The Loch Ness Monster Revealed (Discovery Communications) (2008)
• Big, Bigger, Biggest (Windfall) (2008–2011)
• Monster Moves (Five) (2008–2014)
• Flying Squad: The Real Sweeney (ITN Factual) (2010)
• Animal Mega Moves (National Geographic) (2010)
• London Underground Revealed (National Geographic) (2011)
• Dirty Great Machines (Channel 5) (2012)
• Machines: How They Work (Quest) (2016)
• The Glencoe Massacre (BBC Scotland)
• Kelvingrove Museum (BBC Scotland)
• Test Pilots (Creation Company Films)
• In Search of Speed (IWC)
• Althrop: After Diana & Superstar on Trial (BBC)
• Art Crimes & South Sea Bubble (Wall to Wall)
• Confessions of a Spin Doctor (STV)
• Building the Biggest Cruise Ship (National Geographic)

Theatre

• Private Matter (1980) Donvan Maule Theatre, Nairobi
• Number One (1984) played Arthur at Queens Theatre
• Easy Virtue (1988–1989) played John at The Garrick Theatre
• Prin (1989–1990) played Walker at The Lyric Theatre
• Measure for Measure (1990) played The Duke in an Oxford Playhouse Production
• The Impresario from Smyrna (1994) at the Old Red Lion, London
• The Cherry Orchard (1994) National Tour
• Simply Disconnected (1996) played Greg at the Chichester Festival Theatre
• Breed (2010) played lead role of Danny at Theatre503 – nominated for an Offie award
• The Winter's Tale (2017) played Leontes at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
• Peter Pan (2018) played Captain Hook at the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury
• The Mack (2019) played the fireman at Òran Mór, Glasgow, and the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
• A Game Called Malice (2023) played John Rebus at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch
• Group Portrait in a Summer Landscape (2023) played Professor Rennie at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre and the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
• House at New Grove. Directed by Martin Clunes
• Dealing with Claire at the Orange Tree, Richmond with Tom Courtenay
• Don Juan played Don Juan in an Oxford Playhouse Production
• Bent played Rudy
• Ghosts played Oswald
• The Winslow Boy played Dickie
• Dangerous Corner played Gordon
• Equus played Alan
• Black Comedy played Brindsley
• Kes played McDowall
• Richard III played Hastings
• The Russian Revolution played Trotsky at Riverside Studios
• Women Laughing at the Royal Court Upstairs

References

References

1. Fulton, Rick. (18 July 2009). "John Michie: I could be Scotland's answer to Ross Kemp". Daily Record.
2. [http://www.programmes.stv.tv/taggart/ STV Programmes. Taggart]. Programmes.stv.tv. Retrieved on 5 September 2011.
3. "Meet the cast of BBC One's crime drama London Kills".
4. [http://www.windfallfilms.com Award Winning Television]. Windfall Films. Retrieved on 5 September 2011.
5. [http://video.stv.tv/bc/Programmes/programmes-highlands/ Highlands. STV Video] {{webarchive. link. (17 August 2009 . Video.stv.tv. Retrieved on 5 September 2011.)
6. [http://www.stv.tv/weather/82171-stv-unveils-slate-of-new-programmes-for-scotland STV Weather. Weather forecasts for Scotland and abroad] {{webarchive. link. (29 February 2012 . Stv.tv (13 March 2009). Retrieved on 5 September 2011.)
7. ''The Winter's Tale'' Theatre Programme, Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, February 2017
8. ''Group Portrait in a Summer Landscape'' Theatre Programme, Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh & Pitlochry Festival Theatre, September 2023
9. BBC online, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7511847.stm "Labour actor backed independence"], Jul 2008
10. (7 August 2014). "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian.
11. "My uncle – John Michie – tried to put me off acting but I'll soon star alongside him, says River City's Jamie Michie". Daily Record.
12. (11 September 2017). "Holby City star's daughter dies at Bestival". BBC News.
13. . (5 February 2019). ["Holby City star's daughter 'filmed dying at Bestival'"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-47122492).
14. (18 August 2020). "Bestival death: Ceon Broughton manslaughter conviction overturned". BBC News.
15. "Entirely Holby".