It’s nearly 18 years since the secrets of Brian MacKinnon were discovered yet the spotlight remains firmly on the classroom imposter and Dundee University wannabe.
A blockbuster documentary about his infamous return to Glasgow’s Bearsden Academy in the 90s has been a hit with viewers since it surfaced on BBC iPlayer last week.
My Old School – which sees Perthshire-born Hollywood star Alan Cumming mime an audio interview with MacKinnon – was also shown on BBC Two.
Its mainstream TV breakthrough comes a year after its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
And the film, made by ex-classmate Jono McLeod, hears for the first time from a friend who discovered on a group holiday to Tenerife with him that her 17-year-old pal Brandon Lee was in fact 32-year-old MacKinnon.
The Walter Mitty character dreamed of being a doctor and became Scotland’s oldest pupil in a bid to fulfil his ambition.
In a forgotten interview, he claims he enrolled at Dundee Uni a year before the controversy erupted in 1995 and made headlines across the world.
He even says his downfall began when a package from the university failed to reach him.
‘Catalyst for real gossip’
MacKinnon, now 59, said: “There was a pile of (medical) dictionaries on the table but not enough for everyone.
“I couldn’t be bothered going down to get one, there was a bit of a rush, but they said everyone who didn’t would be sent one.”
The medical dictionary, apparently addressed to Brandon Lee, was despatched but MacKinnon and his mum were out.
Speaking to The Herald, he added: “The neighbour came to the door with the parcel addressed to Brandon and of course she didn’t have a clue who Brandon was.
“’Shortly after some of the friends I had made at school came to the door looking for me when we were out.
“They met the neighbour somehow and asked if she knew where Brandon was.
“’The neighbour replied that she thought they were being hoodwinked. And said that my name was in fact Brian MacKinnon.
“At least this is how what she said was later reported to me by the girls.
“I really don’t know how the thing got out at first but I can only imagine that the parcel and that conversation with my friends was the catalyst for real gossip.”
Within months the truth was out and MacKinnon’s plans to return to study medicine at Dundee University were in tatters; he claims he dropped out in 1994 due to family money worries and lied his gran had died suddenly so he could defer for a year.
In the wake of the great con being exposed, the university kicked him off the course.
‘Ethical questions’
At the time, a spokeswoman said: “We don’t usually take students over the age of 30 at the medical school and we take a very firm line about the conduct and honesty of medical students.
“Lying raises ethical questions for someone who is training to be a doctor.”
He had first left Bearsden Academy in 1980 to begin a medical course at Glasgow University but he was forced to leave three years later when he twice failed his exams.
MacKinnon, then 30, assumed a new identity in 1993 as 17-year-old Brandon Lee.
With a Canadian accent and the name of the recently deceased son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, he went back to re-sit his Highers at his old Glasgow school.
Everyone – including teachers who had taught him before years earlier – was duped.
Filmmaker Jono says: “My old classmate Brandon wanted to tell his story, and granted me an interview.
“But for his own reasons, just didn’t want to be seen on camera.”
But the reclusive MacKinnon, still based in Glasgow and living on benefits, has distanced himself from My Old School.
He told Mail Online a year ago: “I have had nothing to do with this film and I have zero interest in ever wanting to watch any of it.
“I have never given an interview with Jono McLeod, I don’t recall even being at school with him the second time around.”
His old classmates are split when it comes to their feelings towards MacKinnon.
In the documentary, some express sympathy for his situation while others say his actions were unforgivable.
There would be one final twist – what happened to the pupil who had a bust-up with MacKinnon in Tenerife and whose parents are said to have alerted Bearsden Academy to his real identity?
One former teacher says: “She went to Dundee after school and did her degree there. She’s a doctor.”
