There in front of me was my dream

About this recording

Helen Mackay talks about her acting career, in particular her role in series 11 of the BBC TV crime drama Shetland.

Helen comes from Thurso but has been based in Glasgow for around 20 years. She is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) and works there part-time as a lecturer in professional practice.

She has performed in theatres across Scotland. As well as TV credits she has starred in numerous audio dramas for BBC Radio 4, including several written by Colin MacDonald from Wick. At the VOX Awards 2026 she won the award for best human performance in an audio drama for This Thing of Darkness.

Helen points out that she didn’t come from a theatrical family, “or even a theatre-going family”. She was part of Tracy Sinclair’s NRG dance troupe as a youngster and this led to her taking part in productions staged in Wick by Eden Court outreach worker Martin Danziger.

Helen joined Thurso Players, where her first role was as Beauty in Beauty and the Beast.

She says Caithness writer George Gunn has been “a huge influence” in her life and career.

After two unsuccessful attempts, Helen was overjoyed to be accepted into the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. “I remember that moment,” she says in the recording. “I remember an envelope coming through the door. My rejection envelopes had a stamp on them with ‘RSAMD’ on it but the letter that came with my acceptance was just an A4 envelope with hand-scrawled ‘Helen Mackay’, the address… I was waiting for boring paperwork from something, so I thought it was that. “So I just ripped it open, took it out, and there in front of me was my dream: I have got into this incredible drama school that I couldn’t even have begun to believe that I would go to.”

She goes on to describe appearing as a regular cast member in Shetland as her “dream job”.

Caithness connections have been a recurring theme in Helen’s career. “There are so many amazing stories from here,” she says.

She adds: “As for what comes next, who knows? There is never in this industry any guarantee of anything. And that’s the kind of thrill that I like about it, if I’m honest. “I just want to continue working with good people and enjoying the work that I do and telling stories that people see themselves represented in.”

Pictures: Helen in her home town of Thurso, October 2026.

Helen outside her trailer during the making of series 11 of Shetland, in which she plays the part of Kirsty Petrie. Helen is wearing a jumper knitted by the late Cath Bremner from Lybster, as mentioned in the recording.