Trainspotting's Irvine Welsh tells of 'brutal' drug-fuelled murders that inspired hit film

EXCLUSIVE: Trainspotting's Irvine Welsh tells of 'brutal' drug-fuelled murders that inspired hit filmIrvine Welsh talks about gruesome pair, criminals Burke and Hare, in a new Sky History documentary, Britain’s Murder Map - and says he found them fertile material for his writingCommentsNewsFran Bowden Head of Features (Longform), Sue Lee and Hannah Britt, Senior Reporter Mirror Features19:42, 13 Apr 2026Updated 19:43, 13 Apr 2026View 4 ImagesIrvine Welsh was born and raised in Edinburgh. His first novel, Trainspotting, has sold over one million copies in the UK and was adapted into an era-defining film.(Image: Daily Record)Against the atmospheric backdrop of Edinburgh’s historic tenements, Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh turns his focus to the city’s most infamous criminals – Burke and Hare. The prolific serial killers committed at least 16 murders between November 1827 and Halloween 1828 – selling the corpses to an anatomist to dissect in the interest of medical science.‌Burke was hanged on January 28, 1829 for the murders, while Hare was granted immunity for testifying against his partner in crime. He fled to England and is rumoured to have lived as a beggar. Welsh, 66, who talks about the gruesome pair in a new Sky History documentary, Britain’s Murder Map, found them fertile material for his writing. His screenplay The Meat Trade, co-written with Dean Cavanagh, re-imagines the Burke and Hare murders in modern Edinburgh.‌READ MORE: Vicky McClure 'heartbroken' over grim murder as famous husband makes major promiseWelsh, whose jobs before becoming an author included apprentice electrician and working for the council, was addicted to heroin in his early 20s. And he says the inextricable mix of severe poverty, drug abuse – be that alcohol or heroin – and depravity, informed Trainspotting and its sequel Dead Men’s Trousers. He says: “I kind of used it in Dead Men’s Trousers to think to myself, what would the modern Burke and Hare scenario be...