Lorraine McIntosh

Lorraine McIntosh
McIntosh performing with Deacon Blue in London, 2006
Background information
Born	Bridgeton, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Origin	Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland [1]
Genres	Alternative rock, pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, actress
Years active	1980–present
Member of	Deacon Blue
Spouse	Ricky Ross ​ (m. 1990)​

Lorraine McIntosh is a Scottish singer and actress. Alongside her husband Ricky Ross, she is one of the vocalists of the pop rock band Deacon Blue.

Career

McIntosh is a vocalist with Deacon Blue, whose second studio album, When the World Knows Your Name (1989), topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, ^{[2] [3]} and included "Real Gone Kid", which became their first UK top ten single. ^{[2] [4]}

McIntosh took a break from music to play the character Alice Henderson in the Scottish soap opera River City , which was set in a fictitious suburb of Glasgow. Her character first appeared in 2002 and was written out during May 2010. McIntosh has also appeared in a few Scottish films, including Ken Loach's My Name Is Joe , ^[5] and Lone Scherfig's Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself , ^[5] as well as in three episodes of the TV police-drama series Taggart . ^[5] She also starred in BBC One's comedy-drama Hope Springs . ^[5]

In November 2024, Abertay University honoured McIntosh with an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. ^[6]

Personal life

McIntosh married Deacon Blue lead singer Ricky Ross on 12 May 1990, and they have four children. ^{[7] [8]}

She is of maternal Irish Catholic descent: her mother, Sarah McIntosh ( née Gallagher), was from the townland of Dore in Gweedore, a district in the north-west of County Donegal in Ulster. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Discography

Further information: Deacon Blue discography

• Raintown (1987)
• When the World Knows Your Name (1989)
• Fellow Hoodlums (1991)
• Whatever You Say, Say Nothing (1993)
• Walking Back Home (1999)
• Homesick (2001)
• The Hipsters (2012)
• A New House (2014)
• Believers (2016)
• City of Love (2020)
• Riding on the Tide of Love (2021) ^[12]
• The Great Western Road (2025)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	My Name Is Joe	Maggie
2000	Aberdeen	Nurse
2002	Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself	Ruby
2004	Wise Guys	Pauline	Short film
2014	Gasping	AA Attendee	Short film
2016	West Skerra Light	Joan	Television film
2018	Long Night at Blackstone [13]	Faye Bowers	Television film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Screen Two	Deacon Blue - Girl in Graveyard	Series 7, Episode 10: "Dreaming"
1999	Psychos	Carrie Burns	Mini-series, Episode 5
	Life Support	Bethan Gilchrist	Episode 3: "The Price of Love" and Episode 5: "Soul and Conscience"
1999 2003 2008	Taggart	Cocktail Waitress Brenda Johnstone Sharon Nash	Series 15, Episode 4: "Long Time Dead" Series 19, Episode 6: "Halfway House" Series 24, Episode 7: "Safer"
2002	Fran's People	Janis Dunlop	Series 1, Episode 2
2002–2023	River City	Alice Henderson	4 episodes
2009	Hope Springs	Ina Harries	7 episodes
	Happy Hollidays	Rosalind	Episode 5: "Donkey"
2017	Scot Squad	Barbara Edwards	Series 4, Episode 2
2020	Outlander	Mrs. Sylvie	Series 5, Episode 10: "Mercy Shall Follow Me"
2021	Princess Mirror-Belle	Ruth	Episode 3: "Big Bad Wolf"
2023	Shetland	Heather Bain	Series 8, 2 episodes

References

1. English, Paul (1 July 2012). "Lorraine McIntosh: My childhood taught me how to handle poverty with dignity". Daily Record. Glasgow, Scotland: Daily Record. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
2. "Deacon Blue". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 16 September 2011.
3. "Deacon Blue – When The World Knows Your Name". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 16 September 2011.
4. "Deacon Blue – Real Gone Kid". Official Charts Company. 15 October 1988. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
5. "Deacon Blue". tvguide.com. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
6. "Deacon Blue star Lorraine McIntosh to receive Honorary Degree at Abertay University's winter graduation". Abertay. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
7. "Unknown". Glasgow Skyline. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
8. Watt, Laura. "Ricky Ross in tribute to tragic mum Andrea Kearney". Daily Record . Retrieved 27 May 2011.
9. "True blue". The Herald . 19 May 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
10. "Interview: Deacon Blue's Ricky Ross on the city behind the songs". The Scotsman . 15 September 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
11. "'Donegal will always be my spiritual home - popstar Lorraine'". Donegal Daily . 2 April 2021.
12. "Deacon Blue Share "Riding on the Tide of Love" Lyric Video – Watch + Listen". Rock 'N' Load. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021. Deacon Blue will release Riding on the Tide of Love, which features eight brand new songs, on February 5 via earMUSIC.
13. "Long Night At Blackstone cast and crew credits". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 5 August 2018.