Judy Murray, tennis coach

Interview by Marianne Taylor

The mother of professional tennis players Andy and Jamie saw her sons reach the apex of the sport, welcomed her first grandchild into the world and spearheaded a campaign to build world-class community sports facilities near Stirling.

I THOUGHT it would be hard to top last year after watching Andy and Jamie playing such a pivotal role in winning the Davis Cup for Great Britain, but in 2016 both of them achieved such great things.

Picking a highlight is difficult, since there have been so many, but as a parent and a grandparent I’d choose the birth of Andy’s daughter Sophia, and Jamie receiving the OBE. Having both boys make it to world No1 is also wonderful; for me anything the boys have done tennis-wise together has been much more impactful on me than anything they’ve done individually.

Baby Sophia was born in February and it has been wonderful to see Andy so happy with his own little family. I’d say being a father has had a significant impact. He’s even more focused on what he is trying to achieve because he’s aware if he’s going to work that hard and spend so much time away from his family, he’s going to make sure it pays off. That’s the sort of mentality he has – Sophia is another reason to work even harder.

I think being a father also helps Andy because when he comes home, or when his wife Kim and the baby travel with him, he can switch off completely. Andy has always been very laidback. People find that hard to believe if they only see Andy the competitor. He’s like chalk and cheese – so intense and focused while playing matches but very easygoing off the court. And if anything he’s become even more laidback now.

For me, being a grandmother is wonderful. Obviously Andy and Kim live down south so I haven’t seen as much of Sophia as I’d have liked, but I’ve seen lots of her. She’s gorgeous and adorable, of course – I’m totally biased – and has just started to crawl.

It’s so easy to forget what those stages are like with your own kids. I had Jamie and Andy very close together and I don’t remember appreciating all the nuances that I see with Sophia. Also, these days there is so much more information available for new mothers and fathers – where was all that when I needed it?

Another landmark was Jamie turning 30. For most of his career he’s flown under the radar, in Andy’s shadow. He took the confidence of winning the Davis Cup, being part of something so high-profile, into the start of the year with his new tennis partner [Bruno Soares] and they won the Australian Open.

I’m more aware than anyone of the disparity between the profile Jamie enjoys in comparison to Andy – not that he ever complains. In many ways it suits Jamie as he is able to live a relatively normal life. Sometimes I don’t know how Andy manages to handle all the pressure and keep going.

I think for the last couple of years you could really see how much Andy and Jamie have appreciated each other’s achievements, and in the Davis Cup the pure thrill of playing with each other. That’s wonderful for me as their mum and you can really see that bond – they know each other inside out, everything about each other’s games and positions.

Andy always knows, for example, how many ranking points Jamie will need to achieve this or that, and exactly how he’s going to get them. Jamie is very good at watching Andy and being able to pick out where things went right or wrong, and he’s not afraid to tell him what he thinks. Brothers can do that.

Just a few minutes after becoming world No1 in November, Andy sat next to me in the players’ lounge. I said, "Well, Andy, you’ve made it to No1." The first thing he said was: “Isn’t it funny, Mum, how Jamie won Wimbledon before me, won a grand slam before me, got to world No1 before me – it’s like that’s the natural order of things.”

Both boys have been pretty nonplussed about it. I think it’s a very Scottish thing – we don’t really do shouting from the rafters. And the tennis tour is so relentless that you rarely get time to enjoy any success you achieve. There’s always another tournament, another continent, another surface to prepare for.

It’s a lonely life on the road, and it’s certainly not glamorous – it’s hotels, suitcases, laundry, being careful about what you eat, training, more training. There’s no time to go off sightseeing when you’re in the top flight.

Both Jamie’s wife Alejandra and Kim are so supportive of the life the boys have chosen. You really need emotional support around you – I know that from being the British Fed Cup captain as well as travelling with the boys. You will only get a performance out of your player or team if they are emotionally secure and both Alejandra and Kim play such an important part.

I’ve always been very close to both the boys and I think when you are involved in sport at that level you need somebody to talk to about your fears. Particularly when you are a young man growing up in a macho sporting world and the people who surround you are often much older.

There are probably a lot of things you don’t want to talk about with them – that’s when you want to talk to your mum. I’m their mother, but obviously I understand the game and the demands it puts on you, and also the lifestyle and business of it too, as well as the sacrifices – I’ve learned all this over many years.

