Martin Compston: 'Scotland's Justin Bieber' leads cast of The Rig

To millions of Line of Duty fans, Martin Compston will always be Steve Arnott, but to his new Canadian co-star he is Scotland's answer to Justin Bieber.

Emily Hampshire had never heard of the Scottish actor when they met for the first time on the set of new Amazon Original thriller The Rig.

But when they ventured out of Edinburgh's First Stage Studios, she soon realised the hit BBC police drama had made Compston a household name.

"We went for dinner and walked down the street and this guy is like the mayor of Scotland or something," Hampshire said. "He is like Justin Bieber here.

"So now I know who Martin Compston is."

Last year Amazon Prime Video announced The Rig would be its first original project to be filmed exclusively in Scotland.

And Hampshire, who is best-known for her role in hit comedy Schitt's Creek, has made the most of her time in Edinburgh.

She told BBC Scotland's The Edit that she climbed Arthur's Seat with another co-star after being invited for a "wee walk".

"A lot of people say 'wee' for things that are not 'wee'," she joked.

The six-part series follows the crew of the Kishorn Bravo oil rig.

When the fog rolls in they find themselves cut off from all communication and are "driven to the limits of both their loyalties and their endurance, into a confrontation with forces beyond their imagination".

The project has reunited Compston with Line of Duty director John Strickland and series two co-star Mark Bonnar.

The Greenock-born actor, who plays a communications officer, was anxious not to give away any spoilers but he said things start to go wrong in the opening episode,

Compston also revealed one of the themes The Rig touches upon is climate change and said viewers should expect explosions.

He added: "There is a great line the brilliant Mark Bonnar has in it which is 'If we keep punching holes in the earth one time the earth is going to punch back' and it sort of all kind of revolves around that stuff."

The actor described the drama as a "wild supernatural thriller" and added: "It's kind of something that has never been seen before. I'm just chuffed to be a part of it."

Compston, whose credits include In Plain Sight and The Nest, also praised First Stage's 8.6 acre (3.4ha) facility at Port of Leith.

An oil rig set was created in the studio as the cast were unable to visit a real one due to the Covid restrictions.

He added: "We have always had the crew, the talent and the locations where people go [in Scotland] but we have not had a solid base.

"When you are doing huge projects like this you do need studios so it has been very heartening to see.

"It is an amazing period for the Scottish film industry.

"You are going from our own little indies and TV shows and huge Hollywood blockbusters. It's a really exciting time for us."

Meanwhile, Compston admitted the hype around Line of Duty became a "surreal circus" and said he has no idea if he will return to the small screen as Det Sgt Steve Arnott.

But he added there is always a break of a year or two between series.

Compston said: "If Jed (Mercurio) thinks there is a story to tell and we are all off doing other things then, yeah, we will definitely have a conversation at some point. But I genuinely don't know."

You can see the full interviews with the stars of the The Rig on The Edit on the BBC Scotland channel at 19:15 on Saturday.