David Hayman on his starring role in Guilt and its part in Scotland's screen boom

He has one of the most familiar faces in Scottish film and TV thanks to a career which has spanned more than a half a century.

Jamie Sives plays Jake and David Hayman plays Alec in the final series of Guilt. Picture: Anne Binckebanck

David Hayman’s screen credits include everything from big screen epics like Braveheart, Rob Roy and Macbeth to comedy classics Scotch & Wry and Still Game.

But the 75-year-old Glaswegian believes the screen industry in Scotland has never been in ruder health.

The actor, who has a starring role in the new series of Guilt, says he has never known a time when so many films and TV shows have been in production in Scotland.

David Hayman and Emun Elliott play Alec and Kenny in Guilt. Picture: Anne Binckebanck

And Hayman said the boom was allowing Scottish acting talent to move back to their own country rather than be based in London.

However the actor, who recently starred in the hit play Cyprus Avenue at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, drew a contrast between the respective strengths of Scotland’s screen and stage sectors.

Hayman is a new addition to the cast of Guilt in its third and final series, playing the father of brothers Max and Jake (played by Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives), who seek refuge at his home in the Highlands after they escape the ruthless clutches of crime clan kingpin Maggie Lynch (Phyllis Logan).

Estranged from Max and Jake for decades, Hayman’s character Alec has a lot of explaining to do.

Jamie Sives (Jake), Pat Harkins (Director), Neil Forsyth (Writer/Exec Producer), Amelia Isaac Jones (Skye) & Greg McHugh (Teddy) launched the new series of Guilt at the Everyman cinema in Glasgow. Picture: BAFTA/Carlo Paloni Picture Credit BAFTA/Carlo Paloni

Hayman said: “I hadn’t seen any of Guilt at all until I was offered the part – I don’t really get the chance to watch an awful lot of television.

“When I caught up with it I absolutely loved it. Mark and Jamie are just wonderful – they really lead from the front. Neil [Forsyth, writer] has created great characters and great storylines.“When I read it, my character just leapt off the page. I just thought: ‘what a beautifully-written man.’ He is a man of few words and loves his isolation and loneliness.

"But he has been riddled with Guilt that he walked out on them and has been longing for the boys to get in touch with him. He has been hoping that they would knock on the door so he could rebuild the relationship he once had with his boys.

"Bringing their father into the story really ties up a lot of the boys’ loose ends. There are some beautiful scenes in there. It was a joy to bring it off the page."

David Hayman plays Alec in the third and final series of Guilt. Picture: Anne Binckebanck

The third and final series of Guilt has been launched against a backdrop of optimism about the screen industry in Scotland. Filming is underway on a new TV reboot of Rebus starring Richard Rankin, as well as a new series of Shetland with Ashley Jensen taking over from Douglas Henshall in the lead role.

Second series of both marine homicide drama Annika and Irvine Welsh’s TV series Crime have been made, while a separate series which will see Robert Carlyle revive Welsh’s Begbie character from Trainspotting is also being developed.

Hayman said: “The industry is healthier than it’s ever been.

“One of my sons is a director, another is an assistant director.

David Hayman plays Alec in the third and final series of Guilt. Picture: Anne Binckebanck

They tell me that there are something like 20 productions planning to go ahead in Scotland this year, which is amazing.

"London-based actors are coming home because there is now so much work in Scotland that they don’t have to go elsewhere.

"I don’t know whether that is down to more indigenous productions or productions coming in to shoot in Scotland, but there is certainly an awful lot going on.

“Film and TV is definitely far healthier than the theatre industry in Scotland, which is very precarious at the moment.

“Audiences are apparently down on average by around 30 per cent since the pandemic, which is quite a blow.

"We were very lucky with the show at the Tron as we had sold out the run before we even opened.”

Brian Cox stars as the ‘Don of Dundee’ himself, Bob Servant, who is a small-time Scottish businessman navigating life in Broughty Ferry, a suburb of Dundee. Described as ‘comedic but funny’ by many, Bob regularly entertains viewers as he regularly overestimates his own importance and skill.

Speaking at the launch in Glasgow of the new series of Guilt, Edinburgh-born actor Sives, who has also starred in Annika and Crime, said: “The industry is going great guns at the moment.“I started a job last year and there were 19 productions on the go at the same time, which is brilliant. The Government used to make it really difficult, but there seems to be a bit more help there now."

Emun Elliott, who plays Kenny in Guilt, said: “It’s been one of the greatest experiences of my career.

"There’s a lot happening up here now – not just dramas, but with films and documentaries as well. Scotland should be seen on screen and Scottish talent should be able to work up here without having to go to London everywhere else. It’s a beautiful country full of talent.”

Guilt director Patrick Harkins, whose previous Scottish dramas include Taggart, Sea of Souls, River City and Waterloo Road, said: “When I started working in film and TV in Scotland there would be one or two productions being made in a year. It is pretty incredible that we now have so many happening at the one time.

"There’s a bigger pool of talent now and it’s growing all the time.

"There was a time when literally everybody knew everybody else. Now there’s a lot of people who I don’t know, which is great.

“You don’t have to move to London to work in film and television now. People can have a career rather than just get work twice a year.”

Forsyth, who worked on the comedy series Bob Servant before Guilt, said: “What’s really positive in terms of Scottish production is that 10 or 15 years ago there were loads of shows which were commissioned and then sent to Scotland to get made - which was great and supported the industry - while I feel there a lot of shows up here which are intrinsically Scottish.

"It was great that BBC Scotland backed a show that couldn’t be made anywhere else. That’s how you get distinctive television made.”