MAN of the hour

Shetland native STEVEN ROBERTSON on how his fan-favourite character makes a key discovery, and why he's relishing his role more than ever...

- STEVEN PERKINS

SHETLAND 
WEDNESDAY, 9PM, BBC1 DRAMA

A Shetland staple since the BBC1 crime drama began in 2013, Steven Robertson is delighted that the current eighth run is proving such a hit with fans.

‘We’re all so proud of the show,’ says the actor, 46, who plays DC Sandy Wilson, when TV Times catches up with him for an exclusive interview. ‘It’s made in the most wonderful spirit, so it means the world to us that people are enjoying it!’

This week’s penultimate episode finds Sandy, along with ‘Temporary DI’ Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) and DI Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen), desperately still trying to unravel the complex web of secrets surrounding the murder of Shetlander Ellen Quinn (Maisie Norma Seaton), the scared witness to a gangland killing in London.

As tenacious Sandy uncovers an important piece of evidence, Tosh learns of a vital link between Ellen’s relative Heather Bain (Lorraine McIntosh, see our interview, right) and the grieving Sadat family.

Here, Steven, who was born and bred in Shetland, shares his case notes…