Rickman was East Neuk guest

The distinguished Shakespearian performer, well known for his stage work, and films such as ‘Love Actually’, ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’, ‘Die Hard’, and the ‘Harry Potter’ series, made his debut as a movie director with a film shot extensively on location in Pittenweem and Elie.

‘The Winter Guest’ (1997) starred Emma Thompson and her real-life mother Phyllida Law. The story followed four sets of characters with a tragi-comic portrait of the transitions of life and death, separation and reconciliation, set in a harsh winter on the Scottish coast.

Rickman said the East Neuk weather was like “a flirtatious friend” and local people said he was very pleasant when he visited shops or asked residents if he could film in and around their homes.