Martin Compston is returning to our screens in a new BBC drama and here's everything you need to know. 

The Line of Duty and Our House actor, 38, will star alongside fellow Scot Tony Curran, 53, ( Doctor Who, Outlaw King, Thor: The Dark World) in the two-part adaptation. 

The Scottish BBC drama brings Waterstones's Scottish Book of the Year 2021 to TV as it tells the heart-wrenching story first told in Andrew O'Hagan's novel.

Here's everything you need to know about Mayflies and how to tune in.

What time is Mayflies on TV? How to watch

The first episode of Mayflies airs on BBC Scotland on Tuesday, December 27 at 10 pm. 

The second episode will follow at 10 pm on the BBC Scotland channel at 10 pm on Wednesday, December 28.

Viewers will also be able to catch the first episode on BBC One on December 28 at 9 pm with the second instalment airing on BBC One at 9 pm on Thursday, December 29. 

Both episodes will also be available on catch up on BBC iPlayer.

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Full Mayflies cast

Here is the full cast of the TV adaptation of Mayflies:

  • Martin Compston - Jimmy
  • Tony Curran - Tully
  • Ashley Jensen - Anna
  • Tracy Ifeachor - Iona
  • Rian Gordon - Young Jimmy
  • Tom Glynn-Carney - Young Tully
  • Paul Gorman - Young Hogg
  • Mitchell Robertson - Young Tibbs
  • Elaine C Smith - Barbara
  • Shauna Macdonald - Fiona
  • Cal MacAninch - Tibbs
  • Colin McCredie - Scott
  • Matt Littleson - Young Limbo

What is Mayflies about?

Mayflies follows the strong friendship of Jimmy (Compston) and Tully (Curran) which spans 30 years as told in Andrew O'Hagan's 2020 novel.

The old friends made a vow to each other to live their lives differently back in 1986.

30 years later, the pair are finally reunited but under heartbreaking circumstances.

The official synopsis reads:"Everyone has a Tully Dawson (Tony Curran) - the friend who defines your life. In the summer of 1986, in a small Scottish town, Jimmy (Martin Compston) and Tully ignite a brilliant friendship based on music, films and the rebel spirit.

"With school over and the locked world of their fathers before them, they rush towards the climax of their youth - a magical weekend in Manchester, the epicentre of everything that inspires them in working-class Britain. There, against the greatest soundtrack ever recorded, a vow is made: to go at life differently.

"Thirty years on, half a life away, the phone rings. Tully has the worst kind of news, and a request that will test their friendship, love, and loyalty to the limit...

"Mayflies is a memorial to youth’s euphoria and to everyday tragedy. A tender goodbye to an old union, it discovers the joy and the costs of love."

Is Mayflies a true story?

Sadly, Mayflies is based on a true story and the author's real life. 

The book, which was adapted to screen by Andrea Gibb and director Peter Mackie Burns, is autobiographical. 

The character Tully is said to be based on O'Hagan's friend Keith Martin who grew up with him in Irvine. 

As the book and series dramatise, Martin had phoned O'Hagan to share the tragic news of his terminal cancer diagnosis.

Martin passed away, aged 51, in 2018 which was two years before the novel was released.

What has Martin Compston said about Mayflies?

Speaking about joining the project, Compston shared: "For me, it was a no brainer.

"Me and Tony go way, way back, so that aspect, filming in Scotland... it was all perfect.

"Every day you felt like the tears were coming, and you were going home to read the following day's scenes and it was the same thing. It was full on, but to go through that with one of your best pals was a joy."

Read more about Martin Compston on Mayflies here.

Where was Mayflies filmed? 

The TV series was filmed between August and October 2022 across Glasgow and Ayrshire. 

Some familiar filming locations include Ballast Bank in Troon, Queens Terrace car park near the Ayr Esplanade and Grennan Shore.

Compston among other cast members were also seen filming in Brechin's Bar in Govan, Bellahouston Park in Glasgow and the famous Charles Rennie Mackintosh mansion 'House for an Art Lover'.

Where can I buy Andrew O'Hagan's book Mayflies?

Mayflies is available for purchase now at various big retailers and local bookshops.

O'Hagan's novel can be bought as a paperback copy for £9.99 via the Waterstones website.

Mayflies first airs on BBC Scotland on Tuesday, December 27 at 10 pm.