Forsyth was keen to write a series about siblings, which he has called "the most interesting dramatic relationship", and a show with a
leitmotif that ran through all the characters, in this case, guilt. He spent several years developing
Guilt before finding a home for it at the BBC. It became the first drama commission for the new BBC Scotland channel, which premiered the episodes of the series a week before they were transmitted nationwide on BBC Two.
Guilt was produced by Happy Tramp North and Expectation Entertainment. The first series was directed by Robert McKillop . Although it is primarily set in
Edinburgh's
Leith area, little of the filming was done in that city; the production team cited the high number of tourists in Edinburgh, as well as the expense of shooting there. Most of the filming instead was done in
Glasgow—at a cost 30 percent cheaper than Edinburgh—and
East Kilbride, with additional scenes shot in
Aberfoyle. Among the filming locations were
Charlotte Square in Edinburgh and the
Clydebank Docks. A second series of
Guilt was confirmed by the BBC in July 2020, and filming began in Scotland in November 2020. New cast members included
Phyllis Logan,
Sara Vickers,
Stuart Bowman and Iain Pirie. The second series was directed by Patrick Harkins. A third and final series premiered on April 25, 2023 and was also directed by Patrick Harkins.
David Hayman joined the cast. Forsyth explained he had always wanted
Guilt to be a trilogy, and he had made the decision to bring the show to an end. ==Reception==