Stuart McGugan

Stuart McGugan
McGugan (second from left) in the lineup of the It Ain't Half Hot Mum theme song, 1974
Born	(1944-03-02) 2 March 1944 (age 81) Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Occupation(s)	Actor, TV presenter
Years active	1966–present
Known for	It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981) Play School (1975–1986)

Stuart McGugan (born 2 March 1944) is a Scottish actor and television presenter. He is best known for the role of Gunner 'Atlas' Mackintosh in It Ain't Half Hot Mum and for being a presenter on the childrens show Play School.

Early life

McGugan was born in Stirling and raised in Letham and Westmuir. ^[1] He attended Forfar Academy, and after being kicked out got his first job was as a reporter for Kirriemuir Herald. ^{[1] [2]} McGugan had a life long love for drama, having performed stage shows when in boy scouts, and tried to apply to enter Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama when he was sixteen, but was denied due to lack of money and because of his gap in education from being kicked out of school. ^[2] He re-applied a few years later and was accepted, graduating in 1965. ^{[1] [2]} McGugan joined Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre of Scotland. ^[1]

Career

In the 1970s, McGugan worked in a Repertory theatre in Leeds when he got a phone call from his agent that Jimmy Perry and David Croft wanted to see him; he was doing eight shows a week so went to see them at a rehearsal room in London owned by the BBC. ^[3] He was interviewed by an executive, while Perry and Croft were finishing rehearsing for an episode of Dad's Army, and went back up to Leeds for a show. ^[3] He heard nothing else until around Christmas 1973 when he was asked to come down to film for a pilot episode of It Ain't Half Hot Mum; fortunately McGugan just so happened to have booked ten days off work and so went down to London to film it. ^[3] McGugan landed the role of Gunner 'Atlas' Mackintosh in It Ain't Half Hot Mum for fifty-six episodes from 1974 to 1981.

McGugan was a presenter on BBC's Play School from 1975; he regularly presented the programme for more than 10 years. ^[4] He played Bomba MacAteer in the 1987 series Tutti Frutti . ^{[5] [6]} McGugan appeared as Gordon Stewart in two series of the London Weekend Television (LWT) series Wish Me Luck between 1988 and 1989, in The Chief as Chief Superintendent Sean McCloud from 1993 to 1994, then in the mid-1990s was the pub owner Barney Meldrum in BBC Scotland's Hamish MacBeth . ^[7] He had a recurring role as a factory worker in the Perry/Croft sitcom You Rang, M'Lord? . ^[8] McGugan made his film debut in 1996 in an uncredited role as a taxi driver in Trainspotting .

He played the character Derek Simpson in Family Affairs in 1997. McGugan was in a Middle Ground Theatre Company tour of a stage adaptation of the 1960 film Tunes of Glory ; McGugan played Colonel Jock Sinclair, originally played by Alec Guinness in the film. The production visited Jersey, Wolverhampton and Perth, Scotland in early 2007. ^[9]

