BBC Shetland’s Ashley Jensen admits she ‘didn’t know’ if she’d return after debut amid Douglas Henshall comparisons

Ashley Jensen, the leading star of BBC crime drama Shetland, has opened up about returning to the picturesque Scottish island for the show’s ninth series.

The Extras and Ugly Betty star made her debut in Lerwick and its surrounding areas during season eight, introduced as DI Ruth Calder who’d begin running things following the exit of Jimmy Perez (played by Douglas Henshall).

Henshall stepped away from playing Shetland’s leading man Perez back in 2022 after 10 years as the face of the drama.

The first series without Jimmy at the helm got off to a rather bumpy and divisive start, with some fans begging for Henshall to return and others even threatening to boycott the new-look crime drama with Jensen at the forefront.

However, by the end of the eighth run, Shetland’s revamp and Jensen in the lead role appeared to win over sceptical viewers which meant that soon after the finale, the Beeb gave it the green light to return.

Addressing her comeback to proceedings to film the upcoming ninth instalment, Jensen admitted: “I was very excited to be getting on the wee plane off to Shetland again with my half a cup of tea and my caramel wafer… half a cup of tea, because there’s often turbulence and you can’t get a full cup of tea because it’ll spill, which I thought was quite funny.

“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.”

However, Jensen did concede during her chat with the BBC that she was unsure whether or not she would be asked back to reprise the role of Ruth amid the calls for Henshall to return.

Speaking about the uncertainty, she continued: “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.”

Jensen also delved into filming with new cast members for the show’s ninth season, admitting the comradery remained a highlight for her throughout.

“One of the day trips that we had was with Ian Hart [who plays Euan Rossi] and some of the crew,” she explained. “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.”

While Jensen and O’Donnell are gearing up for new instalments of the Lerwick-based drama to hit screens, Henshall has been hard at work on a new project alongside Heartstopper breakout star, Kit Connor.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

BBC Shetland’s Ashley Jensen admits ‘we’re not allowed’ as she delves into strict filming rules ahead of new seriesDick Strawbridge shares ‘worry’ over behaviour of daughter, 10, as he admits: ‘I blamed Angel!’BBC ‘nepotism’ row explodes as The One Show fans fume ‘this is wrong’ over presenter’s family interview: ‘Nepotism at its finest!’

👀 Get ready for a brand new mystery to unravel in the new series of #Shetland – returning Wednesday, 6 November, on BBC One and @BBCiPlayer.

Watch the new trailer now 👇 pic.twitter.com/MDnpW1i4K1

— BBC Scotland Comms (@BBCScotComms) October 28, 2024

The duo will star in the soon-to-be-released drama One of Us alongside Game of Thrones’ Ian Beattie and The Spanish Princess’s Charlotte Hope.

Since saying farewell to the BBC series, Henshall has also starred in the Netflix crime thriller Who Is Erin Carter? and Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy.

Jensen will reunite with series stalwart Alison O’Donnell, who plays long-serving DI Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh, when the ninth series gets underway on November 6.

This time around, the duo are thrown straight into a double missing persons case that holds a personal connection to Tosh given one of the victims is a friend of hers.