Search on for lead actress to play Rita Cowan

Tokyo TV chiefs are searching for the star of a new programme charting the life and work of Rita Cowan – the “mother of Japanese whisky”.

TV producers are still searching for an actress to play Rita Cowan – the “mother of Japanese whisky” – in a new mini-series

According to the Herald Scotland, television producers at NHK TV have encountered difficulty in their search for an actress to play Cowan – a key figure in the development of Japan’s whisky distilling industry.

The series, entitled Massan, will chart the lives of Cowan and her husband Masataka Taketsuru, who have both been credited as the founders of Japan’s whisky industry.

After meeting in Glasgow in 1918 when Taketsuru attended Glasgow University, the pair married in 1920 and moved to Japan in 1921, where they began importing whisky and later created their own distillery, called Dai Nihon Kaju.

Casting directors are reportedly looking for a European-looking woman who can speak both English and Japanese fluently and also has a “brilliant” singing voice.

It has been reported that the actress will be the first Caucasian woman to be hired in a leading role by the network.

Massan will broadcast as a 150-episode mini-series.

NHK TV producers said that although their search is still on, they hope to announce the actress to play Cowan next month.