Inside Outlander star Lauren Lyle's life before Karen Pirie role
Lauren Lyle is set to reprise her role as Karen Pirie in the second series of the ITV detective drama.
The 32-year-old actress is perhaps most recognised for her portrayal of Marsali MacKimmie Fraser in Outlander, where she stars alongside Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan.
Her acting credits also include playing Jade Antoniak in the BBC's Vigil, as well as roles in Netflix's Toxic Town and The Bombing on Pan Am 103.
On the theatrical front, Lauren has graced the stage in productions such as The Crucible, Wuthering Heights, Consensual and Merchant of Venice.
She first made a name for herself in the West End after relocating to London at 19, which was followed by her television debut on BBC Three's BBC Comedy Feeds, in an episode titled Radges, reports the Express.
Subsequently, she appeared in Holby City and starred opposite Sean Bean in the BBC drama Broken.
Her breakthrough role came in 2017 with Outlander, and the following year saw Lauren feature in the film adaptation of Fiona Shaw's novel Tell It to the Bees, sharing screen time with Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger.
In addition to her acting career, Lauren hosts a podcast called She's A Rec, where she engages guests in discussions about their top picks for albums, films, books and influential female figures.
Her portrayal of the intrepid young Scottish detective Karen Pirie earned her the accolades of Best Actress - Television and Favourite Scot on Screen at the 2023 Bafta Awards Scotland.
Lauren previously spoke to The Sunday Post about her journey to fame, recalling how she moved to London and shared a house with four strangers while working multiple part-time jobs in an attempt to secure her big break.
During the interview, she revealed: "I came to London to audition for drama schools and came close but didn't get in. I think I'd only been to London once before as a kid but didn't remember it.
"I was so hungry for it, and being around other actors in this world was so thrilling and I knew this was what I wanted to do and the place to do it."
Lauren, who confessed to having always had a "deluded confidence" and a fiercely competitive nature, had held various positions - ranging from dog walker and flyering, to working as a receptionist, and even stocktaking at Zara - for several months.
This was all before her life changed when she landed the two significant roles in Outlander and Broken within mere weeks of each other.
Lauren candidly described the journey as a struggle, saying: "It was bleak at times but I loved going to the theatre and seeing this life dangled in front of me. It was quite inspiring," but expressed that going to the theatre served as an inspiration for her.
When not on-screen, Lauren has largely maintained a low-profile, except when giving glimpses into her professional life and travels on social media.
However, she did use the opportunity during the 2023 interview with The Sunday Post to acknowledge her romantic relationship, confirming that her boyfriend would be joining her at the Baftas.
Lauren shared: "My parents are coming - my dad has a new velvet jacket to go with his tartan troos - as is my boyfriend, who is South-African-Australian, but we've recently discovered he has lots of Scottish heritage, so he might wear a kilt."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
3 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Film reviews: Freakier Friday
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Freakier Friday (PG) ★★☆☆☆ The Kingdom (15) ★★★★☆ Another week, another legacy sequel. This time it's Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan trotting out a belated follow-up to their 2003 body swapping box-office hit Freaky Friday, itself a remake of the third most famous Jodie Foster film of 1976 (after Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone). In the Lohan/Curtis version, Lohan played angsty teen to Curtis's overly critical psychoanalyst mother, with the body swap shenanigans helping resolve the former's resistance to her mother's impending nuptials and the latter's despair at her daughter's pop star ambitions and mild teen rebellion. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in Freakier Friday | Glen Wilson Freakier Friday picks up the story in real time, with Lohan's Anna now a single mother with a teenage daughter of her own (played by Julia Butters, who went toe-to-toe with Leonardo Di Caprio as the precocious child actor in Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood), and Curtis's Tess on hand with all manner of passive-aggressive parenting advice. The body swapping twist comes when Anna falls for the British father of her daughter Harper's school nemesis, Lily, a newly arrived English rose whose elitist personality rubs this dungaree-wearing surfer-girl up the wrong way (Sophia Hammons plays Lily; Manny Jacinto — from Netflix show The Good Place — plays her dad). With neither daughter of this soon-to-be-blended family happy about what their parents' marriage will mean for their futures, some spiritual jiggery-pokery from a psychic on the weekend of the wedding results in Harper and her mum switching bodies and Lily trading hers, not with her dad (that would be too problematic for a Disney film), but with Harper's grandmother Tess. