WELCOME to the latest in our Ayrshire Heroes series, where we take a look at some of the most famous people who were born in the county - or made their names here.
And this week, we feature a former Australian Prime Minister, a comedy legend, a world renowned poet and, to start, one of Scotland's most decorated footballers.
Stevie Nicol
Born in Troon, in 1961, Stevie would become a Liverpool legend, winning the 1984 European Cup, five English league titles, three FA cups and being named footballer of the year by journalists in 1989.
Stevie was mainly a left back, but could play in defence or midfield too. He started his career with Troon Thistle before signing for Ayr United in 1979, making 70 league appearances before being bought by Liverpool boss Bob Paisley for £300,000 in 1981.
In 13 years at Anfield, he had played a total of 343 league games and scored 36 goals.
He made his Scotland debut in 1984, in a memorable 6-1 win over Yugoslavia and would represent his country 27 times in all, including at the 1986 World Cup.
Stevie then made his name as a coach in the US. In 2002, he took over as head coach of New England Revolution, leading the team to the MLS Cup final that season and was named MLS Coach of the Year in his first year.
In 2011 he became a much loved pundit in the US and is still a regular on ESPN, where his banter with fellow Ayrshire football Craig Burley remains a highlight of the show.
Robert Service
Poet and writer Robert William Service rose from humble beginnings in Kilwinning to become known throughout the world as “The Bard of the Yukon”.
Service earned a worldwide reputation and a fortune with his writings on the Canadian North, said to have been some of the most read prose in the world at their time.
“The Shooting of Dan McGrew” and “The Law of the Yukon” are among the poems that propelled Service to world stardom after he arrived in the Yukon wilderness as a bank clerk.
Born in 1874, Service died in 1958 and also served in World War One as an ambulance driver for the Canadian Red Cross.
He married and settled in the Brittany region of France, but at the outbreak of the Second World War he fled to Hollywood, where he counted movie stars such as Marlene Dietrich among his friends.
Andrew Fisher
The Crosshouse-born union activist was hounded out of Scotland but ultimately became Prime Minister of Australia.
In 1872, aged 10, Fisher, like his father before him, was working down the pits. At the age of 17 his talents saw him voted district secretary of the Ayrshire branch of the Miners’ Union and was deeply involved in the 1881 strike which ended in defeat for the workers.
Fisher’s activism saw him blacklisted by the bosses but he filled his time by strengthening his education.
In 1885, after appearing on the blacklist for a second time, he emigrated to Queensland, Australia, where he worked again in coalmines.
Politics beckoned and in 1893 he took his seat in the Queensland Legislative Assembly. In 1899, the state had its first Labour government and Fisher was Secretary for Railways and Public works.
In 1907, Fisher was elected leader of the Australian Labour Party. He enjoyed two terms as Prime Minister and in 1915 became Australian High Commissioner in London.
In 1923, having returned to his homeland, he made a bid to be selected as a candidate for the Kilmarnock constituency but he was rejected by the National Labour Party because his views did not fit policy. He died in1928 in London.
John Sessions
Actor and comedian John Sessions was born as John Gibb Marshall in Largs in 1953 and was known for his comedy improvisation.
He was much loved for his appearances on the improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and also voiced many of the characters for the hit 80s satirical puppet show Spitting Image.
Trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Sessions appeared in Shakespeare adaptations in the movies, starring alongside Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons in The Merchant of Venice (2004) as Salerio, and Macmorris in Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V (1989).
He he also featured in many TV roles including the BBC adaptation of Gormenghast (2000) and Hotel Babylon (2007) and became a regular panellist on QI and Have I Got News For You.
Sessions died at his home in South London in November 2020, aged 67.
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