New three-part series Granite Harbour

Aberdeen is known as the Granite City, which is such a striking nickname that it’s clearly just crying out to be the setting of a detective drama.

The good news is that TV bosses have now recognised that fact and are bringing us the new three-part series Granite Harbour.

The BBC is excited at the prospect.

Louise Thornton, head of commissioning at BBC Scotland is delighted to have commissioned this new drama and believes audiences will be treated to an intriguing and captivating story.

She says: “We are thrilled to have commissioned this new drama for the BBC Scotland channel and BBC One. Audiences will be treated to an intriguing and captivating story with strong characters that will play out against the dramatic city scape of Aberdeen and the North East.

“We are delighted to be working with our colleagues in BBC iPlayer to bring high quality content based in Scotland to audiences across the UK as part of our co-commissioning strategy.”

Aberdeen isn’t the only star of the drama though. The cast is headed by rising talent Romario Simpson, whose credits include Noughts + Crosses, the Lovers Rock episode of Small Axe, and the recent Star Wars spin-off Andor.

He plays Lance Corporal Davis Lindo, who has just completed his final tour with the Royal Military Police and now dreams of being a detective at New Scotland Yard.

So, he’s a bit taken aback to discover that he’s instead of pounding the mean streets of London, he’s instead being packed off to Old Scotland to train as a Detective Constable.

It’s going to be something of a culture shock for the former soldier but, luckily, he won’t have to navigate this new landscape entirely on his own. It turns out he has a potential ally in his mentor, DCI Lara ‘Bart’ Bartlett (Hannah Donaldson, who has Scottish detective drama previous thanks to roles in Rebus and Shetland).

She’s sharp, streetwise and a native Aberdonian, meaning she’s the perfect person to show him the ropes. However, in the grand tradition of maverick TV cops, she’s used to working alone, so she has an adjustment of her own to make now she has a partner.

The duo aren’t going to be eased into their new working relationship gently, as they discover their first case involves the murder of one of Aberdeen’s most recognisable faces from the oil industry.

The crime has stunned the city, and Lindo realises that not only does he need to get to grips with a city and force that are completely alien to him, he’s also going to be dragged into a corporate battle between old and new energy. But it also seems that this high-profile investigation may have historic roots…

The supporting cast includes Dawn Steele, Gary Lewis, Fiona Bell and Bhav Joshi, and the good news for anyone who can’t wait to find out what happens next is that all three episodes are available to watch as a boxset on iPlayer.