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The latter perhaps justifies the 'Freakier' part of the title, but doesn't make a lot of sense beyond providing a way to centre Curtis as its star. That also means Curtis gets most of the best scenes, with Lohan relegated to straight woman, thanklessly sandwiched between Curtis's Lily-as-Tess freaking out about suddenly having 'crevices' in her face and peeing at inopportune moments and the Gen-Z Butters and Hammons (inhabiting the newly liberated spirit of their elders) cramming junk-food into their faces like they're in a kid-friendly remake of The Substance. There are a couple of funny lines (Facebook is described as a datastore for old people) and Curtis in comedy mode is always good value. But a lot of the humour is very bitty, dependent on pratfalls, groaning intergenerational misunderstandings, and comedians in small roles throwing jokes at a wall to see which ones will stick (very few of them do). It also relies on a lot of call-backs to that dim-and-distant first film, yet lacks the elegant simplicity of that film's plot. The result is an overly busy film that's short on actual laughs and a lot less fun to watch than the cast — per the end-credits blooper reel — clearly had making it. The Kingdom | Contributed From The Godfather to The Sopranos, the domestic realities behind organised crime are a staple of movies and TV shows about the mob, so all credit to slow-burning Corsican crime film The Kingdom for finding an intriguing new way to explore the skewed work-life balance of this heightened dynamic. Rather than zeroing in on the patriarchal head of a crime syndicate, writer/director Julien Colonna focuses instead on said gangster's teenage daughter, making a film that combines the dreaminess of a coming-of-age movie with the hard-hitting violence of a gangster film — like The Godfather if it had been directed by Sofia Coppola rather than Francis. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Set in 1995, it revolves around 15-year-old schoolgirl Lesia (newcomer Ghjuvanna Benedetti), who's not at all happy when the languorous summer holidays she plans to spend flirting with local boys in the Corsican seaside village she resides in with her aunt is rudely interrupted by her estranged father, Pierre-Paul (Saveriu Santucci), summoning her to stay with him in a secluded villa with only a bunch of middle-aged, out-of-shape henchmen for company. Though it's not clear at first how much Lesia knows about the family business (the film is good at depicting the veil of ignorance that all kids have about their parents' actual lives), as news reports filter in about a series of assassinations in which Pierre-Paul might have been the intended target, the hushed conversations she witnesses between her father and his men help her put two-and-two together and their planned bonding time soon evolves into a father-daughter road trip to escape the police and, more importantly, the rivals circling Pierre-Paul's cloistered kingdom. Of course, the opening shot of Lesia never leaves us in any doubt about where this is all going (it involves her being bloodied in a hunting ritual). Nevertheless, the film's patience in letting us experience this world through her eyes makes the violence much more forceful when it does come. Benedetti, meanwhile, is superb — her face a quiet study in innocence corrupted as her father's regretful choices seep into her by osmosis, hardening her to a life she's fated to follow.
The Herald Scotland
3 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Wednesday season 2: Netflix release time, cast and more
The second season will see the return of Jenna Ortega (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Death of a Unicorn and Scream) as Wednesday Addams. While fellow cast members, including Catherine Zeta-Jones (Morticia Addams), Luis Guzmán (Gomez Addams), and Emma Myers (Enid Sinclair), will also be back for the new season. They will be joined by new faces like Joanna Lumley (Grandmama Hester Frump), Steve Buscemi (Principal Dort), Billie Piper (Isadora Capri) and Christopher Lloyd (Professor Orloff). Ahead of the release of Wednesday, season two, we have rounded up everything you need to know, from how season one ended and the new-look cast, to the upcoming episode titles and whether or not there will be a season three. How did season 1 of Wednesday end? (SPOILERS) The first season of Wednesday remains the most-viewed English-language series on Netflix of all time. The finale saw Wednesday Addams (Ortega) confirm her suspicions that Tyler (Hunter Doohan) is the Hyde terrorising Nevermore Academy. She also discovers the hidden identity of Tyler's master - Marilyn Thornhill, aka Laurel Gates (Christina Ricci). Wednesday eventually wins out over the pair and saves Nevermore. Season one ends with Ortega's character driving away from school with her family, armed with her very first mobile phone. In the last scene of the finale, she receives multiple texts from an unknown contact. "The Stalker" sends a few photos of Wednesday with her love interests, a Memoji-style gif of a Wednesday avatar being stabbed in the head, and a text reading, 'I'm watching you.' Short recap of 'WEDNESDAY' Season 1! Season 2 Vol.1 releases in 3 weeks on August 6! — Wednesday (@WednesdaysDaily) July 16, 2025 Ortega, speaking to Netflix's Tudum, said: "We ended Season 1 with a stalker that was still after me. Tyler has been sent to a psych ward, and half the school is burnt down. 