Shetland season 9: Release date and latest news

Speaking about the new instalment, Jensen told RadioTimes.com: "There are many threads to the new series of Shetland. We jump back and forth in time – there's a historical case, domestic relationships. There are so many different strands to the story, and quite a lot of them are linked. It's a very complex web, this series."

Jensen also said that she chose to remain in the dark about "who the murderer was" so that she felt like she was "really in Calder's shoes".

"I was looking at people through the character's eyes thinking, 'What are you giving me?'" she added. "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."

For more information about the season 9 case, plus when you can watch the brand new episodes and who else is in the cast, read on.

Shetland season 9 release date: When do new episodes air?

Shetland kicked off on BBC One and iPlayer on Wednesday 6th November at 9pm.

There are six episodes in total, and episodes will air weekly on Wednesday, with the finale arriving on 11th December.

Who stars in Shetland season 9?

Ahead of Shetland's return to screens for its ninth season, the show's longest-serving cast member Alison O'Donnell spoke to RadioTimes.com about when she would step away.

"Always in the back of my head is [that] I would hate to have come this far and then to just slightly overstay my welcome," she said.

"So I would always have one eye on, OK, is this the moment? Because you feel like you sort of are traversing up the way, like a roller coaster, and we got a little extra boost with season 8 and the sort of refresh.

"I just would love to find the moment where we reach the top and then quit. I wouldn't want to start going down."

O'Donnell went on to say that while "everybody is happy to sort of suspend their disbelief for the sake of the show" and keep on going, "so much time in that small place, it's got to have a limit".

But for now she'll be back, alongside Ashley Jensen, who joined the gang as DI Ruth Calder for season 8 following Douglas Henshall's exit after nearly 10 years as Jimmy Perez.

Speaking about the show's life after Jimmy Perez, O'Donnell said: "Dougie is an unbelievably smart person, he's really good at seeing the big picture with things, and I think he felt within himself that he'd told [Jimmy] Perez's story.

"We'd had seven brilliant seasons and he'd got to dig so deep into his personal life, his grief, his family history, his parents, and so many crime stories. And I think he felt himself that that's the story told. And you always want to keep people wanting more, you don't want to go beyond the point where people are really keen, so that all made complete sense.

"But then when there was the idea to revamp and take the show in another direction, I think it made me realise that, actually, there are elements of this that still feel like they've got more room to grow. And I think that was really right. I think there was enough there that we could sort of reimagine it all. So I think definitely the refresh has given it a new lease of life."

The season 9 returning line-up is as follows:

• Ashley Jensen as DI Ruth Calder
• Alison O'Donnell as DI Alison ''Tosh'' McIntosh
• Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson
• Lewis Howden as Sgt Billy McCabe
• Anne Kidd as forensic pathologist Cora McLean
• Angus Miller as Donnie
• Conor McCarry as PC Alex Grant
• Eubha Akilade as PC Lorna Burns
• Steven Miller as Reverend Alan Calder
• Tibu Fortes as procurator fiscal Harry Lamont

Guest stars this season include:

• Ian Hart (Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Harry Potter, The Responder) as Euan Rossi - an Oxford University professor of Mathematics who travels to Shetland when he learns a former student has gone missing.
• Vincent Regan (Traces, Luther: The Fallen Sun, Aquaman) as John Harris - an "old school Shetlander" who runs a mussel farm. He's recently widowed.

There's also: Ross Anderson (The Last Kingdom), Macleod Stephen (Granite Harbour), Robert Jack (Gary Tank Commander), Sarah MacGillivray (Outlander), Jacob Ferguson, Lesley Hart (River City), Andrew John Tait (Rebus), Nalini Chetty (River City), Tara Lee (The Fall), Jimmy Yuill (Wycliffe), Ines Asserson (Heirs of the Night), Johannes Lassen (Gidseltagningen) and Nathalie Merchant (Calypso).

Shetland season 9 plot: What will happen?

In the show's latest chapter, Calder and Tosh have their hands full with a "double missing persons case, which blurs the line between the personal and the professional".

When Tosh's friend Annie Bett disappears, "she suspects something is seriously wrong" – and her instincts prove correct.

Annie is "estranged from her husband Ian and has been staying with mussel farmer John Harris and his two sons". But when the detectives head there to look for her, she's nowhere to be found.

As Calder and Tosh dig further, their investigation leads them to Professor Euan Rossi, "who claims to have been Annie's Oxford University tutor many years ago".

"Calder can't shake the feeling there’s more to Rossi than meets the eye," adds the synopsis.

"Meanwhile, at the station, she delves deeper into another case involving a deadly argument between two brothers.

"The missing persons investigation draws Tosh and Calder into a web of lies, and when a bloodied person turns up at a remote garage, nothing can prepare the team for what lies ahead."

Shetland season 9 trailer: Can I watch it?

Yes – you can watch the season 9 trailer right now.

Shetland seasons 1-8 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Ann Cleeves's Shetland novels are available to buy now.

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