Leading Scottish actress Blythe Duff has hit out at Creative Scotland for cutting its regular ­funding for Scottish Youth Theatre (SYT).

Duff, known for her work on Taggart as well as in many theatrical productions, has been involved with the SYT since she became a student of the theatre in the 1980s, joined its board in the 1990s and has been a patron since 2000.

Creative Scotland did not include three-year support for the Glasgow-based company in its recent funding announcement.

She said: "I was stunned in the first instance. It came a wee bit out of left field. We were part of the Commonwealth Games, we had the First Minister visiting us, the Culture Secretary praising our work - it's infuriating that we now have to fight for our place.

"The SYT has a proven track record for a long, long time more than Creative Scotland. Other organisations should be proving they can do their job, we've proven we can do ours."

"It seems strange to pull the rug out from under it when the company is on a bit of a high."

Leading theatre producer John Stalker has also expressed his dismay.

In a letter to The Herald today, he calls the decision inexplicable and perverse.

Creative Scotland has stated it highly values the work of the company, which is to receive more than £220,925 this year. The company's future is to be the subject of discussions in the coming days and weeks.