Where is Guilt filmed? Scotland filming locations for BBC series starring Mark Bonnar - including Edinburgh

BBC’s Guilt kicked off this October, as Shetland’s Mark Bonnar returned for series two of the crime drama.

Following from series one, Mark (Bonnar) is released from prison after serving a sentence for accidentally killing an elderly pedestrian while driving under the influence.

The series was commissioned by BBC Scotland and many of the scenes throughout the series are shot in the capital and elsewhere in Scotland.

Here, we take a look at the filming locations which have featured in both series of the crime drama.

Where was Guilt filmed?

Despite being largely set in the legendary, quirky area of Leith, Edinburgh, most of the scenes for the drama were actually shot in and around Glasgow.

According to the series’ locations manager, the cost of filming in Edinburgh, coupled with the ‘hellish’ football tourism, meant the capital was ruled out as the main base for the show.

Glasgow filming locations

Production in Glasgow proved 30 percent cheaper than Edinburgh, making it an ideal fit for the series.

Parkhouse Business Park in the North of the city provided the backdrop for many scenes in the series. The business park is a development not far from Maryhill and Ruchill and just a short drive from the city centre.

As the series is set in Leith, which has a 500-year-old heritage of ship building, this was replicated by filming at the Clydebank shipyards.

The yards are world famous for building ships such as RMS Queen Mary, RMS Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Elizabeth 2, a fitting location to mimic Leith.

Some of the scenes throughout the series also required a more rural, country feel. Instead of trekking all the way to the Highlands, producers opted to film in Aberfoyle.

Aberfoyle, a small village in the Trossachs, is just 27 miles from Glasgow.

Directors Robert McKillop Patrick Harkins also planned to shoot some footage in the city chamber, in the iconic George Square, but due to the European elections also taking place at the time, this was not permitted.

East Kilbride

In series one, the hit-and-run scene was filmed in the town of East Kilbride, located south-east of Glasgow, in the South Lanarkshire council area.

Viewers watched on as Max (Bonnar) and his mate, Jake (Jamie Sives) mowed down an elderly man as they returned home from a wedding.

The scenes required houses which ran parallel with one another and were packed close together, which was achieved by filming in a residential area of the town.

Shots from inside the houses also took place inside the homes of East Kilbride residents, according to The I.

Edinburgh

While Edinburgh proved tricky to film any great deal of scenes in, Leith-born Mark Bonnar and the directors were keen to feature some of the capital in the show.

Therefore, the city was reserved for visually captivating scenes and directors were inspired by one very important Edinburgh property.

McKillop spotted a stunning building in the city’s Charlotte Square which would have been perfect to play the part of the foreign embassy.

However, the early 19th century building proved to be Bute House, the First Minister’s Edinburgh home.

As Nicola Sturgeon’s pad was ruled out for security reasons, the building next door was used instead.

Guilt airs weekly on Thursdays at 10pm on BBC One. All episodes are also available to stream on BBC iPlayer.