Watch: Martin Compston on travel adventures in Norway and favourite Glasgow places

Line of Duty star Martin Compston and pal Phil MacHugh follow the success of their Scotland road trip with a new travel adventure. Martin Compston’s Norwegian Fling is a six-part BBC series featuring a spectacular journey of almost 2,000 miles the length and breadth of Norway from Oslo to the North Arctic, they take in some dramatic remote scenery and unexpected urban exploits - the duo immerse themselves in modern Norway, sometimes literally, and get under the skin of what it means to be Scandinavian.

The journey this time goes from roller-skiing to zip-lining down a sky jump towering in the sky on the outskirts of Oslo, to being on stage and crowd-surfing at a Black Metal concert to Martin getting up close with a wolf and belting out the tunes while on the road.

The series will be broadcast first on BBC Scotland, with all six episodes available on BBC iPlayer on February 22 before also then being shown across the UK on BBC Two on February 23.

The series starts in Oslo with Martin and Phil embracing the Nordic way of life. First, they head to the country’s centre for skiing excellence, Holmenkollen, where they have a crash course – literally for Martin - in roller-skiing, with Olympic gold medallist cross country skier Ragnhild Gløersen Haga and champion roller skier Ragnar Bragvin Andresen. As the series continues, Martin and Phil celebrate Norway’s National Day and try out some traditional jobs with scenic landscapes along the way. 

 GlasgowWorld met Martin and Phil today to find out more about their new travel series and what they discovered on their road trip. While discussing getting to grips with the Norwegian language, Martin said he would be open to starring in a Nordic noir detective series while Phil recounted being left floating in the North Sea and why the pair make good travelling partners.

We spoke about the connections between Norway and Scotland and whether Phil and Martin felt a sense of kinship while they were there with Martin recalling: "On National Day the whole country is on hot dogs and champagne at nine in the morning. There's a huge parade and we were part of it with the Bergen Pipe Band, there were people from Gourock there! It was amazing and brilliant to hear the pipes as part of it. Robert the Bruce's sister is buried at the Cathedral in Bergen."

Going to somewhere completely unfamiliar presented new opportunities for the show that Martin thinks makes it more entertaining for the audience: "Last time there was a bit of a safety net, knowing you would get a bit of the patter because we were in Scotland. This one we were going into the unknown. They are quite direct, the Norwegians, and I think the series works better because of that. We just had to get stuck in and learn about the culture."

When asked about his favourite places in Glasgow, Martin answered "Celtic Park" before going on to talk about his favourite part of the city. "I start a new job filming in Glasgow in a few weeks and I think Finnieston is a great wee part of town now. When I was younger I would just get the train into Central, get a knockback from everywhere and end up in Jumpin Jaks. That's what it would have been. Now, I've filmed a few times in Glasgow and I tend to stay in that area. There's some great eating and I like that city vibe where there's cafes and you can have a bit of a wander."

Phil said: "I love the West End, Hyndland area, if I lived in Glasgow again that's where I would want to be. I think there has been a real renaissance of the Merchant City, new openings, hotels, big brands, there's a bit of life there and I think Glasgow has missed that in the last ten years. There's a new buzz around the city centre."

You can watch the full interview on Shots TV here.