Sean Connery, the former James Bond with the unmistakable lisp, is back and has to deliver the speech of his life today in his home town of Edinburgh, a speech the Scottish National Party hopes will revive its campaign to win power in Scotland's new parliament.
In the absence of its most famous backer, opinion polls have shown a sharp drop in SNP support, while Labour has moved into a commanding lead for the May 6th ballot. But with Connery (68) - still heart-flutteringly handsome, with "Scotland Forever" tattooed on his arm - at least it has glamour on its side.
He arrived in Scotland last Wednesday with 100 American film journalists to promote his latest film, Entrapment, and to take part in a CBS television special about his roots. He was besieged by the Scottish media, and a complaint is being lodged about intrusion by a photographer for the Daily Record, the Labour-supporting tabloid.
Although he pays £40,000 to the SNP each year, and has backed the nationalists for 30 years, it was not clear until last week that he would turn up to help the campaign. His value, after all, is in the mystique of the tax exile based in Spain, the Bahamas and Hollywood. And the SNP has the dilemma of whether it wants to highlight the support of a tax exile worth around £60 million, while promising to have higher tax rates than its opponents for resident Scots.
The Scots have an uncomfortable relationship with those who are successful, whether exiled or not, tending to cut them down to size and remind them of their roots. And they are not used to the exile community staying involved.
According to the British Trade Minister, Mr Brian Wilson, "people form a judgment that `he may love Scotland, but he doesn't love it quite enough to live in it, and he's entitled to his political opinions but, thank you very much, we'll make up our own minds' ".
But the instantly recognisable Connery voice has a dramatic effect on voters. When he first voiced-over a party broadcast eight years ago, the public response was four times the normal rate.