New BBC drama Guilt set in Leith was filmed in East Kilbride due to 'hellish' tourists, high costs and logistics
A new BBC Scotland drama used East Kilbride as a stand-in for Leith due to "hellish" tourists and high costs for filming.
In an interview with the website Broadcast, cast and crew of Guilt criticised the Capital's ability to host filming, despite high-value productions including Fast and Furious and Will Ferrell's new Eurovision film also having production take place in the city.
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Hide AdThe drama was mostly filmed at Parkhouse Business Park in Glasgow, but scenes supposedly set in Leith were instead filmed in East Kilbride.
Location manager Tim Maskell claimed filming in the Capital is up to 30 per cent more expensive than Glasgow, with Edinburgh offering several logistical challenges.
He said: "It’s difficult to facilitate filming there – it’s very rare to get any space to park your big vehicles, and if you find a site, it will probably have been built on six months later.
Producer Jules Hussey added: "The tourist footfall alone in Edinburgh makes getting across town hellish.”
Charlotte Square was one of the areas of Edinburgh used in the show, with Bute House, the home of Nicola Sturgeon initially planned to double as a dodgy foreign embassy.
Due to Brexit security fears, they ended up using the building next door.
Ms Hussey said: "[Director Robbie McKillop] went into an office there and said, ‘I’d like to use this for filming’, just as we realised it was Bute House. That’s SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon’s residence,
"Bute House would have considered us going in, but there were serious security issues because of Brexit."
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Hide AdMark Bonnar, who plays Max in the show, lamented the budget restraints that meant the majority of the production could not take place in Edinburgh.
He said: “When I was reading the script for Guilt, I fantasised about how cool it was going to be walking the streets of Edinburgh and visiting my old haunts.
“Then we were only there for two days. With budget necessities, that’s the just the way it is at the moment.”