Shetland season 9 cast: Meet the new and returning characters
DI Ruth Calder returns – and Tosh finally bags a promotion.
Shetland fans, assemble: the BBC crime drama is back with its ninth season, and things certainly kicked off with a bang in episode 1, which landed on Wednesday 6th November.
Season 9 sees DI Ruth Calder and Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) tackle a double missing persons case, which blurs the "line between the personal and the professional" for Tosh, while Calder (Ashley Jensen) "delves deeper into another case involving a deadly argument between two brothers".
O'Donnell might have been portraying the role of Tosh for over 10 years, but the actor recently told RadioTimes.com that the addition of new lead detective Jensen has helped to keep the experience fresh.
O'Donnell explained: "We were really, really hoping that we would get to go again, just to sort of develop from here. So everybody was thrilled to get the chance to have another roll of the dice with the sort of new version of the show.
"And obviously there are elements of it that are very much season 9 – being back on the set of the police station with Billy [McBride] and Sandy [Wilson] – and so it's nice now it has a kind of double identity for me."
She added: "It's got this one timeline where it's been running for sort of 12 years, then it's got the new timeline where it's only been for two years.
"So I feel like there's stuff that I'm really sure-footed about and other stuff where I'm still really learning, which is a lovely combination."
Read more:
- Shetland star Alison O'Donnell: 'Secrets are going to come out'
- Shetland's Ashley Jensen wants to return to comedy next – to find her 'inner clown' again
A number of familiar characters return alongside the two lead detectives, plus a raft of new guest stars.
Find the full rundown below.
Shetland season 9 cast
- 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
- Angus Miller as Donnie
- Steven Miller as Reverend Alan Calder
- Anne Kidd as forensic pathologist Cora McLean
- Conor McCarry as PC Alex Grant
- Eubha Akilade as PC Lorna Burns
- Tibu Fortes as procurator fiscal Harry Lamont
Read on for more information on the characters in Shetland season 9 and where you've seen the cast before.
Alison O'Donnell plays Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh
Who is Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh? Tosh has finally been promoted to detective inspector.
"Tosh is where she has always been – Lerwick Police Station," said O'Donnell. "Only now, side-by-side with DI Ruth Calder, she's in charge too.
"I think she's been on a journey with her confidence ever since we first met her with her braces and her bobble hat. For sure, her confidence has increased pretty rapidly over the last couple of years as she has stepped into the breach following Perez's departure and discovered she was more capable than she perhaps first thought.
"She still has little moments of doubt, though, and I think that's important because the audience have watched her grow from rookie status to 'heid bummer' [the big boss] and it's both realistic and relatable that she would wobble from time to time."
What else has Alison O'Donnell been in? Shetland is Alison O'Donnell's most sizeable TV role to date. Before playing Tosh, she was better known for her work on stage, treading the boards in Boys, The Hard Man and Lorca's Yerma.
Ashley Jensen plays Ruth Calder
Who is Ruth Calder? A detective inspector who has left London and moved back to Shetland full time. Ashley Jensen joined the show in season 8 following Douglas Henshall's exit.
"Calder's decided to return to Shetland because it almost felt like there was unfinished business there, or a sort of magnetic draw back home," said Jensen. "She's there to find out who she is which, I think, goes against all her previous instincts.
"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."
Where have I seen Ashley Jensen before? Many people will know her from After Life with Ricky Gervais, Channel 4 comedy Catastrophe, Ugly Betty starring America Ferrera, crime comedy-drama Agatha Raisin, and sitcom Extras.
Angus Miller plays Donnie Russell
Who is Donnie Russell? Tosh's partner and the father of her child. Donnie's close friend and his wife Annie disappear, which puts a strain on their relationship.
"Donnie is very close to this one on a personal level," said O'Donnell. "His best friend becomes a key person in the investigation and while he supports Tosh, he is pulled between his loyalty for his friend and his proximity to how the police investigation develops.
"They live in a small community where conflicts-of-interest are inevitable but people are human and fallible and flawed and relationships have weaknesses. This is a bumpy road for them."
