Category Archives: Shetland

Shetland: Ashley Jensen confirmed as Douglas Henshall’s replacement

The BBC has confirmed that actress Ashley Jensen will replace Douglas Henshall in forthcoming series of Shetland.

Henshall starred as Jimmy Perez for seven highly successful series, and fans mourned his final episode earlier this year.

Now we know who’s taking over.

Jensen – whose illustrious and critically-acclaimed career includes cosy crime drama Agatha Raisin – will star as DI Ruth Calder, a native Shetlander who returns to the isles after 20 years working for the Met in London. Ruth takes on the lead detective role left vacant by DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) working closely with DS Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) and will make her debut when the series returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer next year.

Originally based on award-winning novels by crime writer Ann Cleeves, the next series of Shetland will see Ashley join series regulars Steven Robertson (Sandy), Lewis Howden (Billy) and Anne Kidd (Cora). Further casting will be announced in due course.

Jensen says: “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Shetland as DI Ruth Calder. It’s such a hugely successful show and I am aware I have very big boots to fill since the departure of DI Perez, who was very much loved by fans of the show.

“There will be a different dynamic with Ruth amongst the regular characters and a few more new interesting characters to enjoy. However the integrity of the show and the world that has been created will remain very much in the same tone as the last seven seasons. It’s a real privilege to be asked to lead this show into a new chapter. I can’t wait to be working in Scotland again. I have missed it!”

Series eight will begin production in the spring.

Over to you… what do you think of this news?

READ MORE: ALL OUR NEWS AND REVIEWS OF SHETLAND

REVIEW Shetland (S7 E6/6)

After nine years and 38 episodes, this was the moment Douglas Henshall bid farewell to Jimmy Perez, the Shetland islands’ very own chief protector and high sheriff.

Like all the best crime characters, Henshall and Perez seemed a perfect match – Henshall’s friendly, soft features belying a simmering passion and old-fashioned masculinity beneath the surface. They fitted each other like a glove, and although he’s enjoyed success elsewhere, Jimmy Perez felt like Henshall’s ultimate role.

All that being said, we had a complex case to tie up, and, of course, had to find out how Perez was going to leave the show. Would it be with Meg, after realising that the job finally had become too much for him and a hindrance to future happiness; or would it be on a stretcher on the way to the morgue?

This has been a strong series, with an engrossing story at its heart – aptly, with Shetland and the islands’ future and wellbeing at its heart.

But there was plenty of drama before we found out what was to be Jimmy’s fate. Jamie Nary (possibly the only lead who wasn’t processed or had much of a backstory so far) was revealed to be the eco-terrorist and murderer at large around Lerwick, and there proceeded a frantic evacuation of the town centre and search for the wanted man. We all know that Shetland has, in the past, used up its budget with some pyrotechnics and explosions, so blowing up Lerwick was not out of the realm of possibility. And, of course, we had the Jimmy question always at the back of our minds – any dicey situation provoked an ‘OH GOD THIS IS IT’ reaction.

So when Jimmy – trademark pea coat with its collars turned up, naturally – waded through the streets of the town, quite obviously in extreme jeopardy, we all no doubt wondered whether this was going to be it for him. And when he had a one-on-one confrontation with Nary (who explained he was avenging his ex-activist partner’s death) on a cliff edge, the latter clutching his bomb, our anxiety deepened.

Thankfully, Jimmy survived.

However, breathing a sigh of relief was one thing, but when it came to the story and the case, I really didn’t buy Jamie Nary’s motivation for murdering Connor and Bryd. At all. He said they weren’t committed enough. Was that enough to kill two people? It felt a little lame to me.

However, with Nary on his hospital bed, he admitted to the murders of Connor and Bryd, but not to Suitcase Man. So another murderer was out there. With Lloyd Anderson still in the cells, and no one else knowing about his double life, the only person who could’ve done anything to anyone threatening his existence was his wife, Alison, another person who hasn’t yet been properly examined as a suspect. And so Alison it was.

It was an interesting reveal, full of emotion – as we all thought, Jimmy found a way to let Lloyd go and recommend a safe and sudden route out of the country, but he had to leave behind the woman he loved and the woman who, in many ways, sacrificed her own future to save his.

