Reporting by Sarah McMullan and Emma Cameron.

A special screening of the first episode of Taggart is taking place on Wednesday as the iconic crime drama celebrates its 35th birthday.

Killer, a three-part serial written by Glenn Chandler and starring Mark McManus as Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart, first aired in September 1983.

The hit STV show went on to run for 110 shows over 27 series until 2010.

Its first episode will be shown at the Seamore Neighbourhood Cinema in Maryhill on Wednesday.

Following the screening, Chandler and creator Robert Love will answer questions from the audience.

Even after all this time, Mr Love says Taggart's appeal remains as strong as ever.

He said: "Taggart came about when I asked a new writer Glen Chandler to come up with some scripts about a Glasgow detective with a young new eager assistant.

"Taggart wasn't a police-procedural, it was a classic 'whodunnit' and Glen Chandler was a key discovery because he really got under the skin of it.

"The first episode was a story about a serial killer and it was very much Maryhill-based.

"It was in this episode that Mark McManus who played the original Taggart first uttered that classic line ... after being told by his assistant 'Oh, I think a ligature has been used to strangle him', he replied 'Oh, there's nae such thing as ligatures in Maryhill'.

"It was a success because you kept the audience guessing - they would tune in every week and talk about it at the pub the following night.

"That was one of the key ingredients but so was the city of Glasgow, it was such a tremendously visual location. It was unusual for English network viewers to experience that."

Taggart acted as a who's who of Scottish talent, giving many big names their first shot in the spotlight.

James Cosmo, Alan Cumming and Blythe Duff are just a few names listed in the star-studded cast.

Gavin Mitchell, best known for his role as Boaby the Barman in Still Game, says that appearing in Taggart was the benchmark for most Scottish actors.

He said: "The first time I appeared in Taggart I was with Mark McManus, which was brilliant, and aye, I was a barman which was a wee bit of research for later years.

"And when I came back in 2002 I was a pathologist and then finally in 2009 I was a gangster.

"So that was a brilliant trajectory, from pathologist to barman to gangster. It was a great shopfront for Scottish talent, you got your chance to show your range."