Rebus star Richard Rankin: 'John realises he is a dying breed'
Rankin and his co-star Lucie Shorthouse spoke about their characters' dynamic in the series.
All six episodes of the BBC's Rebus reboot are available to stream now, with the series reimagining Ian Rankin's beloved detective as a younger officer working in Edinburgh's modern-day police force.
This version of John Rebus, played by Richard Rankin, is seen being paired up for the first time with Siobhan Clarke, as played by Lucie Shorthouse – and the two stars have spoken about their characters' relationship dynamic in the series.
Rankin told RadioTimes.com exclusively that the pair don't have a "mentor relationship", even if it is meant to be.
He explained: "John is supposed to be mentoring Siobhan, I think he kind of reluctantly kind of takes her on board. I’m not going to say accepts, because he doesn't really.
"Because Siobhan's from the fast track, I think he sees that as coming along with inexperience and no real street smarts.
"He starts off being quite cold towards her, which gives us a lot of room and a long way to go with that relationship. It has its ups and downs, but you can tell that it certainly has the makings of what will become quite a close relationship."
Meanwhile, Shorthouse added: "I think Siobhan learned to be by the book and to play the system and to abide by its rules, whereas Rebus is a lot more novel and original in terms of how he approaches the job, finds his resources, how he investigates. So I think they've got a lot to learn from each other.
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"I think she can help him toe the line a bit more, but he can also help her think further outside the box. I think it's just it's that sense of someone new and other coming into your world, and I think she represents a new wave of the police force.
"It's not so much of a threat, but it's just that sense of 'this could potentially ruin my system and what I've got going'. So she's got to win his trust and prove herself to him for sure."
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Rankin explained: "There's a threat there to each other's way of being, especially Rebus's old school, traditional, that sort of old system of policing. Bringing it into a more contemporary setting, it's 2023, it's the modern way of policing and everything is on an iPad and tablets, computers, but he's just not that.
"Siobhan comes in with her sort of, 'I'm just out of the academy' school of thinking, and it threatens his way of operating. I think he feels that quite quickly.
"He realises he is, maybe, a kind of a dying breed, John Rebus, in terms of coming through all the sorts of political correctness and procedures of the way things should be done, and what can be tolerated these days.
"You're constantly under surveillance with cameras and all the rest of it, and he's struggling to find his way to operate through that. I think he gets quite antagonistic towards Siobhan when she doesn't necessarily deserve it."
As well as Rankin and Shorthouse, the series also stars Brian Ferguson, Amy Manson, Mia McKenzie, Stuart Bowman and Neshla Caplan, amongst others.
Rebus is available to stream in full now on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
