Shetland: The Complete Series 1 & 2 [DVD]

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I would say that Phyllis, Dawn and Lorraine really brought everyone together. They are wonderful, charismatic, generous women who really led the way with their performances and their professionalism. Sometimes it was hard to concentrate during the scenes because watching them perform was so distracting, like being in the front row of a hit show.

Well, being in Shetland during a summer heatwave wearing layers of cashmere will certainly stay with me forever that’s for sure! Beyond that, the beaches and the sea were incredible but one of the things that delighted meon adailybasiswere the sheep – who knew there are so many different types? We have both grown older, we are both mothers, we both have a huge amount of experience under our belts. It's nice to be able to chart that journey for myself both on and off camera but this series, to be standing in front of the board, taking charge of the team...I felt like I had grown wings. I feel that Shetland is as much a character as the drama itself. Shetland is one of those places that I never, ever thought I would go or get a chance to work there. It was such a privilege to be there and rendered me speechless when I stepped off that wee plane the first time. There were Shetland ponies and puffins – it’s got its own identity which is quite exhilarating actually. 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. Tosh and Calder grill Peter Ayre, their prime suspect in Ellen Quinn's murder. But while his ancient religious ceremony from the last episode has left everyone suspicious of him, it soon becomes clear that he has an accomplice when a box of letters is discovered in his house.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. And then there’s the weather! One minute we had this horizontal rain and the next, a heatwave and it was like the tropics and everyone was going wild swimming. I felt like I was on my holidays. She is a wonderful mix of an absolute hoot and a consummate professional. There were days when I laughed so hard my stomach hurt and I was in danger of crying all my make-up off. But we never, ever lost focus or took our eyes off the ball. Figuring out our chemistry together was an outright pleasure and I'm really proud of what we created together. Sometimes, the more serious the job, the more you laugh. Life’s too short not to have a laugh. To me, that’s part of the joy of what we do.

So it’s not Tosh that Calder has an issue with – it’s the two different approaches to work. Both are valid and, as they start to work together as a team, they see their strength together. In 10 years of filming inShetlandI've never seen it so lovely. The sun was out and it was warm and the beaches there are so beautiful...also there's a softplay now! So, life is complete. Tosh is very comfortable in the role so she has definitely been doing it for some time and has really found her rhythm. She has an easy rapport with Sandy [Steven Robertson] and Billy [Lewis Howden] and the team seems to be functioning well and not dealing with anything too grizzly. She also has a great connection with Harry [Tibu Fortes], the new procurator fiscal, who really champions her. 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 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.It's hard to even describe what this journey has meant to me. I never, in a million years, thought I would still be playing this character over a decade after I was originally cast in the part. What is the storyline for this new series of Shetland and how does Ruth Calder feel about returning ‘home’? At times, Calder almost acts like a big sister to Tosh but that might come across as nipping at her. There’s a glimmer of respect there that builds and builds – but that’s not to say that there won’t be moments when they annoy each other! A young woman from Shetland, Ellen Quinn [Maisie Norma Seaton], is living in London and getting herself involved in some pretty dubious schemes with her flatmate. This leads to her being in the wrong place at the wrong time and bearing witness to a very serious gangland killing. She flees the scene but not before being spotted and followed, all the way home to Shetland.