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Karen Gillan surprised by old school teacher in heartwarming video
22 August 2025, 09:02 | Updated: 22 August 2025, 18:39
The Scottish star was stunned when her college tutor surprised her on Heart.
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Actress Karen Gillan was surprised by her old school teacher during an interview on Heart Evening's with Dev Griffin.
The star was joined by her The Life of Chuck co-star Tom Hiddleston as the pair spoke about their new blockbuster film and opened up about their dreams as children.
Speaking about choosing to become an actor, Karen revealed: "I don't remember a definitive moment where I decided it just sort of was always there. I think it started by me, like, making up these characters and I would perform them at my schoolmates and they weren't willing to receive it."
She added: "I don't know, I think there was something interesting about escaping myself through this thing and that felt like a relief or something. And I was like, 'oh, maybe I could just make a career out of this.'"
Dev then surprised Karen with Scott Johnson, her tutor from Edinburgh Telford College which she attended when she was 17-years-old.
In a recorded message, Scott said: "Hi, Karen, it's Scott Johnson, your tutor from Edinburgh College here. I just want to say that ever since you auditioned for us, I knew you were going to be successful. But you're not just a successful actor and woman, you're a director, you're a writer, you're all of that.
"But more importantly, you've always kept in touch, you've never changed. You're a decent, happy, fun person to be with and the support you've shown students and industry in Scotland is huge. So I thank you for that.
"I wish you huge success, health, happiness for you, your family and especially the new addition to your family. I look forward to catching up with you soon. All the best."
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Karen was left visibly moved by her former tutor's words, exclaiming: "You cheeky devils at Heart. You're making me cry!"
The Doctor Who star then spoke highly of her school teacher and confirmed it was in fact happy tears she was shedding.
Karen exclaimed: "That's incredible. Blast from the past. He is the best teacher, the most passionate man I've ever met. Like, he just pours his heart and soul into helping people become better performers. It's amazing. So much passion."
Watch Karen Gillian be surprised by her teacher here:
Karen Gillan & Tom Hiddleston receive a surprise message from an old friend!
She also revealed her audition monologue to get into Edinburgh College, saying: "I think it must have been something from Talking Heads, Alan Bennett.
"It was a monologue of Ben among the Lentil where I played like, Maggie Smith actually played that character in the televised version, I think. And I was, I was Trying to do, like, a older woman voice. It was English."
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