I suppose I’m a bit like the boys in that I can’t sit still, I always need something to drive forward towards. I could just step away and do some things that I’ve always wanted to do, maybe learn to cook well, travel a bit more, see more of the world, but tennis is in the genes for all of us.

That means striving to build my tennis centre at Park of Keir near Dunblane. The decision on whether it will go ahead rests with the Scottish Government and in some ways the direction of my life will be determined by it. I hope it goes ahead because it would become the focus for all the work I’m doing with grassroots initiatives such as Tennis on the Road and Miss-Hits.

My goal for 2017 is to take Park of Keir forward so we’re not begging people for courts and for money for courts. If I get it the go-ahead I’ll work my butt off to make it work as a community sport facility, to build a tennis workforce that can service the rest of Scotland. It would mark an endpoint to everything the boys have achieved, everything we’ve worked so hard towards. To have something to show for it all here in Scotland would be great.

David Gray, Hibernian FC captain

Interview by Drew Allan

The 28-year-old defender scored the winning goal in Hibernian's Scottish Cup Final victory over Rangers, the first time they had won the competition in 114 years.

BEING a local boy – I grew up in Roslin in Midlothian – I was well aware of what the Scottish Cup meant to Hibs. My wife, Hayley, said the other day there had been two world wars since you’d last won the cup. It’s unbelievable when you start to think about it. And you think about the people who never got to see it. It’s humbling.

We knew we could beat Rangers; we’d beaten them before. We went a goal down but I didn’t believe for one minute they deserved to be winning. We knew we’d get another chance.

In the 92nd minute, when the corner came over, I knew as soon as Hendo [Liam Henderson] had hit it that I was getting it. It seemed to happen slowly, and after I’d made contact with the ball, the next thing I remember was getting a yellow card for my celebration.

It was about six celebrations in one. I don’t know why I went into the crowd, it wasn’t planned. I’ve not scored very many, so I’ve never gone into a game thinking, “See if I score, I’m going to do this.” It doesn’t happen often enough.

That Saturday night was a really good night. One of my best mates, Tez, was getting married in Edinburgh. The party at Easter Road finished around midnight, but nobody was thinking about going home, that’s for sure. Tez’s do was only around the corner, so I went and met all my mates.

Everyone was saying the scenes tomorrow [for the parade] will be great. You can’t ever really prepare yourself for it. Looking out the window of the City Chambers, there was a sea of green and white on the Royal Mile. I wasn’t expecting it to be as busy as that, and it was the same the whole way, right down Leith Walk. Those scenes will stay with me for ever.

People come up to me all the time and talk about the final. Random people say, "Can I shake your hand?" They tell me they were there and tell me their stories. They say things like "Me and my dad and my brother were there, it was great for me that my dad saw it, I never thought I’d see it". It puts it into perspective. It never seems to go away. There were times I thought Hayley must be getting fed up with it, but she never does.

We have a daughter, Ivy, three, and a son, Archie, who was born in July. Archie has always been my favourite boy's name. Hayley took a bit of persuading; there were a couple of other names she preferred, and we hadn’t decided on one by the time of the birth.

But after we’d won the cup I read that there was a defender in the 1902 team – the last time Hibs had won the cup – called Archie Gray. I took this to Hayley, and she said, "Well, I can’t argue with that." So Archie it was.

Gary Maclean, Chef

A senior chef lecturer at City of Glasgow College, the father of five was crowned winner of MasterChef: the Professionals.

MY 2016 started like any other year. Heading back to college, my first day back involved a heat for one of the biggest college culinary competitions, the Nestle Toque d'Or. Having been in the finals for the last three years and winning it in 2013, it’s a competition I am sort of expected to do well in.

My day-to-day classes normally consist of teaching mainly first and second-year HND professional cookery students. One day per week I run the college training restaurant, Scholars. This is a real-world environment. Another big part of my year is that I look after the evening classes. We have around 20 different types. Another programme is the Prince's Trust Get into Cooking.

I was nominated for chef lecturer of the year and ended up as runner-up. During this time I applied for MasterChef: the Professionals. This was my third time applying, being unsuccessful the previous two years. I wasn’t going to apply but I thought, why not third time lucky?

I got the call to say I was in. I was terrified and excited. All you want to do is to shout it from the rooftops but I couldn’t, as no-one was able to find out. I did tell Sharon, my wife, and my boss at college, Willie McCurrach.

