Who knew that the small Scottish archipelago of Shetland could be home to so much criminal activity? We’re 11 years and ten series into the hit BBC drama Shetland and the criminals just don’t seem to be letting up.
In fact, if the brand-new trailer for Shetland series 10 is anything to go by, then this could be one of the toughest cases that that DI Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen) and DI Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) have ever had to face.
What is Shetland about?
Since series eight which was released in 2023, Shetland has followed lead detective DI Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen) as she investigates cases for the Shetland police as part of the Lerwick-based team. Although she’s a Shetland native, Calder’s return to the islands having worked for the Metropolitan Police in London for twenty years ruffled a few feathers.
Calder works closely alongside DI Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) who was close with the DI that Calder replaced, Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) – the lead investigator from series one to seven.
Who stars in Shetland?
Ashley Jensen as DI Ruth Calder
The lead investigator of the Lerwick-based team, DI Ruth Calder is a no-nonsense, well-respected detective who has finally found her feet within both the team and her native Shetland. Happily single, this series we see a potential romance develop between her and the son of the murder victim. You know what they say: ‘The path of true love never did run smooth’!
Ashley Jensen is a hugely prolific actress perhaps best known for playing Maggie Jacobs in Ricky Gervais’s Extras (2005-2007). For that role she was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Comedy Performance and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, and won the British Comedy Awards for Best Newcomer and Best Television Comedy Actress.
Other critically acclaimed roles of Ashley’s include Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty (2006-2010) – which saw her nominated for a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Acting Performance in Television – and being the voice of Bryony in highly underrated Christmas film Arthur Christmas (2011).
You may also have spotted Ashley in ITV’s Eleventh Hour (2006), as the titular Agatha Raisin in Agatha Raisin (2014-2022), as Fran in Catastrophe (2015-2019), or as Emma in After Life (2019-2022).
Alison O’Donnell as DI Alison ‘Tosh’ MacIntosh
Following her promotion to DI, Tosh is Calder’s partner in work but more like a sister in real life. Last series, we saw Tosh’s relationship with Calder suffer slightly as the case got too close to home and it’s been teased that this series we’ll see a darker side to Tosh as she struggles with more conflict.
Without a doubt, Alison’s biggest role to date has been playing Tosh in Shetland (from 2013), but you may also have spotted her in an episode of Holby City (2012) and the 2019 film Pet Sematary.
Samuel Anderson as Procurator Fiscal Matt Blake
Joining the cast for series 10 is Samuel Anderson as Procurator Fiscal Matt Blake. Essentially a Procurator Fiscal is a public prosecutor in Scotland who receives reports of crimes from the police and decides whether or not to prosecute based on public interest.
Most recently you may have spotted Samuel as Mal in the first series of Amandaland (2025) – the Motherland spin-off - which is reportedly set to return for a Christmas special in December. Other TV series that Samuel has appeared in include Red Rose (2022) as Vinny Mason, Landscapers (2021) as DC Paul Wilkie, Another Life (2019-2021) as William and of course, Trollied (2014-2017) as Daniel Wilson.
Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson
DC Sandy Wilson has been a part of the Lerwick team since the very beginning and therefore appears to know everything about Shetland and all its goings on.
No stranger to a long-running detective drama, you may have spotted Steven in The Bay (2021) as Mark Bradwell, Vera (2018) as Tom Naresby, New Tricks (2013) as Tom Belgrade, and Luther (2011) as Robert/Nicholas Millberry.
Other TV shows of Steven’s include Harlots (2017) in which he played Robert Oswald, Being Human (2012-2013) in which he played Dominic Rook and Ashes to Ashes (2010) as Paul Thordy.
Lewis Howden as Sgt Billy McCabe
Another long-serving member of the team is police sergeant Billy McCabe.
Playing Billy in Shetland since 2013 marks Lewis’s biggest role to date, but you may also have spotted him as Sergeant Jordon in Hope Springs (2009) and various episodes of Taggart over the years.
Anne Kidd as Pathologist Cora McLean
Forensic Pathologist Cora McLean is the woman who conducts the postmortems and lets Calder and Tosh know the likeliest cause of death for the victims, as well as give a loose time frame where possible.