'We start off Season 2 with Wednesday being kidnapped.' What time does Wednesday come out on Netflix? Fittingly, part one of Wednesday, season 2, will be released on Wednesday (August 6). The first four episodes of Wednesday (season 2), which make up part one, will be available to watch in the UK on Netflix from 8 am. Part Two will be released on September 3, 2025. When does Netflix release shows? What to expect in the new Wednesday series? In the new season, Wednesday Addams (Ortega) must "navigate family, friends, and old adversaries, propelling her into another year of delightfully dark and kooky mayhem", Netflix explains. Armed with her signature razor-sharp wit and deadpan charm, Wednesday is also plunged into a new bone-chilling supernatural mystery. Co-creators, showrunners, and executive producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, speaking to Tudum, added: "Wednesday goes into this season thinking she knows Nevermore. 'But as soon as she returns, nothing happens the way she's expecting. "She thinks she's going to be in control, that she knows where all the bodies are buried, but she doesn't. "Nothing is what it seems in Season 2.' Episode titles The episode titles for part one of Wednesday, season 2, have also been revealed: Episode 1: 'Here We Woe Again' Episode 2: 'The Devil You Woe' Episode 3: 'Call of the Woe' Episode 4: 'If These Woes Could Talk' WATCH: Sneak peek at the first 6 minutes of Wednesday season 2 Wednesday (season 2) cast The season two cast for Wednesday will feature: Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams Victor Dorobantu as Thing Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams Joanna Lumley as Grandmama Hester Frump Joonas Suotamo as Lurch Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay Moosa Mostafa as Eugene Ottinger Georgie Farmer as Ajax Petropolus Noah B. Taylor as Bruno Evie Templeton as Agnes DeMille Steve Buscemi as Principal Dort Billie Piper as Isadora Capri Christopher Lloyd as Professor Orloff Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo as Sheriff Ritchie Santiago Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin Owen Painter as Slurp Thandiwe Newton as Dr. Rachael Fairburn Heather Matarazzo as Judi How old was Jenna Ortega in Wednesday? Ortega was born on September 27, 2002, which means she is currently 22 years old. Filming for Wednesday took place primarily in Northern Ireland between April and November 2024, according to Deadline. This meant Ortgea was 21 when she began filming season two of Wednesday, and 22 when it came to an end. Jenna Ortega is back as Wednesday Addams. (Image: Jonathan Hession/Netflix/PA) Will there be a Wednesday season 3? Wednesday has already been renewed for a third season, Netflix has confirmed. Co-creator and showrunner Alfred Gough said: '[Co-creator and co-showrunner] Miles [Millar] and I have been doing this long enough to know that shows like this don't come along every day. "It's such an alchemy of writing, directing, acting, crew, streamer, studio, and fans. "We remain grateful and excited to continue this journey and tell these stories with all of our partners.' Netflix said season three promises to go "even further, on every level". RECOMMENDED READING: Gough continued: 'Our goal for Season 3 is the same as it is for every season: to make it the best season of Wednesday we possibly can. 'We want to continue digging deeper into our characters while expanding the world of Nevermore and Wednesday.' Miles Millar added: 'We will be seeing more Addams Family members and learning more family secrets in Season 3!'
Telegraph
3 minutes ago
- Telegraph
‘I worked with Steve Wright for 30 years. The BBC has tarnished his legacy'
Later this month, BBC Radio 2 will broadcast a tribute concert for Steve Wright – the adored DJ, who died last February. It will feature the bespoke jingles that were such a crucial part of shows such as Steve Wright in the Afternoon and Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs, but the man behind those jingles, Anthony James, is not involved. Since Wright's death at the age of 69, James says he has been dismayed by the BBC's handling of his friend's legacy – and haunted by what he sees as mistreatment by the corporation in the years leading up to his death. The pair first met in 1986 when James (known professionally as AJ) was a teenager. He had already begun working in local radio, composing unique musical idents for the station's presenters. A fan of Wright's BBC shows, James sent him a 30-second piece of music, with his 'cold pitch' resulting in a phone call to his home soon afterwards. 'My mother picked it up and ran upstairs and said, 'Oh my God, it's Steve Wright on the phone.' I thought it was one of my friends doing a prank,' James reflects, but it was Wright, promising that he would play the tune on his show at 3pm that very afternoon. So began a partnership that James describes as '50-50 friendship, 50-50 like a father figure'. At the outset, Wright appeared to him 'like the Wizard of Oz: he was this great big celebrity on one of the biggest stations in Europe'. When James moved to New York in the late 1990s to continue his career as a composer (still writing around 100 jingles a year across Wright's shows), their friendship continued to develop: 'He would tell me a lot of personal stuff, which was great. But first, he would always want to know what was up with me, what was going on in my world… He was very sensitive, very conscious of how I was doing.' Wright visited James in New York often; they spoke on the phone two or three times a week. He remembers Wright's levity during their calls. 