Street closed for television crime series filming
Rosalind GriffithsFilming for the next series of the TV drama Shetland started today at the south end of Commercial Street in Lerwick.
The part of the street from the Queen’s Hotel to Stouts Court was closed to traffic from 9am to 10.30pm, and pedestrians were not allowed to enter while the cameras were rolling. Filming started at 10.30am.
The action took place around Stouts Court, where the front door of the flats and the ground floor windows were painted red for the filming. The residents did not object and the original colours will be reinstated.
Lead actor Douglas Henshall, who plays detective Jimmy Perez, was at the shoot, but local actor Steven Robertson, portraying his sidekick policeman Sandy Wilson was not there yesterday.
However, other famous names were present, including Irish actor Ciaran Hinds, who is new to the series. He appeared in Game of Thrones and Harry Potter and was the voice of the troll king in Frozen.
Hinds said: “I’m looking forward to locking swords with Douglas Henshall and working against the stunning backdrop of Shetland.”
Other actors filming around Stouts Court included Alison O’Donnell, who plays Tosh, and Mark Bonnar.
Another short scene will be filmed on Monday in the same area.
The trucks for the filming, which is being done by ITV Studios for BBC, arrived off the boat earlier this week. Some filming was done on the NorthLink ferry, and it is understood more filming will be done on the ferry in future.
Meanwhile the film crew will be in the isles for two to three weeks, filming in numerous locations for the first two episodes of the new series.
Other scenes are being shot in the studio and filming is expected to continue until the summer.
This will be the third Shetland series, and will be in six parts with one overarching storyline. It is likely to be screened at the end of this year or the beginning of next. In the past the drama has attracted more than a quarter of the audience share in Scotland.
However, in a change to what has happened previously, this new series has not been adapted from the books of Ann Cleeves.
Instead it is an original work specially written for television by Gaby Chiappe (Vera, The Paradise, Lark Rise To Candleford), Robert Murphy (DCI Banks, Meadowlands) and David Kane (The Field of Blood, Prime Suspect).
Dorothy Langman
Love Dougie Henshall & Ciarán Hinds is a phenomenal actor~ #Shetland Casting is #RightOn~Archie Panjabi can also #KickAss~#Elated. Bill Paterson is also a bonus. Watched all the previous series and this promises to have a pedigree script~Can’t wait….
Barbara Casson
Can’t wait to see the new six-parter on our PBS. Will take a while for it to be picked up.
Absolutely love the scenery……touches home with my inherited Scottish blood. Dark,
romantic and fearsome at once. The plot has to be top-notch with Gaby, Robert and
David as the writers. And Douglas Henshall has been the most outstanding actor,
pure Scots!
Margaret Young
Hi, I am finding most of the acting/actors a bit wooden – sorry – except for Julie Graham. She is easily the most outstanding character. Douglas Henshall sounds very stilted. The pace is slow and compared with Rebus just a tad boring. I gave up on the last series but wanted to see if the new one would be any better. Interesting storyline though. Hoping things will improve.
Regards,
Margaret Young.
Mike Harrigan
Stunning Scenery. Enough for me to plan a trip there from the states. I like the slower pace of the show but do find some characters flat. I picked up a BBC habit while visiting Iceland and wish they would sell a subscription for non residents.
Sue Ibbison
Does anyone know where the cliffs are that one of the characters was pushed off of last week – quite spectacular. Love the show ! Sue
Averill
Calders Geo Eshaness
Gill Hubble
Was St Bride’s church used in Episode 3 of Series 3?
Cathy Winterton
Love Shetland, and have loved “Shetland” so much that I daydream about joining Lerwick plain-clothed police, just as long as Alison O’Donnell & Dougie Henshall would be my real life colleagues…
Frances ali
Love Shetland,Douglas Henshall is fantastic in this series,as are all the cast,the music is great,making me homesick,must visit Shetland! Can’t wait for new series!!
David Spence
I believe there will be a fourth series is in the production line, as and when this will be I am unsure. May be somebody can cast some light on this?
David Gregory
Writing from British Columbia Canada, as a great fan of many detective series from England,Wales, Ireland and now Scotland.
I’m currently watching Shetland on Knowledge Network, a public TV station from Vancouver BC. Doug Henshall is brilliant as understated, reflective, intuitive Detective Jimmy Perez.
Excellent plot lines, interesting characters and stunning landscapes.
Good job by all!
Kerry Starks
Love anything Shetland, the series and the books, which I can’t read fast enough. I’m reading Dead Water now and watching Red Bones on the telly. Jimmy Perez’s character is always so slow and measured even when he is facing a possible killer. He has never raised his voice at any suspect except a black character who Jimmy thought was involved in a murder. I was very disappointed because of the obvious difference. But still loving Shetland, only with a measure of apprehension.
Sharon Talbot
I added Shetland to my most-loved, British and European “noir”-ish crime shows, alongside Wallander, Endeavour, Foyle’s War and shorter series like Page Eight. Douglas Henshall is brilliant and Allison as Tosh is my heroine! The combination of first-rate acting (exc. Julie Graham–too ditzy) and spectacular scenery is like nothing else.