NEW beginnings

Fresh recruit ASHLEY JENSEN and returnee ALISON O'DONNELL on teaming up to solve crimes in picturesque Shetland

- STEVEN PERKINS

SHETLAND 

NEW WEDNESDAY, 9PM, BBC1 DRAMA

Change is afoot as BBC1’s hit crime thriller Shetland returns for an eighth outing this week.

As well as a murky new case to unravel and a fresh crop of guest characters, the six-part run sees the much-anticipated debut of latest lead cop DI Ruth Calder (played by Agatha Raisin star Ashley Jensen), a replacement for DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall), who bowed out at the end of the last series.

After 20 years working for the Metropolitan Police in London, Ruth reluctantly returns to her native Shetland on the trail of Ellen Quinn (TV newcomer Maisie Norma Seaton), a key witness to a gangland murder.

With Ruth having no jurisdiction on the islands, fan favourite Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell), who has been acting DI since Jimmy’s departure, must pause her investigation into a string of sinister animal deaths to help find vulnerable Ellen before it’s too late.

TV Times brought Ashley and Alison in for questioning to find out more…

Welcome to Shetland, Ashley! How did you feel about joining an established and popular programme?

ASHLEY I felt mixed things. Obviously, I’d seen and loved the show, so I was very flattered to be asked. However, it has such a loyal fan base, so there was a tiny degree of trepidation about stepping into something that is so loved.