John Rebus and the frequent popular music references and thoughts that Ian Rankin weaves into the stories. However, Rebus' reliance on alcohol is evident and he is often seen drinking in the Oxford Bar. Also, in the television series Rebus is portrayed as being a supporter of Hibernian. This is not found in Ian Rankin's books, he having stated outside the books that Rebus is a Raith Rovers supporter.Rebus's Fife accent is softened as well; in the novel "Tooth and Nail", London Metropolitan Police colleagues find it difficult to understand his speech. Alexander Morton played Rebus in a 1999 BBC Radio 4
John Rebus with BBC Radio Scotland, Rankin corrected his interviewer in the description of "Exit Music" as not the last Rebus novel, but Rebus's retirement novel. Rankin expects to revisit the Edinburgh he created in fiction, with Clarke as his central police officer character. In the same interview, Rankin suggests several reasons for his creation's popularity, despite the policeman's unlikeability. First, Rebus is an outsider, and many people can feel as though they do not fit in as well as they think they should; secondly, Rebus is a curmudgeon, and there is a pleasure in such characters; and finally, he does not