It's the third and final series of the darkly comic drama Guilt

All good things must come to an end – including the third and final series of the darkly comic drama Guilt.

Viewers will be sad to see it go, and so will actor Mark Bonnar, who plays Max. He’s certainly relished getting the scrips from the show’s writer Neil Forsyth, saying: “It’s been an absolute joy, a total gift to play.

“I’ve said this before, but Neil Forsyth writes the words that I love to say. He’s not only an incredible storyteller, but a wordsmith as well – they feel amazing in your mouth. He has a knack of doing all these separate fascinating strands of a story and managing to tie them all together in a really funny and dramatic way.”

Bonnar, whose credits also include Shetland and Catastrophe, adds: “When [Forsyth] first started out with the show, he said there was a lack of anything like this on British television, a ‘dramedy’ – like the Americans do so well, where the show is very serious, but has a lot of funny moments in it.

“Before, we didn’t really do that – a crime drama was a crime drama; a hospital drama was a hospital drama – there were very few jokes. I think Neil’s broken the mould.”

But while he admits he’s sad to leave the role, Bonnar does think the writer has made the right decision to bring Guilt to an end. He says: “I think what Neil has done is absolutely right. It was time and I think the mark of a class act, as Neil is, is knowing to get out while we’re on top.”

So for viewers, the big question is what will happen to brothers Max and Jake? Does Bonnar think they can still redeem themselves?

“Definitely – I think they’re capable of it. But I don’t think Jake needed to redeem himself, actually. Jake’s just caught from the word go. From the very first series, he’s caught in a situation that’s not really of his making. He’s gaslit and harried and herded into this corner that he doesn’t really want to be a part of.

“But Max has just got such a forceful and strong and quick personality that Jake goes along with it. So I think that Jake never really needed redemption. I think he’s just trapped!”

Maybe a great escape will be in the offing in the series finale as Max comes up with a plan to seize Sir Jim Strurrock’s money from Maggie Lynch.

The scheme is so top secret, he won’t even share it with Jake, which leaves his brother tempted to come up with a hush-hush plot of his own involving an alliance with Sheila.

Meanwhile, after finding herself in Leith with Skye and Danny, Aliza demands to speak to whoever is in charge – and finds herself talking to Max, who challenges her to find a way they can both win from the sale of The National Bank of Caledonia.

Maggie realises her enemies are closing in and takes desperate action, but can Max and Jake break free of their own foes – and each other?