PUPILS from Lochgelly High School rubbed shoulders with Scots actor Martin Compston on the set of his hit TV show The Rig.
The drama and media studies students were joined by him during a behind-the-scenes tour of FirstStage studios in Leith.
The show premiered on Prime Video in January and follows the crew of the Kinloch Bravo oil rid stationed in the North Sea.
Olivia Porteous, English and Media Studies teacher at Lochgelly High School, said: "Our students absolutely loved visiting the production of The Rig in Leith and we were blown away by the kindness and generosity of the cast and crew.
"It was an amazing experience that will stick with our pupils and has given them a great taste of what a career in acting, script writing, or production might look like. I’m hopeful that it will provide huge inspiration for their future careers."
The pupils, who are studying at higher level, sought advice from the cast as filming for a second season gets underway.
They were able to watch the studio in action and gleaned insight from script writers and production crew.
This included executive producer John Stickland and writer David Macpherson, who is from Scotland.
Suzanne Reid, Producer of The Rig, said: "It was a pleasure to host the students from Lochgelly High School in our studio.
"The cast and crew, who are largely Scottish locals, loved speaking with the students, hearing about their goals, sharing advice from their own careers, and encouraging them to consider a career in Scotland’s screen sector.
"Being from Fife myself, I am passionate about encouraging homegrown talent to join our industry.
"I was lucky enough to attend a weekend performing arts club in Lochgelly when I was at school, which was a huge inspiration to me, so I know how valuable it is to raise young people’s aspirations and give them first-hand insight into the future careers available to them in Scotland."
The visit was organised by Amazon, which has invested more than £50m into the Scottish screen sector and supported 670 jobs in Scotland’s creative industries in 2022.
It was part of a series of initiatives to support education and skills development for Scotland's young people.
Investment by Amazon has benefited productions including The Rig, as well as Good Omens and Anansi Boys, which is also gilmed at FirstStage Studios.
Eugenie Teasley, Head of Impact at Amazon, said: "Inspiring young talent a priority for us at Amazon, and we have a great opportunity to do this in Scotland’s creative industries. From The Rig to Anansi Boys, we are filming a number of high-end TV productions in Scotland and supporting hundreds of jobs across the sector.
"We hope the students from Lochgelly High School were inspired by their visit to the studio in Leith and can’t wait to see a new generation of talent flourish."
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