'I miss that, big time. I would always get off the phone with Steve and I'd have laughed so much, because he just found humour in everything.' In the years leading up to his death, however, Wright would suffer a series of personal and professional setbacks. The first came in 2022, when Steve Wright in the Afternoon was axed by the BBC. Wright called a tearful James once the news broke; both saw the move as 'crazy; our numbers [were] through the roof'. Wright admitted that he had been told of its cancellation and sworn to secrecy by the organisation nine months prior, but was reassured by promises made by Helen Thomas, the head of BBC Radio 2, that the show would live on via a yet-to-be-created digital channel. When that prospect began looking increasingly unlikely, Wright approached Tim Davie, the director-general. According to James, Davie told Wright: 'I can't believe she fired you… I wouldn't have fired you myself.' The BBC has, however, denied this. James believes that the axing of Steve Wright in the Afternoon was part of a push to banish broadcasters considered too ' pale, male and stale ' from the airwaves, and to create a kind of conformity at direct odds with Wright's verve. 'They just wanted it a little bit more like wallpaper,' he says of Thomas's decision to 'do something different in the afternoons'. 'They thought that this idea of personality [displayed in abundance by Wright] is old style; it's not cool anymore, we should make Radio 2 cool,' he says. 'But who gives a s--- about cool? It's about being entertained.' The effect on Wright was devastating. 'He didn't really stop to accept it. I think it ate him up,' James tells me. 'It got worse, and his health got worse.' Wright had heart surgery a year after the show was axed, and the medication he took in its aftermath led him to put on even more weight. 'He told me, 'I'm just really not well. I'm trying to lose the weight, I think I'm going to have a gastric band.'' James says that Wright also considered using Ozempic. Despite Wright's best attempts to get better, James recalls that: 'There was something about our last meeting [in November 2023]. There was just a look in his eye. I told my partner [afterwards] that something was really wrong.' Then, the following February, Wright died, leaving James overwhelmed with grief. 'I was not on this planet,' he says of that time. The groundswell of public affection went some way to easing his sadness, but that was quickly dismantled by the actions of the BBC. 'The painful truth is that the same BBC leadership celebrating Steve publicly is the one that disregarded and undermined our work privately,' says James. After Wright's death, James feels that they tried to 'delegitimise' his and Wright's relationship. 'I felt disgusted by that,' says James. 'Our relationship was so successful and it lasted for 38 years, and I feel like they're just s---ting on it.' And on Wright himself: a man who attended the studio at nine o'clock each morning to prepare for his afternoon show, and was dedicated to his listeners to the last. In response to questions about the treatment of Wright, the BBC said: 'Steve was deeply loved by the Radio 2 family and listeners, and we all miss him dearly. For almost three decades he hosted a raft of brilliant shows on the network. 'Steve's Sunday Love Songs had been on air since 1996 and he was excited to take on the legendary Pick of the Pops alongside a variety of specials on Radio 2 including Steve Wright: The Best of the Guests, Steve Wright's Summer Nights and Steve Wright's Love Songs Extra on BBC Sounds.' Thomas wrote to James in autumn last year asking for permission to play his music in the BBC tribute concert for Wright, which was recorded earlier this year (ahead of this month's transmission). He agreed, but when he rediscovered a recording of Wright railing at the poor internal handling of his show being axed, 'I just got more and more angry.' James talked through the matter with Wright's son, before telling Thomas that he no longer planned to attend. Then, in the week before the concert, she let him know that 'the great and the good will be there', which James took to mean: don't miss an opportunity to network. 'And I said, 'I'm not f---ing networking; this is not about networking. This is about a tribute to my friend.'' James thinks this last-minute push was driven by fear that his absence would 'look bad' for the BBC. 'It just started stinking towards the end of it, and I thought, 'No, I've given my music, my music will represent me, and that's it. I'm not going,' he says. When I put James's thoughts to the BBC, a spokesman replied: 'When inviting AJ to the recording of the celebration of Steve's broadcast career, where new arrangements of his work would be played live on stage, Helen's sole aim was to make sure AJ did not miss what promised to be, and indeed proved to be, a very special event, with many of Steve's friends and colleagues in attendance.' It is clear that James feels both he and Wright have been wronged by the BBC. The outpouring of affection from fans since Wright's death, compared with what he sees as shoddy treatment by the corporation now openly celebrating him, has made the past 18 months particularly challenging. Wright would have turned 71 on August 26, and his birthday will spark 'very intense' feelings for James as he remembers their friendship and their creative partnership. 'I miss all that,' he says, 'and that makes me very emotional.'
