News about Ken Stott

Crime writer Sir Ian Rankin is best known for his Inspector Rebus novels, writes York Membery. The 64-year-old's 25 novels about the hard-drinking, Edinburgh police detective have sold more than 20 million copies. The novels have also been adapted for television with the actors John Hannah, Ken Stott and, most recently, Richard Rankin all playing the character in spin-off dramas.

In contrast to so many TV coppers, Barnaby enjoys a happy marriage (to Sarah, played by Fiona Dolman, left) and is untroubled by personal demons. Pictured right: Neil Hendrix and Neil Dudgeon as DS Winter and Barnaby in Midsomer Murders.

With the Euros kicking off, fans up and down the UK will be glued to their screens. But what if you don't like football? Sometimes it can seem like there's just too much of the beautiful game on our screens. But if you find penalty shootouts and the intricacies of the off side rule a turn-off there are plenty of shows to watch instead.

KATHRYN FLETT: If you have fond memories of the Noughties' ITV series starring John Hannah who was then replaced by Ken Stott, here's a warning: the BBC 's Rebus reboot is so violent and uncompromisingly bleak that I had to force myself to keep watching past the first five minutes. Executive producer Sir Ian Rankin may have given his blessing to this incarnation of his Inspector Rebus novels by the writer Gregory Burke ('I've known Greg for years. I'm a huge fan of his work on stage and on screen… we grew up four miles apart… etc'), however, it took me to a place I really didn't need to visit.

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: DI John Rebus is a bad man trying to be a good copper. Fans of the novels by Sir Ian Rankin understand this, and we try to forgive him his violence, his drunken moods, his cruel sarcasm and his disloyalty. But the bestselling books have defeated every previous attempt to translate them to television. Ken Stott and John Hannah have both tried, and been unrecognisable as Rebus. Richard Rankin (no relation to the author) gets much closer to the character on the page. The trouble is, he becomes so deeply nasty that the show is all but unwatchable. This adaptation opened with Rebus confronting a bloodied patient in an ambulance after a road accident. If you knew the books, it was quickly obvious this was gangster Ger Cafferty (Stuart Bowman), the detective's nemesis.

If you're looking for something to keep you entertained on TV this weekend, look no further as our critics have picked out the 20 must-watch shows on demand you won't want to miss.

Nearly 20 years after John Rebus was last on our screens, the world-weary Scottish detective is back - but not as we know him.  an Rankin's beloved sleuth of 29 novels was made into a TV series between 2000 and 2007 starring John Hannah and then Ken Stott (right). The new Rebus, played by Outlander's Richard Rankin (no relation), reimagines him as a younger maverick detective sergeant pounding the streets of Edinburgh in the present day.