Balamory: A look back at the mixed fortunes of its former cast-members

If the BBC have their way, the twenty-somethings among us will soon be given a trip down memory lane. 

Indeed, the broadcasting giant is planning a revival of popular noughties children's show Balamory, almost 20-years after it went off-air. 

The live-action show, based around a fictional island community in Scotland, quickly became a CBeebies staple following its launch in 2002. 

Residents such as Miss Hoolie, PC Plum, Josie Jump, Edie McCredie and Archie the inventor kept children entertained as they tackled fun events and challenges in the local community.

Aimed primarily at the under-fives, Balamory ran for 253 episodes over a four series, three year period, during which it won a BAFTA Children's Award for Best Pre-school Live Action Series, before coming to an end in 2005. 

While its original fan-base are now fully grown adults, the BBC is hoping to entice a new generation of fans by confirming two more series' will be released in 2026. 

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, 25 episodes from the show's fourth series had previously been made available on BBCiPlayer from August 30, 2022. 

All this nostalgia does beg the question - what happened to the actors responsible for brining this iconic show to life?

Fortunately, MailOnline has all the answers, so climb aboard and buckle up. It's time for a trip back to Balamory...  

1. Miss Hoolie - Julie Wilson Nimmo

Julie Wilson Nimmo played school teacher Miss Hoolie in Balamory from 2002 to 2005, but now looks completely from her beloved character. 

Twenty-one  on from her Balamory debut, she has ditched her famous bob, and now sports long red tresses.

The actress now fronts brand new kids' TV series Olga Da Polga with her husband, Scottish comedian Greg Hemphill. 

The series is based on Paddington Bear author Michael Bond's children's books, The Tales Of Olga De Polga. 

The pet guinea pig - who loves boasting about her wild adventures to her animal friends - lives with her owners and their eight year-old daughter, Karen.

Nimmo and Hemphill - who married in 1999 - play the role of Mr. and Mrs. Sawdust, with the actress debuting new long red tresses ahead of the show's recent start date. 

Discussing her time in Balamory during  a recent appearance on This Morning with former co-star Andrew Agnew, Nimmo insisted there were no bog egos among its cast-members. 

'There was no-one on our show cutting about, thinking look, we've arrived on this show,' she explained. 

'We were one of the first shows on Cbeebies channel, which wasn't even a thing at the time.

'We just loved the script and we were just so excited. It sounds really cheesy but we all just fell in love with each other and all just got on like a house on fire.'

2. Archie the Inventor - Miles Jupp 

Miles Jupp was just 22 when he landed the lead role of Archie. 

Speaking in January, the actor told Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe's Parenting Hell podcast that he was still at university and gigging as a comedian when he was asked to audition for the kids' show.

He recalled: 'I remember by agent saying '"think of it as your training, you get to go and do 22 weeks of studio filming, no one will see it."' 

Jupp went on to star in TV favourites The Thick of It and Rev and movies such as last year's blockbuster Napoleon, The Legend of Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, Johnny English Reborn.

He also played the weatherman in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, while also managing a successful comedy career. 

But his stint on children's TV came back to haunt him when he took to the stage at the Edinburgh Film Festival, only to spot a handful of young Balamory fans in the audience. 

'I went on stage and there were 10 children in the front row. Nightmare,' he told The Guardian.

'The show was only 40 minutes long and I had to keep cutting huge chunks of filth.' 

3. Penny Pocket - Kim Tserkezie 

Best known for her role as Balamory maths-whizz Penny Pocket, Kim Tserkezie set up production company Scattered Pictures in 2011, focusing on under-represented talent and perspectives.

She also still acts and works as a writer and producer for TV, film and radio. 

Her credits include a role in 2020 film short Obsession, for which she earned two gongs for her role as jasmine at the Royal Television Society Awards. 

4. PC Plum - Andrew Agnew

PC Plum had the easiest job in Balmory after being charged with patrolling its crime-free streets. 

Played by actor Andrew Agnew, Plum harboured dreams of becoming a detective - but they would ultimately go unfulfilled.  

Agnew has since directed his own children's shows and has also managed a CBeebies live theatre show.

A panto veteran, the actor has also taken to the stage in festive productions of  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in which he played Muddles, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Peter Pan. 

5. Spencer The Painter - Rod Christensen  

Perma-cheerful Spencer, played by Rod Christensen, was the island's resident painter and decorator - but his talents didn't stop there. 

In a curious twist, his ladder had musical steps that enabled him to make music wherever he went - much to the delight of Balamory viewers across the country.  

Christensen eventually turned his back on acting and became a driver with Stagecoach before relocating to the United States. 

He drove the number 10 bus around Perth, Scotland as young fans tried to sneak a peek of a familiar face that they had grown up with on their screens.

Christensen told the Daily Record at the time: 'Being a bus driver is way tougher than being an actor.

'You are responsible for everyone on the bus, then there's the routes to try to remember and other people on the roads to deal with.

 'I definitely now have a new respect for bus drivers.'

However he hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2011 after it emerged his daughter had developed her own acting career - in the porn industry.  

Los Angeles based Raylin Joy entered the adult entertainment industry after starting out as a nude model.

But she subsequently entered a career in porn, where she would perform using her stage name, Skin Diamond.

Speaking in 2017, Raylin insisted she has since ditched porn for a different sector - the music industry - as she wants to become a pop star.

As per The Mirror, she said: 'I've given so much of my sexuality to the public for such a long time. Now it's time to show them something else.'

'I realised I was so focused on work all the time that I was living this Skin Diamond persona 24/7 and losing sight of who I was as a person.'

6. Suzie Sweet - Mary Riggans

Mary Riggans was beloved by Balamory fans thanks to her role as Suzie Sweet, the owner of its only sweet shop. 

A successful actress, Riggans also played Effie Macinnes in Scottish soap opera Take The High Road and won a Sony award for the radio play Till A' the Seas Run Dry in 1993.  

Her first acting role was in 1946, a radio voiceover at the age of 10 and her first TV role came in 1954 in the TV movie A Nest Of Singing Birds.

The Glasgow University arts graduate then went on to star in many TV, radio and theatre productions.

In 2013, she died in her sleep at the age of 76. Her death was confirmed by Martin Hunt, a friend and spokesman for the family.

'She died peacefully holding her daughter’s hand at 4.40pm on December 2, 2013,' he said at the time. 

Riggans had been left with speech and mobility issues after suffering a stroke in April 2012. 

7. Edie McCredie - Juliet Cadzow 

Well travelled Edie McCredie drove the Balamory nursey bus while also acting as the island's resident motor mechanic. 

Actress Juliet Cadzow has taken a series of mainstream TV roles on shows such as Scottish soap opera River City, in which she played Suzie Fraser, Doctor Who, Still Game, and Skins. 

Of her role in Balamory, she told the Sunday Record: 'I still get folk, who are in their mid-20s now, coming up to me and saying, "Oh God, you were Edie McCredie!"

'It was a huge part of people’s lives, and what fun it was to do. We got up to hi-jinks on Mull and we were a great big family. 

She added: 'We made around 260 episodes then went out on arena tours, which was like being a rock star. 

'The little tinies would have a moshpit and they would all be dancing down the front of the stage by the end!'

8. Josy Jump - Buki Akib and Kasia Haddad

Storytelling dancer Josy helped keep Balamory viewers fit by encouraging them to exercise. 

Actress Buki Akib originally played Josy but was forced to leave the show in 2004 after filming commitments affected her university studies. with her university studies.

She was subsequently replaced by Kasia Haddad, much to the upset of Balamory's young fans. 

Kasia has since starred as Wendy in recently axed daytime soap opera Doctors.