Rebus: Stars of the new BBC Scotland TV thriller, including Richard Rankin, lift the lid on what fans can expect

Outlander star Richard Rankin will play lead role

If Richard Rankin had stuck to his guns, it is a role he would have turned his back on.

The actor had told his agent he was no longer interested in playing TV detectives. But when he was asked if he would be interested in playing John Rebus, he had a quick change of heart.

Now Rankin is about to star in an eagerly-awaited TV reboot, which will unite the talents of two of Scotland’s most successful writers.

Richard Rankin plays detective sergeant John Rebus in the new BBC TV series. Picture: Mark Mainz

The 41-year-old Outlander star will be playing Ian Rankin's iconic detective at roughly the same age the character is in the first novel in 1987.

A “reimagined" world has been created for Rebus with a host of familiar characters from the best-selling novels by screenwriter and playwright Gregory Burke, who has been working on an adaptation with Rankin since 2017.

It was a combination that intrigued the actor, not least because one of his first major roles was in Black Watch, one of Burke’s most successful plays, which was inspired by the experiences of a group of Scottish soldiers who had served in Iraq.

Set in modern-day Edinburgh and Fife, the six-part series sees Rebus torn between loyalty to his brother, a former soldier, and protecting the law when Michael Rebus turns to criminality to try to resolve his family’s deepening financial crisis.

Brian Ferguson and Richard Rankin play Michael and John Rebus in the new BBC TV series Rebus. Picture: Mark Mainz

The actor said: “I had played a few detective roles and had told my agent and didn’t really want to go down that road again. But when I was first asked to have a chat about Rebus, I thought Ian and Greg were a really interesting combination.

"I was sent the scripts and I think I was about three pages in when I thought 'this is for me'. I could immediately see the world that Greg was creating using Ian's source material. It was beautifully written, layered and complex. I knew it was going to be different, dangerous and gritty.”

Burke and Ian Rankin, who first met more than 20 years ago, are both executive producers on the show, which will launch on May 17 on BBC Scotland.

Burke said: “Right from the beginning, Ian said to me ‘do whatever you want’. He was really open to reinvention of the character and reinvention of his world.

Neshla Caplan plays Chrissie Rebus in the new BBC TV series Rebus. Picture: Mark Mainz

"There is so much material and there are so many characters in the ‘Rebus-verse’. I wanted to use as many of them as possible. We wanted to make something that was contemporary and felt as if it was happening now.”

Burke was keen the new series reflected the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on large sections of society.

While Rebus’s brother and his wife have had to sell their home in Edinburgh and return to Fife due to their financial problems, the detective’s ex-wife has remarried a wealthy businessman in the city.

Burke said: “I’d say the series is about rules and laws. The laws are what we have to live in at the moment. But the rules are what have existed in all human societies. Blood is thicker than water, you don't rat on people and if somebody hurts you, then you hurt them back.

Lucie Shorthouse and Richard Rankin play Siobhan Clarke and John Rebus in the new BBC Scotland series Rebus. Picture: Mark Mainz

"But those are the rules that criminals abide by, whereas Rebus is supposed to be about the law. He has a real conundrum when he finds out what his brother has done.

“He is willing to push things a bit. He’s perceived within the police as the guy who will do the things that other people won’t do. It is a kind of relationship where they need him, but also don’t need him.”

Rankin, who will follow in the footsteps of John Hannah and Ken Stott playing Rebus on TV, said of the character: “Rebus is always looking to do the right thing, but not necessarily by the right means.

"He is explosive, which brings a lot of danger and threat. He likes who he likes and doesn't have much time for others. He is always treading a fine line. He is quite self-destructive and short-fused. He and his brother have a lot of great similarities, which makes for a really nice parallel through the main story."

Brian Ferguson, who was in the original cast of Black Watch, plays Rebus’s troubled brother.

He said: “There is a really nice sense of continuity with Black Watch given the concerns that Greg has for the veteran’s story. Michael has spent 22 years in the Army. He’s been in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he’s a really family man, with two teenage boys and a wife.

Nick Rhys plays Lockie Moncrieffe, Amy Manson plays Rhona Moncrieffe, Richard Rankin plays John Rebus and Mia McKenzie plays Sammy Rebus in the new BBC TV series Rebus. Picture: Alan Peebles

"Michael really wants to toe the line, but he and his wife are in a desperate situation. They just cannot make ends meet when we meet them. He thinks he can see a way to make a quick buck and things unravel from there.

“Michael and John have a really antagonistic brotherly relationship. They immediately reminded me of Liam and Noel Gallagher. They kind of don’t know how else to be with each other.”

The series features a number of prominent female characters, including newly-arrived detective Siobhan Clarke, played by Lucie Shorthouse, Rebus’s ex-wife Rhona, played by Amy Manson, and Michael’s wife Chrissie, played by Nesha Caplan.

Caplan, a long-time fan of the Rebus books, said: “Everyone loves a good mystery, but they’re also surrounded by wit, darkness and the familiarity of a city that you love. The flaws of Rebus also shine out of the character.

“Greg has been able to take those elements of Rebus and write them into the other characters. There is a real sense of ‘nobody’s perfect, but that’s alright’.

“Decisions are made in the heat of the moment. When you’re under the cosh a bit, opportunities present themselves. It then becomes about the risks you’re willing to take and how far you’re willing to go."

Manson said: “Rhona has to navigate John, Michael and Chrissie lying to her. She knows something is up and tries to piece things together. She takes things into her own hands and almost conducts her own investigation.

"Family dynamics, relationships and feuds are at the core of the show. That was a real selling point reading the scripts – it was so tangible.

"I could smell the animosity between certain characters, but the show is also about the love between them. People can expect a lot of twists and turns, and ups and downs.”