Top detective Scott is back on the case
Irvine Welsh’s Crime
STV, 9pm
The mention of a troubled detective probably makes crime drama fans roll their eyes. Let’s face it, they’re ten a penny – most fictional cops have some kind of personal problem or quirk. So when it was announced that Dougray Scott was going to play another of them in the first season of Crime, the police procedural based on Transpotting author Irvine Welsh’s novel and adapted for the screen by the man himself and fellow writer Dean Cavanagh, some fans of the genre could be forgiven for thinking, “here we go again…” However, the mix of gallows humour with a genuinely gripping and tense tale meant the resulting show was a hit with critics and viewers alike, paving the way for a second run. Scott is back, of course, as DI Ray Lennox, who at least appears to be a changed man. He’s clean and sober, having supposedly recovered from the breakdown induced by the Confectioner case. On his return to the Edinburgh Serious Crimes Unit, he’s keen to prove his worth to his colleagues, and soon becomes embroiled in an investigation into an assault on a former fellow police officer – one that sets him on the trail of corruption in high places. “Lennox has got so much depth to him and the second series delves even more into his history, his childhood and his relationship with his family, his mother and sister and what happened to him as a child,” explains Scott, when asked why he loves playing the character so much.
“He goes deeper into all of that with his therapist Sally and that becomes a very interesting relationship as well. She encourages him to keep talking to her about his experiences, whereas he sort of thinks that he’s had enough of it and he doesn’t really need it anymore. Well, that’s what he says but obviously he’s not healed in any way, shape or form. “He soon starts on this new case, where these well-to-do people in society are being murdered and he’s trying to find a connection between all of them, and some of the people he knows already from his dealings with them in the past.” Adding to the fun for Scott this time around was the presence of his son Gabriel, who plays funloving student Fraser; he’s about to discover in a tough way just how privileged and closeted his upbringing has been. “I adore him as a human being,” smiles the proud dad. “I’m so fond of him. I love him, obviously, because he’s my son. But it’s really interesting watching him work and he won that role. He went up against a lot of other actors and he won it. He’s at the beginning of his career but he’s a sensitive actor with a great sense of vulnerability that he brought to the character of Fraser.” So watch out for Scott Jr, who’s also appeared in Masters of the Air and House of the Dragon, to see if he’s a chip off the block. Ken Stott, John Simm and Joanna Vanderham return as Toal, the Confectioner and Drummond respectively, while sibling thespians Sarah and Brian Mccardie, Laura Fraser and Rebecca Root join the cast.