Sunset Song: The enduring appeal of a Scottish classic

Chris was played by Vivien Heilbron, just 26 at the time. More than 50 years later, she is still happy to talk about the role.

“I’m very, very proud of all three programmes. I’m proud to be associated with it and it is by far the most interesting character I’ve every played on television,” she says.

“I’ve done some nice things and had very good parts, but that was something kind of iconic, I think.”

James Naughtie has voiced the trails for the programme’s latest broadcast and believes the series more than lived up to the book.

“The TV adaptation was, I think, quite an enlightened thing because the book wasn’t well enough known. I mean, it was known fairly well but it hadn’t become a kind of touchstone for modern Scottish writing in the way that it has since,” he says.

Sunset Song has been remastered. The original film was digitised, 50 years of dirt and dust removed and the picture regraded to resemble as much as possible its original look.

Vivien says: “I’m absolutely thrilled. A lot of people really loved it and seem to want to see it again and I am hoping that a lot of people will watch it this time who have never seen it before.

“Sunset Song is always the favourite one but I think that Cloud Howe and Grey Granite are also terrific novels and Bill Craig made such a beautiful job of all three adaptations.

“I’m sure if Lewis Grassic Gibbon could see them he would have approved.”