Editor’s letter

Ahead of the Scottish referendum in September, and as the country prepares for the Commonwealth Games, Spectator Life caught up with a new generation of fine Scottish actors who seem destined for Hollywood, from Joanna Vanderham, star of The Paradise, to Laura Fraser of Breaking Bad and Richard Madden and Rose Leslie, who you may recognise from Game of Thrones.  We also took the chance to canvass their views on independence.

Speaking of new talent, I’m delighted to feature the novel Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler, a midwestern story of family, fame and friends. It’s one of my favourites in a long time, and if you are packing for a beach or, like Melissa Kite, a yoga retreat, it’s a must to squeeze into your bag.

On our cover is a man who if it wouldn’t be likely to make him cringe, I would describe as a national treasure: Bill Nighy. The BBC’s Johnny Worricker trilogy, in which he plays a modern spy, is one of the best things to have been made for British TV in recent years and the new production of Skylight, one of David Hare’s three brilliant plays about love, in which he will also star, is set to be the hot ticket of the summer.