Hamish Macbeth is a Scottish mystery comedy-drama television series produced by BBC Scotland that aired from 26 March 1995 to 4 May 1997. It is loosely based on a series of mystery novels by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). The series concerns a local police officer, Constable Hamish Macbeth, in the fictitious town of Lochdubh on the west coast of Scotland. The title character was played by Robert Carlyle. It consisted of three series, with the first two series containing six episodes and the third containing eight. The series was released on DVD in the United Kingdom and the United States in 2005 and 2006 respectively, with the exception of the first series episode ‘West Coast Story’. This was due to rights issues surrounding the episode's extensive use of excerpts from the 1961 film West Side Story. In September 2023 the series was made permanently available on BBC iPlayer. Like the DVD release, ‘West Coast Story’ is not on iPlayer.

Synopsis

Hamish Macbeth, a police constable in the Northern Constabulary, accompanied by his dog, a West Highland Terrier named Wee Jock, keeps the peace in the small town of Lochdubh. He does so without great reliance on the letter of the law and with every intention of avoiding being promoted out of what is his ideal job. He strongly dislikes involvement from Inverness police, and sometimes his intention does not seem to be to capture local petty criminals but to keep them away from prison and penalties. The major running theme of the series is the tension caused by Hamish's attraction to both the journalist of the local newspaper, Isobel Sutherland, and the aristocratic author Alexandra Maclean. Other themes include the clairvoyance of Hamish's friend and co-worker "TV John" McIver, the not-so-secret romance between the school-teacher Esme Murray and the shopkeeper Rory Campbell, the volatile marriage of the publican Barney Meldrum and his wife Agnes, the schemes of the two Lachie MacCraes, father and son, the laid-back, pipe-smoking Doc Brown, and Major Peregrine Maclean, father of Alexandra and penniless aristocratic widower. The series was accompanied by the Gaelic music of John Lunn.

Production

The series was filmed on location in the village of Plockton, the town of Kyle of Lochalsh and the surrounding area. A map of the Lochdubh area shown in the episode ‘In Search of a Rose’ places Lochdubh close to Toscaig, just to the north of Kyle of Lochalsh, with Lochdubh Island being part of the Crowlin Islands. The series was directed mainly by Nicholas Renton, with Mandie Fletcher directing four episodes and Jonas Grimas directing two episodes in 1997.

Cast

Recurring characters

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (1995)

Series 2 (1996)

Series 3 (1997)

Home Media

Region 1: All three series have been released on DVD in Region 1 from October 25, 2005, to October 23, 2007. Region 2: All three series have been released on DVD in Region 2 from September 5, 2005, to April 24, 2006. Region 4: All three series have been released on DVD in Region 4 from March 21, 2006, to February 7, 2007.