From my first day of filming it was non-stop for five weeks in London. It was one of the most amazing things I have done. It was very strange, because you had no clue when you would be home. I packed as much stuff as I could. My case had more equipment in it than clothes. It was during the summer holidays. This was great as I didn’t miss any classes.

I came back to college knowing I had won the biggest competition a professional chef could put himself through – and I couldn’t tell anyone.

Everything was fine and then the show started to air. I wasn’t in the programme until the third week as I was in the second-last heat.

The show is always a big talking-point in class. Students asking why I wasn’t on the show and how would I have coped with one test or another. They didn't know that in the third week I was going to make my first appearance.

When that happened, the news was out that a lecturer from Glasgow was in the show. The response from my co-workers was mixed. Some thought I was mad; others were supportive; and some didn't bother at all. But the support I got from the college was amazing.

The big question that was always asked was: did you win? I had various answers. The main one was: "No, as I get put out tonight," or: "Just watch and see."

During the show's run I was still taking classes. My students were great. They treated me exactly the same and mainly poked fun at what I had done the previous night on TV.

The longer I stayed in the competition, the more people started to recognise me. During my classes in the college restaurant, people were taking pictures through the windows, something the students found hilarious. The classes finished before the final was aired so I haven’t seen anyone from college since the final.

Since it has been announced, everything has gone nuts. My phone was useless for days as it was receiving thousands of notifications. I got 8,000 followers on Twitter in two hours, and hundreds of private messages.

Sharon organised 30 of our family and friends round to our house for the final and the majority of the people there had no clue I had won. It was an amazing night.

For me, though, it was cut short as I was picked up in the early hours and taken to Manchester so that I could appear on BBC breakfast TV. This was the start of one of the most bizarre days of my life. I did 15 live radio broadcasts, about 10 newspaper interviews, two TV shows and a live Twitter Q&A while being driven up and down the country. I was up for about 48 hours straight.

What’s next? Who knows? I am back at college after the New Year and just like the start of 2016, 2017 will see me getting a team of students through the first heat of the Nestle Toque d’Or.

Follow Gary Maclean on Twitter @gmacchef

Karen Darke, Paralympic champion

The 45-year-old began hand-bike racing in 2009 and joined the Great Britain para-cycling team a year later. At the Rio 2016 Paralympics she achieved one of her dreams.

I STOOD centre podium, smiling as a Rio gold medal was placed around my neck. I had won the women's handcycling H1-3 time trial. It had been a goal for four years, since winning a silver medal at the London 2012 Paralympics.

I thought I would cry if I won the gold. With the heavy medal around my neck at last, I was surprised the tears didn't come. I felt little at all except a kind of numbness.

Since Rio, I have been living in a haze. I have been going through the motions, just; my body and soul have felt broken. Six weeks before the Paralympics in September I was forced to spend two weeks lying on my stomach to heal a pressure sore that I'd developed on my backside from cycling.

The week before flying to Rio I had emergency root canal treatment and acquired an injury climbing into a gold buggy at our training camp. I was reaching breaking point. Since then my shoulder has barely been able to get me through the basic requirements of daily living. All of this and recent shoulder scans, physiotherapy and proposed surgery have forced me to reflect.

I have been in a pressure cooker for four years. In those four years I have temporarily lost arm function after nerve damage from a car hitting me while training, I've had a long-term relationship breakup, I've had a near-death experience with bowel surgery, and been knocked over on my bike by a tourist coach.

I have picked myself up so many times. I have been under so much pressure; largely from my own decision to work for gold. I ask myself why I feel so dazed now, why my body feels so exhausted but when I reflect on the journey to becoming Paralympic champion, it is hardly surprising.

The goal, going for gold, the training, the pressure ... They are all choices I made, and while I'm a little broken right now, they are not choices I regret.

Despite Channel 4's billing, I am not superhuman. I happen to be paralysed and have a passion I have chosen to pursue, perhaps to the point of obsession. I love to ride my bicycle, but for the first time in my life I have fallen a little out of love. I have been riding, but mostly I have felt sick at the thought of climbing into the saddle. That itself has felt traumatic.

My bike has been my reliable friend, some might say partner, for years. I feel a little lost. For now I'll listen to what my body and soul are telling me, and if it's meant to be, it will come back again.

Karen Darke is a member of The Adventure Syndicate. Visit theadventuresyndicate.com and karendarke.com