Elaine C Smith to be awarded Freedom of Glasgow
Elaine C Smith says she is "truly moved" by the award
- Published
Actor and comedian Elaine C Smith will be awarded the Freedom of Glasgow as part of the city's 850th birthday celebrations next year, the council has confirmed.
Previous recipients of the city's highest honour include Nelson Mandela, Kenny Dalglish, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Billy Connolly.
Smith, 66, who has starred in Rab C Nesbitt, City Lights and Two Doors Down, said she was "truly moved" by the award.
She will be the first woman to receive the honour since Dame Anna Maxwell Macdonald in 1969. She gave Pollok House and its art collection to the city three years earlier.
Glasgow City Council withdrew an offer of the honour to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2017.
Smith played Mary Doll in the classic series Rab C Nesbitt
Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren, who is set to present the award to Smith in 2025, said: “I’m delighted Elaine C Smith intends to accept Glasgow’s highest honour — the freedom of the city.
"A much-loved comedy actress who demonstrates perfectly Glaswegian sensibilities of fun underpinned by straight talking.
“I’m excited at the prospect of presenting this award to Elaine and acknowledging her stellar achievements entertaining the nation.”
Smith has won a BAFTA Scotland award for her role as Christine in Two Doors Down and a Royal Television Society Award for series Burds Eye View.
Smith is part of the cast of BBC sitcom Two Doors Down
In addition to her screen roles, she has also been a regular performer on stage, with roles in The Steamie, Calendar Girls and a recent turn as the Child Catcher in the national tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
She also appeared as singer Susan Boyle in I Dreamed a Dream, the musical that she co-wrote, and has been a stalwart of the city’s pantomime scene for decades.
A report by Glasgow City Council says the freedom of the city is the “greatest tribute of respect that the city can bestow on a citizen” and is awarded to “persons of distinction or persons who have rendered eminent service to the city”.
Smith played Susan Boyle in the play I Dreamed a Dream
The award also recognises Smith's “significant” charitable work. She has been a long-time campaigner on subjects such as ending violence against women and recently raised over £20,000 for the National Society for the Protection of Children.
She also raised £10,000 for local foodbanks through free stand-up shows in Barlanark, Pollok, Knightswood and Castlemilk.
Smith said: “I cannot tell you how thrilled and truly moved I am. To be awarded the Freedom of the City of Glasgow during its 850th birthday celebrations makes it even more special.
“I have been fortunate to have been put forward for a few honours in my life, but none would fill my heart or mean more than being awarded the freedom of this city — my home and the place I love.”
Historically, freemen of the city have the right to graze their cows on Glasgow Green and fish on the Clyde. They also have a duty to patrol and guard the town and defend it “by arms”.