SIX OF THE BEST SCOTTISH CRIME DRAMAS

TAGGART

Yes, there's been a murder. Quite a lot of them in fact since the show debuted in 1983. Set in the fictional John Street police station in Glasgow, it would become the UK's longest running crime drama series and was broadcast in 56 countries. Jim Taggart was played for 11 years by Mark McManus, right, until his death in June 1994 but the show battled on before being axed in 2010.

GUILT

Both series of the darkly comic BBC Scotland drama are on iPlayer. The opening series starred Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives as chalk-andcheese brothers grappling with the aftermath of a dastardly deed. Series two brought a bleak homecoming for one character and a clutch of new faces including Greg McHugh and Stuart Bowman. Like a Scottish Fargo.

REBUS

There were two very different TV versions of Ian Rankin's sleuth. The first was played by freshfaced John Hannah, then came a reboot with Ken Stott with a more tattered take on Rebus. Both series presented a macabre side of Edinburgh. All in all, a far cry from the festivals.

HAMISH MACBETH

The mystery-drama drew in 11 million viewers over three series between 1995 and 1997. Starring Robert Carlyle as Hamish MacBeth, it was based on novels by M C Beaton. The show focused on a cannabis-smoking constable plying his trade in the fictional town of Lochdubh on the west coast.

SCOT SQUAD

From Officer Karen to Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson, this BBC Scotland police mockumentary series provides plenty of arresting (sorry) moments. Jack Docherty, who plays Miekelson, once got a message from the real Chief Constable Iain Livingstone pointing out the show didn't accurately reflect the hiring policies of Police Scotland. Docherty told Susan Swarbrick, “I found that a bit unnerving. Why he's never taken issue with any other story in the show? Does this mean we're getting the rest of it correct?”

COMING SOON

Game of Thrones Star Rory McCann is set to play DCI Jim Daley in an upcoming eight-part TV adaptation of the books by best-selling Scottish author Denzil Meyrick, a former police officer. McCann plays DCI Daley, a detective from fictional Kinloch, investigating serious crimes in a close-knit rural community. Almost the most dangerous places to live.