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DI Ruth Calder and DI Alison "Tosh" McIntosh make their comeback as Shetland marks its milestone 10th series with a particularly fishy mystery - though reaching the programme's filming location proved quite the ordeal. The latest instalment of the popular BBC One crime drama, adapted from Ann Cleeves' novels, kicks off with the detective pair enjoying a rare quiet moment in their vehicle before Calder and Tosh receive orders to intercept a vessel thought to be transporting narcotics. The sequence became an endurance challenge for Ashley Jensen , who portrays Calder, as she was required to rummage through a trolley filled with deceased fish following a tip-off. "It was real fish but the smell wasn't as bad as you might anticipate," Ashley reveals. "It was fresh fish but it was eight in the morning. I was flinging them about and I was getting bits of fish in my face. But I love all that." Matters quickly spiral into something more sinister when an elderly lady named Eadie is discovered strangled to death - an investigation that rocks the squad to its foundations. However, Ashley hints this series encompasses far more than just homicide. "It's my favourite season in terms of the script, apart from my first one," she reveals. "It interweaves all of our personal lives into the murder case." Even DC Sandy Wilson, ( Steven Robertson ), and Sergeant Billy McCabe ( Lewis Howden ) experience the repercussions. "We're all looking at each other and thinking 'who are you?'" Ashley reveals. Tosh, meanwhile, embraces her darker side. "I aptly named her Dark Tosh. We see a side of her we've never seen before. She starts to lose her faith in policing. Everything starts to fall apart," reveals Alison O'Donnell , who portrays Tosh. There's also a suggestion of romance brewing for Ruth. "She's in a place where she's doing dating apps, because she feels she has to," Ashley reveals. However, the case might steer her heart in an unforeseen direction – Eadie's attractive son, Ed, portrayed by Stuart Townsend. "He's got this complicated relationship with his mum and Calder had a complicated relationship with her dad," Ashley elaborates. Alison cautions that the investigation will strike particularly close to home. "This story is going to affect our team and it's going to bring out things from the past," she reveals. Behind the scenes, the Shetland climate continues to be the cast's biggest challenge. For Ashley, who resides in Bath, simply getting there proved more difficult than the actual filming. "Me and about 15 of the crew always take an airplane when we go over there," she explains. "But we had to divert to Orkney and touch down there. We couldn't get to Shetland. We all sat on the tarmac for about two hours. Then we have to go back and spend the night in a hotel in Aberdeen." Alison, who has portrayed Tosh since the show's inception, had to adjust when Ashley joined the eighth series in 2023. "I remember trying to find my footing during the first few weeks, because I'd been doing this for a long time and had an established rhythm," Alison shares. "But after a few weeks, it became clear to me that Ashley is the most genuine collaborator." Ashley chimes in, "Sometimes, you meet people and you think, 'I can't remember not knowing you,' which is a good thing." Ashley's own career has taken her from Scotland to Hollywood – she starred as Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty – but she says Shetland is where she feels at home. "When I first arrived in Shetland, it was like coming home," says the Annan native. "I don't need to go back to America and prove anything. I feel as if I've done all that and enjoyed it. I'm not that person, I'm so inherently Scottish." Despite the long hours and unpredictable weather, both actresses agree the atmosphere on set is joyful – even eccentric, sometimes filled with costume parties. "They've become a bit of a tradition," says Ashley. "They have a theme. Last year we had a maritime theme and this year was puffins. The make-up girls absolutely went to town." Shetland returns to screens on Wednesday, November 5th on BBC One at 9pm.
