Made in Scotland

24 June 2009, 10:42

Alastair Campbell was Tony Blair's right-hand man throughout his premiership and built up a reputation as a ferocious pitbull in his role as Director of Communications for Number 10.

So much so, in fact, that he is said to have inspired fictional characters such as the hard-swearing Malcolm Tucker in the satirical comedy The Thick of It and the spin-off film, In the Loop.

He had a notable career in newspapers as a political journalist before he went to work for New Labour in 1994, when Tony Blair became leader of the re-energised party. Whatever your opinions of him, Alastair had a huge influence over Britain's political climate in the decade that was to follow.

However, there is another side to him. Although he grew up in Keighley, West Yorkshire, Alastair's father was a Gaelic speaker from the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides and his mother was from Ayrshire. This was a very Scottish household and Alastair and his brothers learned to play the pipes among other things.

In the programme he rejoins his brother Donald to play a duet, then travels to Lochaber to join the local band there in the shadow of Ben Nevis.

As he makes clear, the pipes did not originate in Scotland. In fact almost every country in Europe and the Middle East has some sort of instrument which uses a reservoir of air and has a drone. But only in Scotland did the great pipes develop to realise their full potential.

Made in Scotland - which celebrates the national "brands" that make Scotland what it is - is one of three special programmes created by STV, in association with the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, for the Year of Homecoming 2009. The other two are Scotland Revealed and The Greatest Scot.

The former is a new series of Scotland shot from above, all filmed in dazzling High Definition to reveal scenic images with a startling level of detail never seen before.

The Greatest Scot is a chance to settle the argument once and for all over who is the greatest Scot of them all. The public will get to vote on a shortlist of 30 names, with the winner being anonunced live on television on St Andrew's Day. 

• To watch the programme in full visit here

Last updated: 23 July 2009, 17:45