NOW hailed as a cult classic, the film Small Faces certainly made a huge impression on the west of Scotland on its release in 1996.

It told the story of three brothers, Bobby, Alan and Lex, growing up in the south side of Glasgow in the late 1960s – a time of urban warfare between the city’s gangs.

Both funny and poignant, Small Faces struck a chord – and won Iain Robertson, who played 13 year old Lex – a BAFTA.

Now work is finally progressing on a sequel. And the Herald caught up with Iain and Saltcoats actor Steven Duffy, who played his big brother Bobby, for a chat about the new project.

Iain, most recently seen on screen as in Stevie O’Hara in River City, made his movie debut in Small Faces.

Now 41, the whole idea for a ‘Small Faces II’ came from him after he posed a question to the film’s director Gillies McKinnon and his co-screenwriter, and brother, Billy McKinnon.

Iain revealed: “Of all the characters I played, my favourite was Lex. So I got in touch with the team and asked ‘what would Lex be doing at the age of 40?’

“Gilles came back to me and said, ‘Are you thinking about a sequel?’

“But Billy just said ‘there’s nothing could want to do less than Small Faces 2’.

“Then five weeks later, he sent a five page document on Lex at 40.”

The working title of the new movie is, currently, 'Smile'.

Most of the core cast have kept in touch over the years – and there is definitely a strong bond between many of them.

That cast included Joe McFadden, who went on to star in Heartbeat, Holby City and won the 2017 final of Strictly Come Dancing. He played the middle McLean brother, aspiring artist Alan.

The film also starred Kevin McKidd, who went on to star in TV series Rome and is now a huge hit in the USA for his role in medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, who played rival gang member Malky Johnson.

And Laura Fraser, most recently seen as Lydia in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, was Alan’s love interest Joanne.

But what about Steven’s role in the new movie?

(Spoilers ahead, but the film did come out in 1996. While I’m at it, Rosebud was a sled in Citizen Kane, and Bruce Willis was dead all along in The Sixth Sense.)

Steven’s character Bobby dies in the film – knifed to death on an ice rink as his young brother watches - and Lex blames himself.

For the 90s sequel, it seems that Lex keeps seeing his late brother all the time. And he’s not sure if he’s a ghost, a product of his post traumatic stress - or if he’s really still alive.

What does Steven think?

“Randall and Hopkirk?” Steven laughed. “It is looking at that romanticised story and then doing it years later with people suffering from PTSD or a psychological break.”

“There's talk of this film being a ghost story. I haven’t seen a script but I'm absolutely up for haunting Iain."

Iain said: “One of the big things is that when you meet people, they remember Small Faces as a gang film.

"Gillies and Billy would say it is a story about three brothers and love and betrayal, with the 60s Glasgow gang warfare as a backdrop.

“It wasn’t about the Glens and the Tong – it was about these brothers who are caught up in it.

“In that vein, if you look at a 13-year-old boy who watched his brother murdered. He has an absent father and a single parent.

“Lex is damaged. Lex at 40 is very much still Lex at 13.

 “What would it be like to grow up feeling it was your fault that your brother got murdered on an ice rink in 1968?”

“This will look at Lex’s recovery from the pain of the original film.”

He continued: “This is not a traditional sequel - if you think you are getting a straightforward Small Faces 2, you’re in for a shock.”

Steven said: “Gillies has always been loyal to everyone involved. We have all worked with him again.”

Thinking ahead to the new film, Iain added: “Mind you, Lex has aged more than anybody.

"Joe McFadden played my older brother in Small Faces. When I did Holby City a few years ago with Joe, I was supposed to be the younger brother again – and they asked to take out the reference to me being younger.

“Joe put his foot down and said it was ridiculous. It is fair to say Joe still looks youthful...”

Grey hairs aside, Iain says he’s more than ready to return to the role of Lex.

He said “Hopefully you can watch the new film without having seen Small Faces and get a good sense of what it is about.

“There’s such a nostalgic connection to the film, which is quite wonderful. We all started our careers with that film and there is still great energy.”

Watch this space for more on the project as it progresses.