Comment: Edinburgh takes the starring role on screen again

trainspotting isn't everybody's cup of tea.

The new BBC Three drama Clique is set in Edinburgh.

Personally, I loved catching up with the latest exploits of Renton, Begbie and co. It made me laugh out loud - and it made me cry. I certainly didn’t expect it to be Robert Carlyle’s psychotic character that moved me the most.

One highlight for me was seeing a friend of the family singing in what was supposed to be a Leith social club. Another was spotting all the parts of Edinburgh that had been used as backdrops to the action. Something I expect everyone from the city did. The city was certainly the film’s fifth star.

Similar things are being said about the new Edinburgh-set BBC thriller Clique which uses Napier University’s Craiglockhart campus as one of its strikingly modern settings. With a plot about glamorous, ambitious, high-flying, young women, the story is in many ways the polar opposite of Trainspotting. It’s probably closer to a modern take on Miss Jean Brodie, although that comparison is probably stretching things a bit.

Far better we let the story stand on its own merits and enjoy watching out for the parts of Edinburgh we know. If you plan to tune in next week, happy location spotting.