If you think you’ve already seen the BBC at its best, we’d hazard a guess that you haven’t seen Guilt yet. The Scottish crime drama, which first aired in 2019, explores the story of two brothers who, on the way home from a wedding, accidentally run over and kill a man. So what do they do? Attempt to cover it up. It’s clever, endlessly thrilling and if you’re a fan of the BBC's other Scotland-set series, Shetland, you’ll almost certainly adore it.
The brothers in question, Max (Mark Bonnar) Jake (Jamie Sives) appear to have gotten away with the crime, but how easy is it really to get away with a hit and run? Over the course of three adrenaline-filled series, we find out – and see just how far the victim’s neighbours and relatives are willing to go to get to the bottom of their loved one's death.
With all three series now available to watch on the BBC, here’s everything you need to know about Guilt before you tune in, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.
What is Guilt about?
The series, which first aired on the BBC in 2019, follows two disparate brothers, high-flying lawyer Max (Mark Bonnar) and record shop owner Jake (Jamie Sives) who, while driving home from a wedding one night, accidentally run over and kill an old man. The pair are uninsured and under the influence and, rather than call the police and report the accident, they make the panicked decision to cover their tracks. But will they get away with it? If the neighbours and relatives of the dead man, Walter, have anything to do with it, they won’t.
It’s not long before they start to suspect Walter’s death wasn’t as innocent as it seems and the brothers find their lives rapidly falling apart as their actions – and lies - begin to catch up with them. Over the course of three series, we see the consequences of their actions play out – and how, their increasingly desperate attempts to conceal their guilt leads them further into a world where they can’t trust anyone – not even each other.
Mark Bonnar, who plays Max, explained in a BBC interview that the relationship between his character and his brother Jake is far from straightforward. “It’s a strained relationship which has been exacerbated by time and distance and the fact they’re very, very different people,” he said.
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“Jake and Max don’t really communicate that much. They certainly don’t see each other often unless they’re dragged together by family events, like the wedding which precedes the opening of Guilt. The only thing that periodically brings them together is the record shop, Leith Beats, which Max bought for Jake after the death of their mother. Ostensibly this looks like an act of kindness which, we discover later, it wasn’t…”
Jamie Sives added: “In many ways Max symbolises all the things in life which disgust Jake: he’s materialistic and shallow, while Jake is more spiritual, so they do lock horns. Everything that Max wants to do to fix the situation they find themselves in appals Jake in a human sense. And Jake’s humanity is a real issue for Max.”
Who’s in the cast of Guilt?
The cast of Guilt includes:
- Mark Bonnar (Line of Duty, Unforgotten) as Max McCall
- Jamie Sives (Chernobyl, Game of Thrones) as Jake McCall
- Emun Elliot (The Paradise) as Kenny Burns
- Bill Paterson (Fleabag, Inside No.9) as Roy Lynch
- Ellie Haddington (Endeavour, Motherland)
- Ruth Bradley (The Split) as Angie Curtis
- Sian Brooke (Doctor Foster, Sherlock) as Claire McCall
- Moyo Akandé (Tetris) as Tina Hicks
- Noof McEwan (Vera) as Cameron Lovat
- Gregor Firth (Only You) as Archie
- Stuart Bowman (Rebus) as Roy Lunch (series 2 and 3)
- Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) as Maggie Lunch (series 2 and 3)
Is Guilt any good?
Yes – it was, in fact, the first drama commission from BBC Scotland, but you wouldn’t know it. The plot is genius, the acting is superb and, thanks to enormous cover-up at the centre of the series, the thrills really do keep on coming as the episodes go on. Oh, and we should also mention that the humour is very likely to make you laugh out loud. Interesting fact: Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has given the drama a big thumbs up, too!
How can I watch Guilt?
All three series of Guilt are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
What other crime dramas can I watch now?
If you fancy a crime drama that's a bit cosier, we’d recommend Darby and Joan. The series introduces us to widowed nurse Joan Kirkhope (Greta Scacchi) and ex-detective Jack Darby (Bryan Brown) who are drawn into a series of (very compelling!) mysteries in the Australian outback. Darby and Joan is available to watch now on U. For something more current, we’d suggest Sheridan Smith’s recent drama The Cage. Sheridan plays Leanne, who discovers that she and her colleague Matty (Michael Socha) are both robbing from the safe at the casino they work in – and they find themselves involved in far more than they bargained for. You can watch The Cage on BBC iPlayer.
