BBC Shetland's Tosh star opens up on cancellation fears: 'Had to say an emotional goodbye!'

New trailer released for Shetland featuring Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell
BBC
Lauren Williams

By Lauren Williams


Published: 03/11/2024

- 06:00

The BBC crime drama is finally returning with Ashley Jenson at the helm

Shetland star Alison O’Donnell has opened up about getting a second chance to star in the BBC favourite show.

As many wait for the show's return, the newly promoted Detective Inspector, Alison “Tosh” McIntosh has a new-found self-confidence.


Due to her exceptional local knowledge and experience, Tosh has been able to stay in Shetland and officially take up the position of DI – the role all of her colleagues already felt she occupied.

“Respected by everyone at the station and well-known throughout the local community, Tosh finds herself in a difficult position this year as her personal and professional lives collide when her friend Annie Bett goes missing and Annie’s estranged husband, Ian, becomes the prime suspect.”

O’Donnell has been part of the Shetland family and recently opened up on what she loves the most about the show.

She explained: “Shetland has got under my skin, no doubt. I think there was something quite profound about thinking the show was over and having to say an emotional goodbye to this place that I’ve grown to love and that holds so many memories for me...

Shetland

Shetland is finally returning to the BBC

BBC

“And then discovering that I was going to get a second chance. There's something quite euphoric about that. I'm embracing every moment.

“The Isles are unique in so many ways but perhaps most importantly, they are so remote. So much further away from mainland Scotland than I think people might realise.

“You really do have a sense of being in the middle of the vast ocean, at the mercy of the elements, somehow apart in space and time. It's magical.”

The synopsis of the new series reads: “When Tosh’s friend, Annie Bett, goes missing she suspects something is seriously wrong. Ruth Calder - now living in Shetland - has no time to recover from a life-threatening ordeal of her own, as together they set out in search of Annie and her young son, Noah.

Shetland

Alison O'Donnell is returning as Tosh

BBC

“They discover that accountant Annie is estranged from her husband, Ian, and has been staying with mussel farmer John Harris and his two sons, Patrick and Fergus. Worryingly, there’s no sign of Annie there either.

“Calder follows Tosh’s instincts and looks for Annie at the home she shared with Ian. There, they discover Professor Euan Rossi, who claims to have been Annie’s Oxford University tutor many years ago.

“Suspicions are stirred when Tosh and Calder learn Rossi travelled all the way to Shetland after Annie left him a distressed voicemail the night she vanished. Calder can’t shake the feeling there’s more to Rossi than meets the eye.

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

“The missing person 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.”

Revealing how her character deals with her professional and personal struggles, O’Donnell added: “Tosh has an unshakeable integrity. She's always going to do the right thing by the investigation which may not always sit well with her friends.

Shetland

Tosh is the newly promoted dectective

BBC

“Everyone is feeling compromised, stressed and mistrustful and these friendships are going to be tested.

“In an investigation like this, every stone must be unturned and a lot of secrets are going to come out.

“But for Tosh, this collateral damage is unavoidable. She feels the discomfort of it but her primary goal always is to unearth the truth and get justice, however that may look.”

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