This complex and nuanced situation was Shetland all over – full of grey areas and flawed characters – and certainly, the final scenes ramped up the emotion. Jimmy told a furious Rhona – who had just found out about Lloyd Anderson’s release – that he was quitting and he then had to tell Tosh. Wow, what an emotional scene – the master passing on his torch to the apprentice, an apprentice who admitted her nervousness and pondered on whether she could do the job. I was close to tears at this parting of the ways.

I think I speak for all fans of the show when I say that she is well up to the job, and we’ll be cheering her on. She brings with her more of an emotional approach to policing, to go along with her outstanding instincts. Series eight has been commissioned, don’t forget, and will start production soon. I hope they don’t muck things around. I want to see Tosh as a DI.

As for Jimmy, he did indeed choose Meg and happiness over his career; a career that he had used to create distance between himself and any emotional attachment since the death of Fran, his first wife. He wanted to be happy again, and he took the plunge. Finally.

When a beloved character says farewell, you just want them to be happy. Realising that he was putting himself in danger more often than she should be, and flying closer to the flame more than he had ever done, he actually made the right decision.

To live and to be happy.

Although the landing to the case was a little bumpy, you can’t argue with the nature of and the motivations for Jimmy’s farewell.

To quote a famous film, he chose life.

Paul Hirons

Episode rating

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Series rating

Rating: 4 out of 5.

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE ONE REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE TWO REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE THREE REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE FOUR REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE FIVE REVIEW

Shetland is broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK

REVIEW Shetland (S7 E5/6)

Not long to go now. In this penultimate episode of not only the series and of Jimmy Perez’s stewardship of the islands, but there were also a lot of twists. A lot. Series seven is certainly giving us bang for our buck when it comes to surprises.

At the end of episode four, Connor Cairns’ body was eventually found. Not only that, but Cora’s post-mortem revealed some heinous injuries caused by torture. This shook Jimmy to his core – he was so convinced that Connor was a suspect, perhaps the suspect in the killings of Bryd and Suitcase Man, that he questioned his own expertise and even his place in the world when this was evident it wasn’t the case.

It was almost as if there was only one episode left in which to resolve Jimmy’s fate.

Sarcasm aside, I enjoyed Jimmy’s introspection and it made sense. He’s always been unimpeachable, holding himself to impossibly high moral standards. So when Nurse Meg called time on their relationship (noooooo!) because he was too obsessed, too self-centred, and too unwilling to let anyone else into his life, it made sense and, character-wise, supplied depth and nuance to proceedings.

It felt like things were being set up for Jimmy’s death if I’m being honest. Perhaps in a final showdown with the as-yet-to-be-revealed murderer in episode six. His stubbornness and righteousness have caused him to choose a dangerous path.

But back to the plot. Lloyd Anderson was revealed to be someone who was wrongly suspected of murder in his native USA, and fled to Europe to assume a new life and identity. When Suitcase Man came to the Shetlands – as part of the eco-terrorist group – he recognised his old classmate, thus threatening to expose him after decades of anonymity. This puts Anderson right in the frame for his grisly murder. But I do get the impression that he’s innocent, and evidently so does Jimmy. And what’s the betting Jimmy will let him go in the final episode? Perhaps this is another way Jimmy might exit the show – standing up for what’s right and sacrificing his career.

Another suspect was processed. Lodger at the Cairns, Martin Otina, has been acting suspiciously all throughout the series but was revealed in this episode to be an undercover law enforcement officer tasked with exposing the eco-terrorism. He and Jimmy were now on the same side.

And then there was Carol Anne Mané, Tosh’s nemesis and someone who had been sniffing around Donnie. When she was revealed to be part of the eco-terrorism cell, you’d better believe that Tosh took immense pleasure in booking her. (The way they exposed her was a fun code-cracking interlude.)

It’s all a bit mad, isn’t it? So many suspects, each given credible (just about) backstories, so many twists and turns and so many surprises. No wonder Jimmy looks exasperated half the time. And yet I’ve really enjoyed the way the series – one of the best Shetland series, I think – has held our attention, gone on loads of mad tangents but still managed to hold it together.

Whether we’ll hold it together as an audience in next week’s finale remains to be seen.

Paul Hirons

Rating: 4 out of 5.

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE ONE REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE TWO REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE THREE REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE FOUR REVIEW

Shetland is broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK

REVIEW Shetland (S7 E4/6)

Well, thank goodness for that.

At the end of episode three, we were left with an agonising cliffhanger – Tosh, beloved Tosh, was snooping around a caravan hired by missing Connor Cairns and rigged to its eyeballs with explosives. Surely Tosh couldn’t go up with the rest of the caravan?

