Granite Harbour star says drama is “quite different” to Shetland

But they explained that this new drama was sufficiently different from the long-running series to stand out on its own – in part due to a difference in tone.

"They’re quite different," said star Dawn Steele, who plays DCI Cora MacMillan in Granite Harbour. "This is pre-watershed. Shetland is a bit grittier. I wouldn't say they were that similar."

"What Granite Harbour has going for it is the specificity of the story," explained Bhav Joshi, who stars AS DI Jaiyush Mallick. "Of being about a soldier coming from the army and settling into life in Aberdeen as part of this scheme that retrains soldiers to then become detectives.

"That’s the point of difference between Shetland and this. It might have similarities, it might have differences, but I guess that’s for people to decide by themselves."

And Romario Simpson added: "I think it’s great if people compare the two because it will shed light on the production and Aberdeen."

The synopsis for the first episode reads: "Having completed his final tour with the Royal Military Police, Lance Corporal Davis Lindo dreams of being a detective at New Scotland Yard.

"However, he finds himself being sent to train as a detective constable in the north-east of Scotland and must quickly adapt to a new life a world away from anything he has known before.

"When an Aberdeen oil magnate dies in mysterious circumstances, trainee detective Lindo is thrown in at the deep end and forced to navigate a city and force completely alien to him."

Additional reporting by Abby Robinson

Granite Harbour premieres on BBC One at 7pm on Friday 2nd December 2022.

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