WINIFRED "Freddie" Young, one of Scotland's leading and longest-serving theatrical agents, has died after a long illness. She was 82.
For more than 40 years, Mrs Young nurtured, nudged and negotiated the careers of many of the country's leading actors.
To her they were not simply clients; they were part of her extended family.
Last night, her son, Paul Young, the actor, said: "She was loyal to so many in the acting business and, in turn, they were loyal to her. She was one of those people who never suffered fools gladly but she always looked kindly on those she represented."
Freddie Young, who was born in Galashiels, first entered the theatrical world in the early 1960s when she helped form the Edinburgh-based talent agency Scotts - an acronym for Scottish casting office - television theatre and screen. By the late sixties, she had moved to Glasgow, starting her own agency in the west end of the city, the Young Casting Agency.
She has had some of Scotland's top actors on her books, including Robert Carlyle, Barbara Rafferty, Gerard Kelly, Joe McFadden and Daniela Nardini, who rose to fame in the BBC drama series This Life.
She was also a keen angler and son Paul inherited his love for fishing from her. She was married to the actor John Young, who starred in a number of films and, latterly, in the STV soap High Road. He died in 1996.
Mrs Young's close friend, the actress Eileen McCallum, said:
"She was my agent for 35 years and a good friend for 40 years.
I'll miss her greatly. She combined theatricality with a wonderful warmth of heart."
Freddie Young died on Sunday in Glasgow's Southern General Hospital.
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