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
Ian Rankin 2013, Rankin co-wrote the play "Dark Road" with Mark Thomson, the artistic director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre. The play, which marked Rankin's play-writing debut, premiered at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in September 2013. Rankin is a regular contributor to the BBC Two arts programme "Newsnight Review". His 3-part documentary series on the subject of evil was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2002. In 2005 he presented a 30-minute documentary on BBC Four called "Rankin on the Staircase", in which he investigated the relationship between real-life cases and crime fiction. It was loosely based on the Michael Peterson murder