Shetland Series 1 -5 [DVD] [2019]

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There will be a different dynamic with Ruth amongst the regular characters and a few more newinteresting 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!” We all have a WhatsApp group together and keep in touch and I imagine there will be lots of fun messages when the show airs.

Tosh and Calder grill Peter Ayre, their prime suspect in Ellen Quinn's murder. But while his ancient religious ceremony from the last episode has left everyone suspicious of him, it soon becomes clear that he has an accomplice when a box of letters is discovered in his house. I think if she took herself aside - and worked more as part of the team in the beginning - she’d achieve more. At the start, there might be a slight air of superiority about Calder with her taking the view that the Shetland team don’t work quite as well as her London team do. But she begins to realise that there are strengths in not jumping in with both feet at the same time. This is as much a personal story as a professional one for Calder.Tosh would describe Calder as an extremely skilled and experienced police officer who doesn't suffer fools and doesn't mince her words, but who has an emotional hinterland and a softer side that she catches glimpses of and is very curious about. She’s very direct, she’s quite formidable with years of experience so she’s incredibly focused and very driven. When it comes to this particular case, however, her weakness is that she lets her personal issues get in the way a little bit. This new series of Shetland boasts a stellar guest cast – what was it like working with the likes of Phyllis Logan, Dawn Steele, Jamie Sives and Lorraine McIntosh? This new series of Shetland has a stellar guest cast – what was it like working with the likes of Phyllis Logan, Dawn Steele and Lorraine McIntosh?

As you view disk to disk you get to know and understand the characters and their feelings come through. However, when Peter Ayre’s car is spotted in the hospital car park the night Ellen’s body went missing, the police head to his house, only to find a horrific scene unfolding. Peter is in the middle of a strange ritual, where he is burning a fire in the grass in the shape of the mysterious symbol from Ellen’s tattoo and chanting and singing around a bonfire, which at closer look has Ellen’s body lying in the middle of it. But if that wasn’t enough, there’s one more twist in the episode when Calder finds out her father had an affair with Ellen’s mother, Stella Quinn. Does this mean Calder has been investigating her own sister’s murder without even realising? What happens in episode 4? The entire cast was amazing but I have a special place in my heart for the inimitable Don Gilét [who plays hitman Howell]. The first couple of weeks were quite disorientating for me as I found my feet in this new world ofShetland. The first day I remember really loosening up I was chasing him [Don] down a beach. I was in pain with laughing. He's such a one-off, insanely funny and makes every day you're working with him memorable and special.

Customer reviews

Ruth is used to getting things right and this is a complex case which is layered and doesn’t quite go the way she expects it to. There are so many different paths that she ends up going down.

I also think Calder is a littleenviousof Tosh – sheappears to have it all, a family lifeanda career. The world of Shetland police HQ is as we knew it - warm, reassuring and familiar. But change is coming and with it, fresh challenges for the team. Tosh's superpower is her empathy, her ability to connect, her humanity. She has a softness and a kindness that is authentic and that means people trust her and will open up to her. This also allows her to get inside the heads of others, and to understand what might be motivating them and to make sense of their behaviour.

On top of the twists and turns of the case, Calder is faced with figures from her past including her ex-boyfriend Cal Innes (Jamie Sives) and estranged younger brother Alan (Steven Miller) – now the minister of their late father’s old kirk. However, these siblings have starkly different views of their shared childhood. I enjoy the presentation as it is realistic. There is none of the American "Hoop La" but down to earth presentation. I enjoy seeing the country side and the closeness interaction of the characters. The acting is excellent with the meaning coming through.

Meanwhile, Cal and Bobby consider going into business together but before their dodgy drug dealing plan can get off the ground, Cal puts his foot in it by mentioning Stella's potential fling with Calder's father. At the end of the episode Cal's van is seen in a crumpled heap on the side of the road, with a lifeless Cal beside it. Did Bobby tamper with his breaks? Is there a trailer? I loved it actually but to be honest as soon as I read the first scripts I was like “I’m in!”. The writer [Paul Logue] has given everybody a rounded character even down to the hitmen, Howell [Don Gilét] and Nowak [Arnas Fedaravičius]. Just the nuance and the detail of every character is amazing. Tosh is very comfortable in the role so she has definitely been doing it for some time and has really found her rhythm. She has an easy rapport with Sandy [Steven Robertson] and Billy [Lewis Howden] and the team seems to be functioning well and not dealing with anything too grizzly. She also has a great connection with Harry [Tibu Fortes], the new procurator fiscal, who really champions her. In 10 years of filming inShetlandI've never seen it so lovely. The sun was out and it was warm and the beaches there are so beautiful...also there's a softplay now! So, life is complete.Gaynor Holmes, Commissioning Editorfor the BBC adds: "I am absolutely delighted that Ashley is joining the stellar cast of Shetland. Ashley is an immensely accomplished and well-loved actress who is known internationally and we can’t wait to welcome her into the Shetlandfamily when filming begins in the spring." Over the last 10 years, we’ve seen Tosh change from the chocolate vodka hungover new recruit to the temporary DI in charge…what’s that been like for you? She says:"I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Shetlandas 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. I think the pace of Shetland is an issue for Calder because it’s much slower than London and the urban policing she’s used to. Ruth’s a little bit of a lone wolf, she often dances to her own beat. Like any close relationship with someone you have to work alongside intensely, there are moments when it flows and moments when it doesn't but they are both fiercely committed to their work, they always have that in common, and it is this dogged pursuit of truth and justice that is the engine that drives them as a team.