The latest incarnation of Ian Rankin’s widely successful crime fiction is due to air on the BBC this weekend.
The long-running detective series with Inspector Rebus was first adapted into a TV show in 2000 for ITV, starring John Hannah, and then later with Ken Scott.
The BBC promised to reimagine the iconic character of John Rebus as a younger detective, drawn into violent crime – that quickly turns personal.
Author Rankin himself is executive producer of the new series and said it will “shock” fans as they get the chance to see a Rebus not in his seventies or sixties, but his thirties.
“They’re getting the quite macho Rebus from the early books,” Rankin, 64, said. “We get the strength of Rebus as a quite a gung-ho cop, but set against contemporary issues, contemporary politics and contemporary problems that people have.
“At its best, a crime novel is a political novel insofar as it deals with the reasons why crime happens. A lot of the time it’s to do with people being stuck in a rut. They see no way out that is legal, and their life crumbles around them.”
In a statement, the BBC said the new show will portray the Scottish detective at a “psychological crossroads” after a violent encounter with a notorious gangster.
At odds with his increasingly technocratic superiors, his ex-wife’s new, wealthy boyfriend and the law itself, this latest release has the potential to be the most riveting Rebus reboot yet.
Here is everything we know so far.
Who is in the Rebus cast?
Richard Rankin as John Rebus
Richard Rankin, who is of no relation to the novel’s author, plays the titular character after starring roles in hit TV shows like Outlander, The Last Kingdom and Midsomer Murders.
The Scottish actor called Rankin an “iconic character” in his home country but claims this adaptation is different from others, saying: “I could tell Greggory Burke [the director] was doing something new and exciting with this. It felt real, it felt dark, and it felt charged.
“It’s very much a character drama… The style and the aesthetic of how [the writers] wanted it shot were all brilliant. Dark; cinematic; gritty.”
Brian Ferguson as Michael Rebus
Best known for his work in indie film Beats and the recent ITV mini-series The Ipcress File, Brian Ferguson is now starring alongside Rebus as the main character’s brother.
Taking on a much bigger role than the book, Rebus’s brother is a broke ex-soldier named Michael, who desperately crosses the line to provide for his family – putting law enforcer John Rebus in an agonising position.
Speaking about his new character, Ferguson said: “This Michael is quite different from the Michael in the books… In the last couple of years, he’s come out of the army after 22 years. He and his wife try and set up a business just at the time of Covid and the pandemic, and then the cost of living crisis hits and the business fails… So when we meet them, they’re in a pretty desperate situation.”
Despite describing Michael as a “man of real honour”, he said he has an “antagonistic” relationship with his brother. “I think this is very familiar, particularly among working-class men. The only way that brothers know how to express their love for each other is through aggression,” he said.
Lucie Shorthouse as Siobhan Clarke
After appearing in Line of Duty and Bulletproof, Lucie Shorthouse will portray a new detective constable, who has not come up through the ranks in the most traditional way.
Siobhan therefore needs to prove herself to Rebus as a capable detective in a male, white-dominated profession.
“She’s been put with Rebus who obviously takes no prisoners, so she’s got her work cut out,” Shorthouse said. “But I also think she’s a great match for him. She’s not willing to back down from him but she’s also inspired by him.”
Other cast members
- Cassidy Little (The King’s Man) as Gary “Cammy” Campbell
- Cailean Galloway (A Christmas Story Christmas) as Liam Rebus
- Patrick O’Brien (Peaky Blinders and Crime) as Davey Matteson
- Michelle Duncan (Atonement and Bohemian Rhapsody) as Maggie Blantyre
- Sean Buchanan (Mary Queen of Scots) as George Blantyre
- Ryan Hayes (The Witcher) as Alan Fowler
- Mia McKenzie (Earth is Never Dry) as Sammy
Where was Rebus filmed?
As an iconically Scottish franchise, Rebus was filmed in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Having not yet been released, it is difficult to say where exactly in the Scottish cities filming took place.
Last year, though, film crews were spotted on Edinburgh’s Rose and Keir Street, with author Rankin sharing photos with his fans on social media.
New pictures released by the BBC also show Richard Rankin with the Old Town’s Victoria Street in the background.
How many episodes of Rebus are there and how to watch?
Rebus will launch on Friday 17 May.
All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6am, with episode one airing on BBC Scotland on Friday 17 May at 10pm and on BBC One on Saturday 18 May at 9:25pm.
The six-part series will see 45-minute episodes released on a weekly basis thereafter on live TV.