What else has Angus Miller been in? Miller appeared in the TV series Teacup Travels. He is more often seen on stage in Scotland (Let the Right One In, Trainspotting, The Belle's Stratagem).
Steven Robertson plays Sandy Wilson
Who is DC Sandy Wilson? Sandy is a dedicated detective constable with a strong sense of right and wrong, but in season 6 his feelings for Kate Kilmuir occasionally clouded his judgement and got him into trouble. His knowledge of the local area and community makes him a key member of the team.
What else has Steven Robertson been in? The Scottish actor, who was actually born in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands, has appeared in period drama Harlots, Doctor Who, Being Human and more. He also starred in a radio adaptation of Shetland, playing DI Jimmy Perez himself.
Lewis Howden plays Billy McCabe
Who is Sergeant Billy McCabe? A reliable and experienced police sergeant.
What else has Lewis Howden been in? Although he is better known for his stage work, Howden has a collection of TV credits including Hope Springs, Taggart and Monarch of the Glen.
Steven Miller plays Alan Calder
Who is Alan Calder? A reverend and Ruth's brother. Alan's wife has left him.
What else has Steven Miller been in? You might know him from Casualty and Payback.
Additional returnees include:
- Anne Kidd (Outlander) as Cora – a forensic pathologist.
- Conor McCarry (The Loch) as PC Alex Grant.
- Eubha Akilade (Find Me in Paris) as PC Lorna Burns.
- Tibu Fortes (Emmerdale) as procurator fiscal Harry Lamont.
Shetland season 9 guest stars
- Sarah MacGillivray (Outlander) plays Annie Bett - a friend of Tosh's who was murdered. She was estranged from her husband, and they share a son called Noah, played by Jacob Ferguson.
- Leeroy Boone plays Anton Bergen - a mysterious Frenchman whose body was found in the same property as Annie's.
- Robert Jack (Gary: Tank Commander) plays Ian Bett - Annie's husband. Ian is a local businessman who is well-liked in the community. He's a close friend of Donnie's.
- Vincent Regan (Traces, Luther: The Fallen Sun, Aquaman) plays John Harris - an "old school Shetlander" who runs a mussel farm. He's recently widowed.
- John's sons Patrick and Fergus are played by Ross Anderson (The Last Kingdom) and Macleod Stephen (Granite Harbour) respectively.
- Ian Hart (Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Harry Potter, The Responder) plays Euan Rossi - an Oxford University Professor of Mathematics who travels to Shetland when he learns his friend and former student Annie has gone missing.
- Stuart Campbell (Hetty Feather, The Winter King, SAS Rogue Heroes) plays Malcolm Kidd - he murders his brother after discovering he was having an affair with his partner.
- Christina Gordon (Diarra from Detroit) plays Eleanor Douglas - Malcolm's fiancée.
- Tara Lee (The Suspect, The Fall, Raw) plays Lisa Friel - a troubled young woman who runs away from the shelter she's being housed at.
- Jimmy Yuill (EastEnders, Wycliffe) plays Angus Wallace - he's known as "campervan Angus". Lisa is currently shacked up in his vehicle.
- Liz Ewing (The Nest) plays Ailsa Forbes - she runs the local homeless shelter.
- Andrew John Tait (Rebus, Scot Squad) plays Michael Stack - a housing officer.
- Lesley Hart (River City) plays Noreen Stack - Annie's sister. She is married to Michael.
- Johannes Lassen (Advokaten) plays Stefan Jakobson and Natalie Merchant (Call of the Unseen) plays Karin Jakobson - they employed Anton as their daughter's carer.
- Ines Asserson (Heirs of the Night) plays Astrid Jakobson - Anton was her nurse.
- Marlowe Chan-Reeves (Doctor Who) plays Nathan Huang - he works at a Chinese restaurant.
- Gemma McElhinney (Karen Pirie) plays Joni Connal - a local woman who was friends with Annie and Ian.
Shetland airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Ann Cleeves's Shetland novels are available to buy now.
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