Anne joined the cast of Shetland in 2014 for series two and was promoted to one of the members of the main cast for series five. Other TV roles of Anne’s include Meredith in One of Us (2016), Morag Torrens in an episode of Vigil (2021) and Grannie Wilson in two episodes of Outlander (2022).
Angus Miller as Donnie Russell, Tosh’s partner
It wasn’t until last series that Donnie really came to the fore as Tosh’s partner because he was directly involved in the case. This series, Donnie also has a larger role to play in supporting Tosh when the case reportedly becomes a bit too much for her.
Most recently you may have spotted Angus in two episodes of Netflix’s Dept. Q (2025). Whilst playing Donnie in Shetland marks Angus’ biggest role to date, he’s also had small bit parts in big TV series like Outlander (2024), The Gold (2023) and Guilt (2021),
Conor McCarry as PC Alex Grant
PC Alex Grant has been one of the younger members of the Lerwick team since series five.
Playing Alex in Shetland marks Conor’s biggest role to date, but he’s also appeared in TV series like Outlander (2017-2024), Time (2023) playing Stephen Harkness, The Loch (2017) playing Dessie Toner and The Night Manager (2016) playing Jacob Dodridge.
When he’s not acting, Conor can be found performing as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of pop/rock band Cloud House.
Eubha Akilade as PC Lorna Burns
Another young police officer on the team, Lorna is determined to prove her worth and rise up the ranks.
Eubha initially shot to fame playing Lily Watson in the CBBC series Eve (2015-2017). Since then she's played Ines Le Breton in Find Me in Paris (2018-2020) and Amy Callaghan in The Diplomat (2023) – no, not the Netflix phenomenon, a British political thriller of the same name.
Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Perez
Before Ruth joined the team, the grumpy DI Jimmy Perez was the lead investigator. However he stepped away after his personal life and the actions of his partner’s ex-husband Duncan Hunter (Mark Bonnar) began to interfere with his career.
What is Shetland S10 about?
This latest series of Shetland sees Calder and Tosh travel to the isolated hamlet of Lunniswick to investigate the sinister killing of an elderly woman, however the team soon discover that the body of the retired social worker has been out in the elements for a number of days and it’s difficult to determine much.
This fiendish case will see Tosh and Calder excavate the victim’s life, past and present, as well as the lives of those who knew her. They soon begin to uncover dark secrets and terrible deeds at the heart of this closeknit community.
What happened in Shetland S9?
The ninth series of Shetland saw Calder and Tosh investigating the murders of Annie Betts (Sarah MacGillibray) and Anton Bergen (Leeroy Boone). After a red herring involving Annie’s career as a spy, it was eventually revealed that Annie’s sister-in-law Noreen Stack (Lesley Hart) shot Annie and Anton to cover up her husband Michael Stack’s (Andrew John Tait) rape of Annie.
Is Shetland based on a book?
The origin of Shetland came from the novels of Ann Cleeves – her Jimmy Perez series. The first series consisted of two episodes based on the novel Red Bones, whilst series two consisted of six episodes that were based on the novels Raven Black, Dead Water and Blue Lightening.
From series three onwards however, the show’s format changed (for the better in our humble opinion) so that every series consisted of six episodes that covered a single story, written exclusively for television.
Other novels by Ann Cleeves have also the starting point for the TV series Vera starring Brenda Blethyn and The Long Call starring Ben Aldridge.
Is Shetland worth watching?
The reception for Shetland has always been incredibly positive with nearly every series of the detective drama nominated for at least one BAFTA Scotland. Indeed the show eventually won Best Television Drama and Best Television Actor (Douglas Henshall) in 2016 and continues to be nominated in similar categories.
When does Shetland S10 air?
The first episode of Shetland will air at 9pm on Wednesday 6 November, with all subsequent episodes airing weekly.
Where can I watch Shetland S10?
All episodes of Shetland are available on BBC iPlayer, with all episodes of series 10 joining on Wednesday 6 November.
Daisy Hall became a writer for TVChoice after realising that she could make a career out of her incredible ability to extensively name an actor's credits when they randomly pop up in whatever she's watching. Her friends find it infuriating, but hopefully you find it useful!