Shooting took place in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Outlander’s Richard Rankin has briefly stepped away from his time-travelling escapades to take on the role of John Rebus in a BBC reboot of Ian Rankin’s long-running crime series.
The six-parter, written by Gregory Burke, reimagines the Scottish detective sergeant in his younger years, when his professional and personal lives collide in explosive, violent fashion.
Watch the trailer below.
As with the source material, this series is also set in Edinburgh, with much of the filming taking place there.
Read on to find out exactly where the cast and crew pitched up.
Rebus filming locations: Where was the BBC drama filmed?
You can’t film in Edinburgh without featuring the city’s castle, which appears in a number of shots.
“We’ve put him [Rebus] in a street where he can actually walk out of his front door and see Edinburgh Castle, which is a bit of a cheat,” said Ian Rankin. “That’s not where he stays in the books, but in the TV version if he looks to his left, he can see the castle. So we get lots of lovely establishing shots.”
Many of you will also recognise the Forth Bridge, which connects Edinburgh to Fife, which is where Rebus is from, and where Michael and his family are living when we meet them.
You might also recognise the Royal Mile and the exterior of the University of Edinburgh’s New College and Assembly Hall, Mound Place, which is where gangster Jimmy McJagger is first attacked.
Filming also took place in the following locations:
- George Heriot’s School – the school Rebus’s daughter Sammy attends
- George Street
- Grass Market and Victoria Street
- National Library of Scotland
- The Oxford Bar
Eagle-eyed locals also spotted the cast and crew in the following locations:
- Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre – the police station
- The Meadows
- Keir Street
Burke described the city as “beautiful and Gothic”.
“You have the wonderful light on the Firth of Forth, and the amazing skies,” he added.
And it’s also a “divided city”, according to the screenwriter.
“The rationality of the New Town during the Enlightenment is right next to the medieval Old Town and all that debauchery and vice that went on there,” he said. “It looks really cinematic and dramatic on film.”
Filming also took place just up the road in Glasgow, with the cast and crew pitching up at Oran Mor’s piano bar, Fonn Mór, in the city’s West End.
Other locations include Byres Road, and two streets located in Rutherglen, Airlie Gardens and Cruachan Road.
Rebus starts on Friday 17th May on BBC iPlayer. All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6am, with episode one airing on BBC Scotland on Friday 17th May at 10pm and on BBC One on Saturday 18th May at 9:25pm.
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