Thankfully no. She (somehow) managed to escape.

The close shave for Tosh left Jimmy relived but also angry, and he doubled down on his conviction that Connor was no victim here – he was the number-one suspect. The incident also served to have some serious psychological effects on our two main characters for two different reasons. Tosh was trying to bury the emotional impact of the trauma from the explosion in the caravan and went straight back to work, leaving Donnie to look after baby. Jimmy, on the other hand, wanted to be closer to Meg, but all of this layered case focused his mind and instead he began to become obsessed, and distant.

Forensics expert DI Brooks arrived – a did Rhona, back to help out (and do some plain talking to Jimmy) – and a disturbing new twist emerged: after his investigations of the bombsite and the materials used, Brooks thought that this was the work of a terrorist. The race was on to try and find out what Connor was playing at and why. After interviewing Lloyd Anderson, Murray the librarian and latterly, Connor’s father, a theory emerged – Connor was passionate about the environment.

Could he be an eco-terrorist?

Just as the hypothesis was formulated, finally Connor’s body turned up on a beach, looking for all the world like he had jumped from the cliff above. But more examination by the redoubtable Cora found that he had actually been murdered, and some smart detective work by Tosh led them to a deserted croft, supposedly being renovated. There, in the basement, was a gruesome torture chamber.

It was a creepy scene – bloodied chairs and instruments strewn in the darkness, the torch-lit brick walls serving to add an element of horror movie to proceedings.

And that wasn’t all that was going on in this packed and really rather good episode. Martin had hidden his camera for some reason behind the back of a wardrobe, only for Abbie to sneak the memory card out of it, and then Lloyd Anderson was revealed NOT to be Lloyd Anderson, but someone who attended high school in the US with the dead man in the suitcase.

Shetland is certainly providing bang for its buck when it comes to twists.

And there were more potential outs for Jimmy in this episode(sorry, I’m a bit obsessed with trying to guess how Jimmy will leave the show). Rhona said he looked like shit and she was surprised he had lasted in the job this long, especially after everything he’d been through in the past year (his father, Donna Killick and the tribunal). And when Connor’s body did turn up, he looked broken with the prospect of telling the family the bad news.

And there was more – Jimmy had a late-night drink with Lloyd Anderson, who is obviously a wise man. He delivered some insights into Jimmy’s personality, questioning why he did the job he did and for so long. Jimmy replied: “I love it here… although the longer I do this job, the less I fit in”. Lloyd raised a toast to the loneliness of the lawman.

He was feeling even lonelier after Connor was found to be murdered. Suddenly his confidence in being a good cop was shaken to its core.

Jimmy (and Tosh) were becoming more and more like the very islands they love, work on and care so deeply for. There’s some nice symmetry there, and some good writing.

Paul Hirons

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE ONE REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE TWO REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE THREE REVIEW

Shetland is broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK

REVIEW Shetland (S7 E3/6)

After a solid start to series seven – including an excursion to Glasgow on the mainland, no less – things really moved on in this episode.

Jimmy and co, having ruled out any involvement by Danny Cairns in the disappearance of his son Connor were facing a dead end, especially as the young fellow was still missing. And let’s not forget, there had been two bodies found, too – the mystery man in the suitcase (ew!) at the end of episode one, and Connor’s girlfriend, Bryd, who was found dead in the boot of a car at a compound at the end of episode two.

Tosh, ever dogged, was on the case and snooped around the car and its origins, as well as a lead that suggested Connor’s former employers, the Davidsons, had been acting suspiciously in the lead up to the disappearance. It turned out that they had been disposing toxic waste illegally from their business, which is why Connor had fallen out with them.

So, along with Danny Cairns, the Waldrons, smitten Murray the librarian (who was still dealing with the fall-out of being arrested), Abbie’s pal Clana and now the Davidsons, a whole host of suspects had been processed and discounted. That’s pretty good going after three episodes.

Which left… let’s move on to lodger Martin Otina, who has been acting suspiciously – photographing anything and everything in sight and really involving himself in the Cairns’ family business – and new, well not really a suspect at this point but you never know, Connor’s art teacher and mentor, Lloyd Anderson. It was Anderson’s car Bryd was found in, and he recognised a photo composite of the mystery man in the suitcase when it was shown on TV.

