Edinburgh woman's 'incredible' time on Netflix set to offer her unique expertise
An Edinburgh womans unique experience led her to the set of the newly-released Netflix series Department Q.
Heather Muir, a contact lens technician at independent practice in the capital, played a behind-the-scenes role in the show - which was filmed in and around Edinburgh. A 'seasoned expert' in handling contact lenses, Heather was brought on for specalist support.
She worked closely with actors and makeup artists for the series, with hit Netflix on Thursday, April 29. The thriller show follows a former top detective who takes on a cold- case, transforming an Edinburgh basement into a 'well-oiled machine' filled with misfit officers.
Heather commented on her experience while on set, saying: "It was an incredible experience to collaborate with such a talented production team.
"Blending medical expertise with the creative world of television was a unique opportunity, and it was a memorable experience to be on location with the production team."
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Heather works with Cameron Optometry, and also worked on Guillermo Del Toro's latest blockbuster which was filmed in Edinburgh.
Department Q features plenty of familiar faces from shows such as Downton Abbey, Shetland and Call the Midwife. You'll spot the likes of Matthew Goode, Kelly MacDonald, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne and Jamie Sives.
Filming for the series took place in early 2024, with cast and crew descending on spots around the city including housing estates in Wester Hailes, City Chambers, and The Signet Library.
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Leah Byrne, who plays Rose, spoke exclusively to Reach about her experience on set with fellow actor Alexej Manvelov, who plays Akram.
Speaking about the abundance of Scottish talent on the show, she said: "It was so cool, such a joy for me. I'm from Glasgow so I just had to nip down the road and we were filming this amazing show.
"But it's so authentically Scottish as well. It doesn't feel like it's trying to be something it's not. It doesn't have to try hard and it's just in its blood."
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Metro
38 minutes ago
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'My second film took a decade to make and is 'not your average period drama''
Director John Maclean is back in cinemas this summer with his second film, a decade after his award-winning and critically acclaimed debut, Slow West. The revisionist Western starring Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee saw him named by Bafta as 'a Brit to Watch' and claim a jury prize at Sundance. It was dubbed one of the films of the year and still has a 92% score from critics on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. And now Maclean's finally returned with his second film – 'notoriously difficult' in Britain, he says – a Scottish samurai Western, naturally. Starring Jack Lowden, Tim Roth, Japanese model and songwriter Kōki and Shogun's Takehiro Hira, Tornado sees a Japanese puppeteer's daughter get caught up with criminals when their show crosses paths with a crime gang in 18th-century rural Scotland. A refreshingly unusual combination of things, Maclean reveals that Tornado 'led on' from Slow West as an idea, examining the concept of nationality again. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'In America in 1860, people were from all over the world, they weren't American yet. Then I thought the same about Britain – that it could be a multicultural place, and there could be a Japanese samurai, a French weightlifter, an Irish bandit,' the Scottish filmmaker tells me at the Sands International Film Festival in April, where Tornado is previewing as the closing film. 'I added to that my love of Japanese cinema and thinking, 'Oh I'd love to do a samurai film, but I'm not Japanese – so what's my way in?' The way in was a father-daughter relationship, family and setting it in a Britain of people from all over the place.' Maclean, who is also a founding member of indie-rock group The Beta Band, tells me that Tornado was based on an old music video he filmed with the group 25 years ago too, in the exact same location. People don't normally make a Western as their first feature film, like he did, but Maclean actually saw Tornado as his opportunity to 'play a lot more' with the Western tropes. He was also keen to shake up how British history is traditionally thought of at this time. 'It's always been viewed through novels or class systems or kings and queens, and I just thought there was a place for historic Britain full of more of your outsiders: circus performers and poets and musicians and bandits.' For him, there was also a parallel between Tornado and Slow West with great changes on the horizon. 'Setting it in 1790 I felt was a kind of equivalent to the 1860 West, when things were about to change drastically – the law and the Peelers were coming, and the industrial revolution was coming, and swords were becoming guns,' Maclean points out. Taking a decade between the releases of Slow West and Tornado was not intentional; Maclean's screenplay was written by 2018 and he jokes he was 'going as fast as I possibly could'. But it turns out even if you've made a splash with your first film – and he'd won a Bafta for his 2011 short Pitch Black Heist starring Fassbender and Liam Cunningham prior as well – you are far from set up for smooth sailing the second time around. 'It was just hard to get funding. I thought it would be easier because Slow West was a decent first attempt. In Britain, second films are notoriously difficult to get off the ground,' he admits. As to why, he ponders if maybe the script 'came across as not the trendiest of subjects' but also reckons it was to do with the film's titular hero being a young girl and 'so she has to be a kind of new face'. It was just hard to get funding. 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If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Human leg washes up on beach 80 miles from missing man's body MORE: Energy price cap comes down with average household saving £11 a month MORE: Child drove through Scottish village barefoot listening to Sugababes
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Alan Cumming and Val McDermid receive honours for culture contribution
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