Personal life

McGugan was married to his first wife, Annie Long, from 1970 to 1982. ^[8] He met his second wife, Cordelia Monsey, in 1981 and started a relationship after his divorce, and married on new years eve 2018. ^[8] They have a child, Mitch (born 1988/1989), who is a classically trained violinst and heavy metal drummer who plays in the band Karybdis. ^[2]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Trainspotting	Taxi driver	Uncredited [10]
2012	The Echoes of Empire	Various roles [10]
2014	Gustaf	The voice of reason	Voice only, short film [10]
2017	The Fitzroy	Captain Hunt [10]
2018	Playing Dead	Alfie [10]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	This Man Craig	Micheal Dunn	One episode [10]
1967	The Revenue Men	Boy
1971	The View from Daniel Pike	Bell
1972	Madame Sin	Sailor
	Man of Straw	Major Fox	Two episodes [10]
	Thirty-Minute Theatre		One episode [10]
1973	Scotch on the Rocks	First policeman
1974—1981	It Ain't Half Hot Mum	Gunner 'Atlas' MacKintosh	Fifty-six episodes [10]
1975	Anne of Avonlea	Billy Gillis	One episode [10]
	Churchill's People	Auchinlech
	Six Days of Justice	P.C. Rankin
	Oil Strike North	Allan Miller
	The Sweeney	Hicks
1975—1986	Play School	Himself	Two hundred and seventy six episodes [10]
1976	Beasts	Jimmy Beattie	One episode [10]
1976—1995	This is Your Life	Himself	Two episodes [10]
1977	Rob Roy	Thorncliffe
	Dad's Army	The Scottish Sargent	One episode [10]
1978—1982	Record Breakers	Himself	Five episodes [10]
1979	Sykes	Jack	One episode [10]
	The Mourning Brooch	Samson	Two episodes [10]
1980	Star Turn	Himself
1980—1981	Play Away		Three episodes [10]
1982	Grey Granite	Jim Trease	Two episodes [10]
1984	Aladdin and the Forty Thieves	Thief	Television film [10]
	The Brief	Chief Supt. Mackay	One episode [10]
	The Cannon and Ball Show	Himself
1985	Oscar	Warden at Pentonville
	Operation Julie	D.S. Ron Staples	Television film [10]
	The Personal Touch	John
1986	Comrade Dad	Telephone Installer	One episode [10]
	The Sunday Premiere	Hotel guest
	The Happy Valley	Hotel Guest	Television film [10]
1987	Tutti Frutti	Bomba MacAteer	Six episodes [10]
1988	Floodtide	Det. Sgt. Marks	Two episodes [10]
	The Management	Inspector MacKintosh
	Taggart	Walter Fairley	Three episodes [10]
1989—1990	Wish Me Luck	Gordon Stewart	Eleven episodes [10]
1990—1993	You Rang, M'Lord?	Jock Macgregor	Five episodes [10]
1991	Spender	Alfie	One episode [10]
	Uncle Jack and the Loch Noch Monster	Robert	Five episodes [10]
1991—2007	The Bill	Various
1992—1994	The Chief	Sean McCloud	Thirteen episodes [10]
1993	Brookside	Psychiatrist	One episode [10]
	Strathblair	Grant	Two episodes [10]
1995—1997	Hamish Macbeth	Barney Meldrum	Ninteteen episodes [10]
1996	Some Kind of Life	Stuart Browning [10]
1997	Dalziel and Pascoe	Inspector Cruickshank	One episode [10]
1999—2000	Mike and Angelo	Derek Frost	Two episodes [10]
2000	The Creatives	Cameron	One episode [10]
	Little Bird	Eddie Hughes Snr.	Television film [10]
2001	Murphy's Law	Shopkeeper
2002	Heartbeat	Hemmings	One episode [10]
	Casualty	Martin Davidson
2003	Rockface	Hotel receptionist
	Silent Witness	George Franks
	Footballers' Wives	Barry	Two episodes [10]
2003—2010	Doctors	Harry McCree (2003), Pete Cameron (2010
2004	Family Affairs	Derek Simpson	Three episodes [10]
2007	Comedy Connections	Himself	One episode [10]
2009	Boy Meets Girl	Malcolm	Four episodes [10]
	Benidorm	Wink McAndrew	One episode [10]
2011	The Royal	Ken Letham
	Postcode	D. I. Flinn	Television film [10]
2019	Pointless Celebrities	Himself	One episode, partnered with Melvyn Hayes [10]

References

1. "Stuart McGugan from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
2. Veronique (24 July 2022). "An Interview with Actor and Writer Stuart McGugan". Living on Fascination. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
3. "54 - Stuart McGugan "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" Interview (April 2021)". Podomatic. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
4. 'Here's A House: The Story of Playschool', Volume 1 (Paul R Jackson, 2009)
5. "BFI Screenonline: Tutti Frutti (1987)". screenonline.org.uk.
6. "BFI Screenonline: It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974-81) Credits". screenonline.org.uk.
7. "Stuart Mcgugan". BFI. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019.
8. Robertson, Peter (26 April 2020). "TV legend was nearly fired from PlaySchool for trying to drop-kick Humpty". mirror.
9. "Middle Ground Theatre Company". Archived from the original on 20 February 2007.
10. "Stuart McGugan | Actor, Music Department, Soundtrack". IMDb. Retrieved 2 October 2025.

External links

• Stuart McGugan at IMDb