And what about Connor himself? One of the things this episode did very well was to play with our preconceptions. Up until this point, Connor was a victim – missing and presumed dead at the hands of an aggressor. But what if he was missing for a different reason? His ring was found in the boot of the car next to Bryd’s body, and Jimmy was starting to entertain the idea that Connor had something to do with both deaths, especially as some of the lad’s erratic behaviour had now been disclosed.

Turning the tables like this was clever and a fine piece of writing.

As for Jimmy and Tosh, their personal lives were taking a turn, too. Jimmy and Meg were getting closer all the time, and the stoic cop even found it within him to plant a kiss on Meg’s lips before the episode was out. We all know that this is Jimmy’s last hurrah, so is this the way out he’s being given?

Things were going in the opposite direction for Tosh, who decided to surprise Donnie with a coffee on her break, only to find him hanging out with one of his exes, Carol Anne Mané. As you can imagine, that went down like a lead balloon. And worse was to follow for Tosh.

Connor’s phone had been found, and after it had been unlocked the team looked at some of the locations he had spent time at. One of them was remote, and when Tosh said she would take a look at it despite the hour growing late, you just knew something bad was going to happen.

And indeed it did.

Tosh found a caravan that Connor had been using – his drawings festooned everywhere as well as other personal effects and notebooks. Also in the caravan was a booby trap, and episode three left us with a proper cliffhanger – Tosh phoning Jimmy pleading for help as a bomb timer ticked down, and then an explosion.

We talk about the Jimmy leaving, but is Shetland clearing the decks completely? A really very strong episode – good tempo, engrossing story, twists and turns galore and that cliffhanger – but this can’t be the end for Tosh, can it?

Paul Hirons

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE ONE REVIEW

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE TWO REVIEW

REVIEW Shetland (S7 E2/6)

After last week’s strong start, this week Shetland went on a little excursion. And let’s face it, Shetland loves an excursion or two. Norway, onto mainland Scotland… Jimmy’s been to them all during the show’s long history. And in this episode – only the second episode of the series – Jimmy was off again, and again to Glasgow.

The reason for the trip was Danny Cairns – father of missing boy Connor. We knew from episode one that he was a bent cop from back in the day, escaping to the Shetlands after being accused of taking drugs and selling them on. Not only that but he got someone killed.

Nicole and Cameron Waldron – family of the victim – had visited the islands to scare Danny Cairns, but he was convinced that they were behind Connor’s disappearance. He went off to Glasgow to track them down. Thusly, Jimmy followed, suspicious that Danny was doing something that he shouldn’t be. Or even covering his tracks.

What followed was almost like a story within a story, a Line Of Duty-esque yarn about an accused bent copper out to clear his name and find out who really leaked information to drug dealers, which led to the death of a low-level dealer. It could have been entirely diversionary and actually annoying and had nothing much to do with furthering the story of Connor’s disappearance. But even though it was a very extravagant way to process a suspect (Danny Cairns had nothing to do with his son’s disappearance and neither did the Waldrons), it was a compelling side story.

Back on the Shetlands, suspicion surrounded some new suspects – the Davidsons, who Connor used to work with; Martin, the Cairns’ lodger, who was taking photos of Bryd surreptitiously; and Murray the librarian, who admitted he was infatuated with Connor, which was unreciprocated.

It was a nicely balanced episode, where in some ways it had no right to be. And it ended in tragedy and another body – that of Bryd, Connor’s girlfriend, found in the boot of a car. Consider the ante upped.

Paul Hirons

Rating: 4 out of 5.

READ MORE: OUR EPISODE ONE REVIEW

REVIEW Shetland (S7 E1/6)

If you’re a crime drama fan and haven’t heard the news that this seventh series of Shetland is to be Douglas Henshall’s last, where have you been?

As for the strategy of releasing this news prior to series transmission, I’m torn. Telling people and making a big deal about the fact that DI Jimmy Perez will be walking off into the sunset at the end of the series perhaps ups the ante when it comes to watching the show week-to-week, wondering how exactly Jimmy will depart the show. Will he die? Will he get it together with nurse Meg and decide to leave the islands? Who knows?

Perhaps a more interesting way to approach this would have been to keep Jimmy’s exit a complete surprise, like DCI Cassie Stuart’s shock departure in Unforgotten. I mean, absolutely no one saw that coming and I wonder if something similar should’ve happened here in Shetland. (And before you ask, no, I don’t know what happens to Perez.)

