SCOTTISH Television was accused yesterday of risking the future of its

soap opera Take The High Road by revamping it to attract younger

audiences. By doing so, said some cast members, it had changed the

character of the production -- which now stood to lose its slot on the

national network.

They revealed Scottish now had a consultant to advise on teenage

dialogue. And the new sets had taken away the authenticity of a Scottish

village.

Last night Scottish Television was non-committal about whether the

soap would continue in production if it lost its national slot. A

spokesperson said: ''We shall cross that bridge if we come to it. But we

have no reason to suppose it will be taken off the network.''

When the soap was presented last year to the big five -- Granada,

Thames, Yorkshire, Central, and London Weekend -- for a network slot,

they were less eager than in previous years to include it. The crucial

time again for Scottish is two months away.

South of the border, the series has 2,000,000 fans including,

according to Scottish Television, the Queen Mother.