Rankin heist too hot for gallery chiefs

THE National Galleries of Scotland has banned a new film adaptation of an Ian Rankin novel from using its storehouse as a location – over concerns about a copycat heist.

Stephen Fry and Douglas Henshall are to head the cast of Doors Open, in which an art professor, a millionaire and a banker join forces to carry out a daring raid of priceless paintings.

But plans to film key scenes at the National Galleries’ official collections centre on the city’s waterfront were scuppered when bosses turned down a request from Fry’s production company for security reasons.

Filming is due to get under way on April 23. Rankin’s Doors Open was said to have caused “consternation” among staff at the National Galleries after it was published four years ago.

The writer, who is believed to be advising on the script for the adaptation, later wrote: “I heard on good authority that the galleries were ‘slightly worried’ because they could see how my heist might actually work.”