With all that being said, I was not only intrigued as to how Perez was going to leave but also hoping that his final case would be better than the one featured in series six. Shetland is one of the most reliable crime dramas out there, and certainly the Donna Killick storyline was deliciously warped and evil in its darkness, but there were times when, tonally, things just didn’t fit last time around. It was all a bit of a muddle.

Thankfully – after this first episode – it felt like it had settled back down into its natural rhythm again.

If you remember, we left Jimmy in a spot of bother at the end of series six. He was under investigation and suspended from duty for his part in the death of Donna Killick, but this loose end was quickly tied up. After visiting Duncan in prison, it felt like we had jumped forward six months or so. Nurse Meg was still on the scene, and Jimmy went to thank her for the care she showed his now deceased father. And Tosh had had a baby, too.

Mercifully, the loose end was tied up within minutes after Jimmy was found not guilty of any wrongdoing due to lack of evidence and was free to resume his duties. (How Donna Killick must be spinning in her grave after seeing her devilish plan of vengeance fall apart.)

And Jimmy had a new case to solve. Local lad Connor Cairns – a sensitive artist and creator of graphic novels – had gone missing one evening, and Jimmy and Tosh began to dig into his life in a bid to find out what had happened to the lad. Connor had already tried to take his own life months earlier, and his mother was frantic with worry. His dad? Eh, not so much.

Jimmy’s spider senses sprang into action, and sure enough, dad Danny Cairns was a former cop. And not just any former cop – a corrupt former cop who stole drugs to sell on. He was also involved in a death. Could someone be out for revenge here? That seemed certainly seemed to be the case in the early going.

The story was also pleasingly imbued with some Shetland mythology – not least in Connor’s graphic novels, but also thanks to Connor’s younger sister Abbie and her Wiccan, death-obsessed bestie Clana, who were seen summoning up all sorts of things during some sort of solstice ceremony on the beach. Oh, and there was some wild swimming too, just to showcase the islands a little bit more.

There were other characters that were introduced – socially awkward librarian Murray, the Waldron family, who may or may not be out to avenge family member Pepper’s death, and Martin, a lodger at the Cairns’ B&B who was taking a strangely overbearing interest in Connor’s whereabouts…

What does this all mean and who are all of these characters? We’ll find out soon enough.

As for Jimmy, he seemed keen to get back to normal as quickly as possible and stamp his authority on the case, using his intuition and instinct as much as possible. We’ll see where that leads him.

So, a solid start and one that ended fairly grimly – Jimmy visibly upset after the discovery of a hacked-up body in a suitcase discovered by a trawler from the depths. Connor’s body? Nope.

Paul Hirons

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

READ MORE: ALL OUR NEWS AND REVIEWS OF SHETLAND

Shetland season 7: Douglas Henshall interview

The seventh series of Shetland is almost upon us, and you’ll know that it is Douglas Henshall’s last as DCI Jimmy Perez.

Here’s what Henshall had to say about the series…

The last series ended on a cliff-hanger with Perez being read his rights and Duncan handing himself into the police – how does Perez feel about all this?
It just all felt a little like he’d be stitched up to be fair. It’s sullied his view of what he does. I think he’s getting to that point of his career where he’s beginning to doubt whether he has a future doing what he does. Perez is becoming a bit disenchanted with his life the way it is – those little doubts have started to creep in and he’s questioning whether he’s doing the right thing or not. There are lots of things niggling him.

Case aside, Perez has also met Meg (Lucianne McEvoy) and it’s in the very early stages of their will-they-won’t-they? relationship, his dad’s dead and Duncan is in prison – he’s a lot going on, as ever.

What case will Perez and his team be investigating this time around?
It seems as though it’s a missing person, but then it becomes murkier and murkier as it goes along. I really love that there’s no dead body at the start of this new series, and the suspense of that is great.

This series also sees guest stars including Shauna MacDonald, Laurie Brett and Patrick Robinson – what is it like having guests on the show?
One of the great good fortunes of Shetland is we’ve had so many great guests to come in over the years, and Shauna, Laurie and Patrick have done an amazing job in this new series. They join the list of great actors we’ve been lucky enough to have in the show over the years including Archie Panjabi, Ciaran Hinds and many, many more.

I don’t think there’s a lot of shows like ours. It isn’t big and shouty, it’s subtle and quite nuanced. We’ve explored lots of things that TV shows don’t and I think all of those things are partly what kept our audience loyal to us. It’s wonderful.

