Beginning of THE END..

DOUGLAS HENSHALL on why he’s saying farewell to his popular cop Perez

Fans of BBC1’s gritty detective thriller Shetland have been on tenterhooks since that shock twist at the end of season six.

After the main case was done and dusted, a dramatic final scene saw dedicated DI Jimmy Perez (played by Douglas Henshall) arrested, in front of his whole team, under suspicion for the ‘unlawful death’ of terminally ill convicted murderer Donna Killick (Fiona Bell). But, as viewers know, this was the climax of Donna’s sinister plot for revenge against the cop and her ex-lover, Jimmy’s good friend Duncan Hunter (Mark Bonnar).

A CHANGED MAN

As we return to picturesque Shetland for a new six-part run this week, Perez is back on duty after a year’s suspension from the force, but the experience has clearly taken its toll on him – and with leading man Douglas set to bow out in this series, the stakes are higher than ever as his character takes on his final case.

Here, in an exclusive interview, Douglas, 56, tells TV Times what to expect from the latest mystery, and why it’s the right time for him to leave the show…

After that emotional cliffhanger last year, what ramifications will we see from Perez’s arrest during season seven?

At the beginning of the series, his year’s suspension is coming to an end, and then it’s back to work. So it all gets tied up fairly quickly. But the advantage that we had with having series six and seven to wrap things up was that we could have a proper arc, and I think Perez is getting to the stage where he’s not sure whether it’s worth it any more. He’s beginning to discover that there are things in life other than being a policeman.