GLAMIS CASTLE’S very own stars of the small screen will be lining up to give dedicated fans of the Angus attraction an early welcome ahead of this year’s tourist season.

At the moment the Earl of Strathmore’s home is a hive of activity with preparations for the official opening later this month.

But Glamis staff are also having to deal with the pleasant task of handling hundreds of calls generated by the hugely successful BBC2 series Castle In The Country, which is centred on the impressive landmark.

Presenters Nicki Chapman and John Craven have helped to turn the afternoon magazine programme into a big hit, and for the 1.6 million daily viewers a couple of local faces have also become firm favourites.

Betty Anderson regularly passes on cleaning tips gleaned from keeping the castle spick and span for four decades and guide Brian Townsend, with his background stories, is another regular, so for castle marketing staff they were the obvious choice to herald the opening of the 2005 tourist year to Glamis season ticket holders.

“Each year we have a special preview day for season ticket holders where they can come along and have a look around, enjoy a glass of wine and hear about what we have planned,” said Glamis marketing manager Gill Crawford.

“Most of them are local people and there has been steady growth in season ticket sales over the past few years. This is a chance for us to thank them for their support because they are also ambassadors for the castle.

“People have really embraced the programme and we are getting a lot of interest from it, so we thought it would be nice if the season ticket holders were able to meet our own stars from something that has been so successful.”