Ashley Jensen's surprise BBC Shetland confession ahead of ninth series airing
The ninth series of the hit BBC show, which is inspired by Ann Cleeves' novels, will premiere on November 6 while a tenth season has already been confirmed
The beloved BBC series Shetland is poised for a highly anticipated comeback on November 6 with its ninth series. Fans have been eagerly awaiting its return as the show has been off-air for nearly a year, while a tenth season has already been confirmed.
The latest chapter of Shetland will see the return of Ashley Jensen stepping into the spotlight as DI Ruth Calder, taking over from DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall).
Ashley will be joined by a stellar cast including Scottish talent Alison O'Donnell as DS Alison McIntosh, alongside Ian Hart from The Responder and Aquaman's Vincent Regan. The ensemble also features Lewis Howden, Anne Kidd, and Steven Robertson.
Ashley has shared insights into her character's decision to return to Shetland and establish roots, despite earlier predictions that DI Calder would retreat to London after the previous series, reports the Daily Record.
Hinting at what lies ahead, she commented: "Calder's decided to return to Shetland because it almost felt like there was unfinished business there, or a sort of magnetic draw back home. She's there to find out who she is which, I think, goes against all her previous instincts."
"When she first came back during the last series, she thought that she'd be there to solve the case and then get away and get back to London, back to her life. But she's experiencing that thing where home sometimes draws you back."
Ashley also expressed her thrill at returning to Shetland for filming, saying the location "envelops" you upon arrival and calling it "breathtaking".
"I was very excited to be getting on the wee plane off to Shetland again with my half a cup of tea and my caramel wafer...half a cup of tea, because there's often turbulence and you can't get a full cup of tea because it'll spill, which I thought was quite funny," she disclosed.
"As soon as you touch down, Shetland kind of envelops you. It's the whole landscape, I mean the real star of the show is Shetland and the Shetland Isles...it's an inimitable place. It's like nowhere I've ever been before. It's a landscape that's arresting and breathtaking...it's just a real privilege to be able to go back there."
She confessed that she soaked up every bit of Shetland the first time she ever visited, as she was unsure if she'd ever return to the location following the first series of the BBC show.
Ashley continued: "Obviously, when I did my first series, I didn't know whether I was ever going to go back there, so I felt like I had to rush around buying Shetland jumpers and puffin poo and things like that, just in case."
Shetland season nine premieres on Wednesday, November 6, at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