Perez is often unlucky in love – is happiness on the horizon with nurse Meg?
You never know, but as with anything to do with Perez and the opposite sex, it’s never straightforward. Meg’s got his head like a washing machine. I think once you get to a certain age there’re a lot more questions that you have to ask of yourself, of a significant other. I think the conversations you have are a lot different because there’s baggage there. But as long as there’s hope, there’s a way forward.

It’s a big moment for Shetland as you bid farewell to DI Perez, why did you decide to leave now?
I decided to leave a few years ago because I felt that his story was coming to a natural end – it was time to find a resolution to Perez’s private life. I never wanted to ruin the things that were unique to him and our series, so it felt like the right time to wrap up his story in a way that would be satisfactory to everybody.

I am aware we’re not changing the world in any way, shape or form, but as far as crime shows go, Shetland does really well in that genre. We tell stories that are very good, the characters are great and I wanted to go out on a high.

You’ve played Perez for nearly a decade now, will you be sad to say goodbye to him?
Yes, I am, actually. But I think it was always going to be sad. It will be nice to play somebody who isn’t so irredeemably good as Perez! I’ll miss him as a person I crawl into every now and again because I liked him, he’s a nice man. I enjoyed playing Perez and exploring the complications of his life. Flawed humans are always the most interesting to play because I feel they are the most truthful.

I’d love to play a baddie again, that would be fun – I used to get asked to be the baddie lots in the past. I don’t know what the future holds, I mean, I don’t fancy playing a policeman for a while!

Was it hard to keep your exit a secret, and how did you feel filming your last scenes?
The last thing I would want to do was give it away but it feels a bit real and weird now. Once this series is over on TV, it’s over [for Douglas Henshall] – I don’t think it will feel real until that moment, for me.

My last scenes were filmed in a car park in Kilmacolm, which was very odd. We’d tried to wrap three times, but because of Covid it kept being put back, so it felt a little anticlimactic in the end. I did say a few words of thanks to everyone who was there but it’s impossible to encapsulate tem years of work. Shetland has meant a lot to me and it’s going to take some time to sink in that I’ve left the show.

Will Perez always hold a special place for you?
Oh yes, absolutely! He’s one of my favourite characters and it’s been a real privilege to play him. We got very lucky with lots of things – I even got to dress him for a while, including choosing the pea coat which is now famous. I chose not to keep the coat, though – I kind of figure I can never wear a pea coat again!

I did take a couple of key items from the set including the incident board from the police station. I got it for my daughter. After all the gruesome things that have been up on that board over the years, I thought it was a bit of karma to have a little child drawing pictures of flowers and houses on it. I also took a painting from Jimmy’s house, which is by a Shetland artist and I’ll be hanging it somewhere special in our home.

And any final words?
My final series has a really great story at its heart and it’s very much the Shetland the audience know and love. I hope people have enjoyed watching Perez over the years as much as I’ve enjoyed playing him. I’m going to miss Jimmy Perez. 

Shetland season 7: Wednesday 10th August, 9pm, BBC One

Shetland season 7: Douglas Henshall reveals transmission date

As we now all know, season 7 of Shetland will be Douglas Henshall’s last as DI Jimmy Perez.

We now not only know what the six-part series will be about but also when it’ll be on – thanks to Henshall himself.

On return from suspension, DI Perez reunites with Tosh as they meet the owners of a local B&B, Rachel and Danny Cairns, who are frantic with worry over the sudden disappearance of their son, Connor. New to Shetland, the family moved from Glasgow after Connor suffered a breakdown. Rachel worries that history has repeated itself, but Perez suspects they are hiding something.

Perez, Tosh and Sandy find that Connor was well known and much loved, with many worried about his whereabouts. Interviews with his sister, Abbie, and his girlfriend, Bryd, highlight Connor’s fraught relationship with his father, which sometimes saw him escape to his ‘safe place’.

The case takes a dramatic turn when Tosh discovers Danny Cairns’ past life and the reasons behind their sudden relocation to Shetland. As the ghosts of Danny’s past resurface, Perez and his team are under pressure to protect the Cairns family and find Connor before it’s too late.

As per Henshall’s tweet, the series is due to start on Wednesday 10th August at 9pm.

READ MORE: FOR ALL OUR NEWS AND REVIEWS OF SHETLAND