When BBC show Guilt first hit our screens four years ago, Edinburgh residents were thrilled to see their own city - not to mention the two lead actors being born and bred locals.
Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives, who played brothers Max and Jake McCall in all three seasons, knew each other long before filming began, having attended Leith Academy together back in the ‘80s, although they agreed to have ‘moved in different circles’.
Speaking with Edinburgh Live , the duo looked back fondly on all three seasons of their hit show before we broke down that dramatic final season. First, it was a walk down memory lane.
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Mark, 54, told us: “First day of high school I met Jamie. We were pally, but we moved in different circles.”
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Jamie added: “We would walk to school together sometimes. Mark had half a brain though.”
It quickly became clear while we chatted with the Leith Academy graduates that while they might not have been best friends at the time, they’d certainly developed a friendship since - and weren’t afraid to poke fun at each other. Aside from their walks to school together, they also starred in a play together at the time.
Jamie recalled: “I was always very impressed with Mark, he would be reading the script out loud with no notes. There were full scripts and he’d have it memorised.”
Mark was quick to respond, and cleared up any confusion over his memory skills, adding: “I don’t remember that at all, clearly your memory is so much better than mine now.”
Moving on from their school days, we asked about the gripping final season of Guilt and what first drew them in to signing up. Mark said: “I mean I felt it when I was sent me episode one with the first four pages, I was completely sold and knew I had to do it.
"We had no idea it was going to be the success it's been, of course because you never do, you just hope. You've got a great script to start with and it's your job not to f*** it up, and luckily we didn't."
We now know Guilt had audiences hooked, wondering what was in store for Max and Jake. Season three saw the brothers still riddled with guilt, with familiar faces returning to hassle them.
For those who haven’t watched it yet, we won’t spoil anything here - but the final episode came with a satisfying end for the duo.
While Guilt is set in Edinburgh, much of the filming is done in and around Glasgow - which both Jamie and Mark explained to us. They said: “We mostly filmed there [Glasgow] and a couple of weeks in Edinburgh. It's always nice to see your hometown shot beautifully.
“Glasgow city centre is easier to film than Edinburgh. Jamie, who was born in Lochend, worked as a scaffolder, postman, and club doorman.
“It’s just a shame Edinburgh is so difficult to shoot in, it’s a building site for a start so if you’re filming in multiple locations, you’re just not moving a crew around very easily. Aside from the fact that most of the crew are living on the west coast and most of the camera rental places are there, it was very difficult.”
Talking about Guilt coming to an end, Jamie said: “I’m really excited for everyone to see it because I think it might be our finest final, and finest season, yet.
“But it comes along with sadness that I won’t be working alongside Mark on an almost daily basis. Well I might do one day, but Jake and Max are no more.”
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