Shetland cast and crew to arrive in isles for filming series eight
Andrew Hirst
The Shetland cast and crew are set to arrive next week to begin filming series eight of the popular TV crime drama.
The new series will be the first with Ashley Jensen in the lead role as DI Ruth Calder after the departure of Douglas Henshall as Jimmy Perez.
It will also be the first series filmed since the constraints of the pandemic were lifted.
Filming is expected to continue in Shetland into early summer, with most of the interior scenes to be shot in Glasgow.
Senior crew members were frantically preparing for their visit this week and unable to comment on the new series.
Earlier this year, however, the production team said everyone was looking forward to returning to Shetland “where they always get a warm welcome”.
Jensen also hinted at the direction of the new series in a recent Radio Times interview, when she said the presence of a female lead detective would bring a “whole new dynamic” to the show.
The actor, who is well known from her roles in hit shows including After Life, Ugly Betty and Extras, was announced as the new Shetland star in November.
She said she was “absolutely thrilled” to be joining the murder mystery, which is based on the popular series of Ann Cleeves’ novels.
Regulars Alison O’Donnell, who plays Tosh, Steven Robertson (Sandy), Lewis Howden (Billy) and Anne Kidd (Cora) will also be returning – alongside some other new additions.
On Tuesday and Wednesday a series of “stop/go” traffic holds will be in operation along the B9074 in the Tingwall Valley, while filming takes place at Tingwall Kirk.
These holds will last for just a few minutes at a time.
Don Johnson
This will never work. The show reached its sell-by date after the 5th season. They should have shut down the show completely and let us fondly remember Jimmy Perez as Shetland’s DI.
John Walker
Where is the stretch of sand (two half moons) between the two islands?