Shetland: The Complete Series 1 & 2 [DVD]

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I think the pace of Shetland is an issue for Calder because it’s much slower than London and the urban policing she’s used to. Ruth’s a little bit of a lone wolf, she often dances to her own beat.

How do Ruth and Tosh get on when they first meet and how do you see their relationship progressing? I loved it actually but to be honest as soon as I read the first scripts I was like “I’m in!”. The writer [Paul Logue] has given everybody a rounded character even down to the hitmen, Howell [Don Gilét] and Nowak [Arnas Fedaravičius]. Just the nuance and the detail of every character is amazing. This cast was extraordinary. Because the show has been reconfigured, it felt like a new beginning in a way and everybody really embraced that. It felt like we were all creating this new thing together, taking ownership and really giving it everything. The chemistry among everyone was off the scale. We had so much fun together, and we worked hard and we really worked as a team.However, Calder’s hostility to Shetland will challenge Tosh’s view of her adopted home and their journey into the darker recesses of Shetland's past and present will test this fragile, new partnership." What happened in episode 1? I also think Calder is a littleenviousof Tosh – sheappears to have it all, a family lifeanda career.

Scotland and Shetland is a very special place and these films portray that well. The brogue is a little confronting sometimes. sometimes I had an absolute blast working with Ashley. Her approach to the job was pitch perfect. She was really open and collaborative and sensitive to the fact that this is a long-running show but at the same time she brought confidence and self-assuredness, both in terms of how cast-iron her characterisation of Ruth Calder was, and in terms of how she took the reins off-set and brought everybody together. Calder and Tosh must team up and put their respective skillsets and knowledge together to try and find Ellen, which will take them on a journey neither of them could ever have imagined, with ever more disturbing twists leading them deeper and deeper into a world of secrets and ultimately, to the truth behind it all. I think if she took herself aside - and worked more as part of the team in the beginning - she’d achieve more. At the start, there might be a slight air of superiority about Calder with her taking the view that the Shetland team don’t work quite as well as her London team do. But she begins to realise that there are strengths in not jumping in with both feet at the same time. This is as much a personal story as a professional one for Calder.When the police discover that Rosemary's boyfriend, Liam Kenmuir, has links to Peter and his hospital pass was also used the night Ellen's body was stolen, Tosh and Calder think they've got their killer. However, it doesn't take long for them to work out that he is covering for Rosemary and she is Peter's pen friend and the mysterious sheep-killer. But did she kill Ellen? As you view disk to disk you get to know and understand the characters and their feelings come through. This new series is so fresh. The heart of the show remains - the team that we know and love - but everything is shaken up by the arrival of Calder and the crime that comes along with her. Calder brings out a different side in all of us, she draws us out of our cosy comfort zones and challenges us to dig deeper. Ashley Jensen is phenomenal in the role.

There will be a different dynamic with Ruth amongst the regular characters and a few more newinteresting characters to enjoy. However, the integrity of the show and the world that has been created will remain very much in the same tone as the last seven seasons. It's a real privilege to be asked to lead this show into a new chapter. I can’t wait to be working in Scotland again. I have missed it!” Meanwhile, Cal and Bobby consider going into business together but before their dodgy drug dealing plan can get off the ground, Cal puts his foot in it by mentioning Stella's potential fling with Calder's father. At the end of the episode Cal's van is seen in a crumpled heap on the side of the road, with a lifeless Cal beside it. Did Bobby tamper with his breaks? Is there a trailer?The camera work is good. Personally I do not like to many close up shots of the actors. In real life I find I like to be a few feet away, which I find is more realistic. Over the last 10 years, we’ve seen Tosh change from the chocolate vodka hungover new recruit to the temporary DI in charge…what’s that been like for you? This new series of Shetland has a stellar guest cast – what was it like working with the likes of Phyllis Logan, Dawn Steele and Lorraine McIntosh? We all have a WhatsApp group together and keep in touch and I imagine there will be lots of fun messages when the show airs.