Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell return for a new series of the acclaimed murder-mystery drama, Shetland.
A double missing persons case blurs the line between the personal and the professional, as Calder and Tosh are drawn into a labyrinthine investigation with many twists ahead for the ninth series of the BBC show.
Jensen, who starred as Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty, has opened up on her experience on set in the Scottish Isles alongside some of its new cast members, as she shared her love for her homeland.
The Scottish actress, whose star-studded career saw her appear in the likes of EastEnders and co-starring alongside Ricky Gervais on Extras, explained why the cast are 'banned' from leaving Shetland during filming for the popular murder-mystery drama.
She said: "Every series it's always a joy when you see the guest actors that that come to join us. When they come onto this show in particular, they are genuinely excited because they're getting to come to Shetland, they’re getting the full Shetland experience.
"There's very much a feeling of bonding and camaraderie because we're all away from home. We're all in the same boat, it's like being in regional theatre in the 1950s or something - we're all together at the weekends because we can't get back home."
Explaining further, Ashley continued: "You’re genuinely not allowed off the isles in case the weather turns and you can't get back which would obviously mess up filming. So there's genuinely a feeling of all being in it together."
Speaking of her love for Shetland, the 55-year-old said: "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.
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"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 joked.
"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."
Giving viewers a teaser of what to expect from the ninth series, Ashley said: "There are many threads to Series 9 of Shetland. We jump back and forth in time - there's a historical case, domestic relationships…there are so many different strands to the story and quite a lot of them are linked. It's a very complex web this series.
"In fact, I decided that I wasn't going to find out who the murderer was. So, for the first three episodes I felt like I was really in Calder’s shoes. I was looking at people through the character's eyes thinking, “What are you giving me?”. Then I would leave a scene and quickly look back around again, just to see if somebody was doing something they shouldn't have been behind the coppers’ backs after we'd gone!"
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