The reason Ian Rankin didn't make a cameo appearance in latest Rebus TV show

During The Front List: Richard Osman in conversation with Ian Rankin, which took place at 1.30pm in the McEwan Hall and streamed online to those who had bought virtual tickets, the pair shared stories about writing as well as discussing Rebus and Osman’s books. Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series have been chart stormers, and are currently being made into a star-studded film by Chris Columbus featuring Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie, Ben Kingsley and Pierce Brosnan as the four main characters.

After writing four Thursday Murder Club books, Osman decided to write something new - We Solve Murders - which is out next month. He explained the rationale around this to Rankin saying he “wanted to write something more globe-trotting.” The story for this new book revolves around Steve Wheeler, an ex-policeman who is living his best peaceful life in a New Forest village. Things take a turn when he needs to help his daughter-in-law, Amy.

After starting out strong with Osman declaring that “Scotland is better than England in pretty much everything…pretty much everything” Osman and Rankin discussed book writing, character development (and ageing characters) as well as their creations being adapted for the big and small screen. While there’s speculation over whether Osman will have a cameo in the film adaptation of the Thursday Murder Club, which is being produced by Steven Spielberg's company Amblin Entertainment, Rankin shared a funny anecdote about why he didn’t make a cameo in the most recent Rebus adaption, which aired this spring on BBC 1 and BBC Scotland.

Ian said: “I’ve got so little power Richard - I don’t get to meet Spielberg. I was executive producer on Rebus, the TV show that just happened and they said ‘do you want a cameo?’ and I went ‘yeah great’. And they said ‘ok you can be walking into the Oxford Bar as the gangster Cafferty is walking out. Just turn up in your normal clothes.’ So I arrived at the Oxford Bar and they’re shooting everything and it’s all happening, buzz, buzz, buzz. ‘Just go and sit in the back room Ian’ so I go and sit in the back room, all the extras are there. I had a pint and I have the paper with me and I’m reading the paper and drinking my pint. Order another pint, thank you very much. Eventually I look around and there’s fewer extras than there were. Then there’s no extras, it’s just me. I went and looked in the front room and there’s only the bar man and he’s looking at me and I said ‘where is everybody?’ and he said ‘oh they’ve wrapped. They’ve gone home.’ So I walked home and texted the director and he went ‘oh yeah we forgot.’”

Rebus: A Game Called Malice by Ian Rankin (right) will have its Scottish Premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, with Gray O’Brien (left) in the title role.

During the chat Osman also confirmed that he’s not planning on killing off any of the four main characters in the Thursday Murder Club any time soon. The duo also talked about favourite characters including one in We Solve Murders, who Rankin likened to himself. “My favourite character in this whole book is Tony Taylor,” said Rankin, which prompted Osman to explain this character in We Solve Murders. He said: “Tony Taylor is Steve’s best friend, he is the mechanic in the village that Steve lives in, and there’s five of them that meet up every lunchtime in the pub and Tony is the only one not allowed to be in the pub quiz team. He’s obsessed, as is Steve, with directions to places.” After reading an extract on Tony Taylor’s facetiousness with directions, Rankin declared that the character was very similar to himself saying “that’s me.”

The Edinburgh International Book Festival was hailed as a ‘great success’ as it drew more than 100,000 visits this month, with ticket and book sales significantly up on previous years, organisers said. There were almost 600 events and more than 200 of them sold to 90 per cent capacity or more.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is out on 12 September 2024 and can be pre-ordered now.

Ian Rankin’s Rebus stage show, Rebus: A Game Called Malice will have its Scottish Premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10-14 September before heading to His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, 16–21 September; and Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, 23–27 September.