Blythe's deep trouble; Taggart star turns stunt girl.

Fully clothed, Blythe Duff walked to the edge of the swimming pool and chucked herself in at the deep end.

While other fitness club members stopped their exercise routines and gazed in amazement, the Taggart star began swimming up and down the pool.

But there were more surprises in store for the baffled onlookers.

After a few lengths, 35-year-old Blythe pulled in at the side and dragged off her clothes to reveal that she was wearing a wet suit underneath.

Then, looking like Jacques Cousteau's latest recruit, she continued to plough through the water.

``I'm sure that everyone at the centre must have wondered what the hell I was up to," she said.

Although it may have looked as though the actress was larking about, she was actually doing some serious research.

She was making sure that she wouldn't be out of her depth when she filmed some action scenes for the latest Taggart drama, Dead Reckoning, about the killing of escort agency girls, which starts on Wednesday.

She explained: "I had to learn to swim properly, like a professional, even when weighed down by shoes and clothes.

"That wasn't easy, because I had a terrible fear of water. As soon as the water would get in my ears and eyes, I would panic.

"So I was quite chuffed that I managed to overcome this fear."

Blythe became quite the action girl for this Taggart murder story when her character, Detective Sergeant Jackie Reid goes undercover at an outward bound centre.

The script called for Blythe to be plunged into freezing water - which is why she had to be able to swim in a wet suit and clothes.

She also had to tackle rock climbing and abseiling and the actress willingly did her own stunts.

SHE said: "There was always someone standing by, in case there was anything which made me uncomfortable. But I really enjoyed doing the stunts.

"After doing them, I finally understood the buzz climbers get. I hope the stunts work well on television - hopefully they will look as difficult as they were. If they seem too easy, I'll be furious."

Apart from becoming Taggart's action girl, Blythe has also taken a much more significant plunge ... into marriage and motherhood.

A whirlwind romance led to a fairytale wedding in March at Culzean Castle, in Ayrshire, as the telly police officer married the real thing - Scots fraud squad sergeant Tom Forrest.

When she exchanged vows with the 35-year-old widower, Blythe also inherited a ready made family, Tom's two daughters Sarah, five, and three-year-old Katie.

The couple's romance started when Tom and the girls moved into the house next door to Blythe in Glasgow.

Soon after they became neighbours and friends the pair discovered that they had fallen in love. Blythe explained: "Our courting was different from most couples who only see each other weekends. Because we lived next door to each other, we saw each other every day.

"Very quickly we had a sense of being involved in each other's lives."

Blythe's thrilled with her real-life roles as wife and mother, but it hasn't made her broody for a baby of her own.

She said: "If I never have any children of my own, I would not worry about it because I am already blessed.

"Tom and the girls are the most important things in my life."

The happiness of her new family is of vital importance to Blythe. So much so that she put them first, even ahead of a romantic honeymoon.

She explained: "As the preparations were being made for the wedding, Sarah asked: `When are we going on honeymoon?', which I thought was fantastic. But we put the honeymoon on hold because it was important that we settle in as a family unit first. So we waited for a month or so before having a weekend in New York.

"I suppose I'm in an unusual situation and it is a totally different lifestyle for me, but I am enjoying it."

WHEN Blythe talks about her wedding day - which was attended by Taggart stars James Macpherson and Colin McCredie - you know it was the greatest day of her life.

She gushed: "It was fantastic, brilliant, everything that I could have hoped for. If it had snowed I would not have cared.

"I was just so happy and it was very emotional, to the point where most of the congregation were crying - even the men."

Fans from all over the country travelled down to the Ayrshire castle to catch a glimpse of Blythe the bride. She was surprised and touched by this display of affection from her viewers.

She said: "I was amazed that so many people gathered outside Culzean to wish us well. It was really nice and very special."

Now, of course, the actress we all know as Blythe Duff is Mrs Blythe Forrest. She laughed: "Some friends have said that Blythe Forrest sounds like an air freshener.

"We've had a laugh about that. Although I'm Mrs Forrest, however, I still use my maiden name for work."

Blythe admitted that being married to a policeman means she has her very own expert with whom she can discuss the finer points of a Taggart casebook.

She said: "He does enjoy Taggart. Sometimes, though, he will say that he would have had to have been on to the case much quicker. But he realises that what I'm doing is drama which can't always do things as they'd happen in real life.

"It's great to have Tom there because I now have this mine of information that I can call upon."

Occasionally, though, Tom's observations will bring his star wife crashing back to earth. For instance when he suggested that a real police officer wouldn't be given a car like the flashy new model that DS Jackie Reid drives.

Blythe, James Macpherson and the rest of the Taggart team have been busy filming future episodes.

But right now Mrs Forrest and family are off on their summer holiday - and after her experiences in the current Taggart series, Blythe knows that she can really make a big splash in the swimming pool.