Interview with Ashley Jensen who plays DI Ruth Calder in ShetlandShetland returns for season 9 on November 6 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, and will be distributed internationally by ITV Studios
PHOTO: Ashley Jensen as DI Ruth Calder (Image: BBC/Jamie Simpson/ITV Studios)OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASENEWS PROVIDED BY BBC One Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell reprise their roles as Detectives Ruth Calder and Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh for a new series of the acclaimed murder-mystery drama. Having left her London life behind, Calder is beginning to settle into her new life in Shetland. Realising she no longer wanted a future in London, Calder was happy to stay in Scotland not least because she enjoyed working with the team in Lerwick. Turns out, Shetland isn’t so bad after all. Calder has been warmly welcomed by Tosh, who was more than happy to have another DI in the station, especially one with Calder's experience. The two know that they complement each other's styles and the force is stronger having them work together. In this new series of Shetland we see Calder finally putting down roots. Why has she decided to return to Shetland for good?
When she first came back during the last series, she thought that she’d be there to solve the case and then get away and get back to London, back to her life. But she’s experiencing that thing where home sometimes draws you back. What strengths does she bring to the team and what is her relationship with Tosh like this time around?
There's very little that shocks her. She's a DI and she's done very well, so she trusts her instincts, which are often right – but not always – but at least she makes a decision and I think that complements Tosh, who is, as you know, much more of an empath. Tosh is kind of the feeling one in the relationship. There’s a sort of good cop, bad cop dynamic where Calder tends to not get emotionally involved and sees a very practical puzzle that needs to be solved. So, I think that they both bring their own strengths to a case. What is the storyline for the new series of Shetland?
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! It added another element of fun for me. When I was playing the part, I wanted to be really present in every scene, to make myself look and listen to what people were saying, to see if I could solve the puzzle and ultimately, the crime. Tosh is torn between the professional and personal, how does Calder help her deal with this conflict?
Part of Calder's frustration with Tosh in the past was that she didn't believe in herself but, this year, in Calder’s own way, she has given Tosh the confidence to believe in her own decisions. This series welcomes another great guest cast…what was it like having them on set?
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. 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. Having somebody like Ian Hart, who's got a body of work that I respect so much, and the brilliant Vince Regan, was such a privilege, it was lovely to be working with them and I hope that they had as much fun on set as we did working with them. From the off, Calder doesn’t trust Ian Hart’s character Professor Euan Rossi…what is it about him that makes her suspicious?
How did it feel getting back on the wee plane to Shetland and where do you most enjoy visiting when you’re not filming?
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. 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. One of the day trips that we had was with Ian Hart [who plays Euan Rossi] and some of the crew. We drove for miles and got on two ferries up to Unst to visit the gin distillery there as well as the most northern tea room in the British Isles. It was amazing. Unst almost makes Lerwick [Shetland’s capital] look like a metropolis. When you get up to Unst, it's really remote. And you really feel it there – you’re part of the landscape. It's a very visceral, humbling place to be. The last series ended with Calder running into the sea – have you ever tried wild swimming or did this experience put you off?
I was wearing a wetsuit, and some little booties, but it wasn't a proper wetsuit. It was the one that Maisie [Norma Seaton] who played the murder victim Ellen, wore last year. When you play a dead person they give you a wetsuit to keep you warm when you’re lying on the ground. So it had a cut around the neck so the water did go in but I have to say I really did enjoy it, and I would definitely do it again. That being said, the weather was so poor this year, wild horses or wild Shetland ponies, would not have dragged me into the sea this time! Funny you should mention the weather…last year you had the most glorious sunshine, what was it like this time around?
And do you have any memorable moments from filming this series?
The one memory I have is when production brought in two stunt women to do a running along the beach scene for us. It was a cold, sort of miserable day and they'd got the stunt double women in wigs and Calder coats and Tosh jumpers. But apparently, we ran along the beach and looked like we knew what we were doing, so we didn't need the stunt people. So we were like “Yes!” AboutA Silverprint Pictures production (part of ITV Studios) for the BBC, Shetland is loved by millions of fans, with last year’s series averaging seven million viewers across its run. Filmed earlier this year on the Shetland Isles and across Scotland, the new series will see Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell return reprise their roles as Detectives Ruth Calder and Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh. Originally based on award-winning novels by crime writer Ann Cleeves (https:// The new series also sees the return of series regulars Steven Robertson (Sandy), Lewis Howden (Billy) and Anne Kidd (Cora), while acclaimed actors Ian Hart (Mr Bates VS The Post Office, Harry Potter, The Responder) and Vincent Regan (Traces, Luther: The Fallen Sun, Aquaman) lead the guest cast and can be seen in today’s first-look pictures. Shetland series nine is written by lead writers Paul Logue and Denise Paul. Series nine is produced by Louise V Say (Dracula, Les Miserables) and directed by Andrew Cumming (Out of Darkness) and Ruth Paxton (A Banquet). Executive producers are Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, Kate Bartlett, Denise Paul and Paul Logue for Silverprint Pictures. Shetland is part of a growing list of BBC dramas from Scotland, including Nightsleeper, Granite Harbour and the forthcoming Lockerbie and Lions. Shetland is internationally distributed by ITV Studios.
Source BBC One
November 4, 2024 4:00am ET by Pressparty |