Shetland: The Complete Series 1 & 2 [DVD]

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She says:"I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Shetlandas DI Ruth Calder. It's such a hugely successful show and I am aware I have very big boots to fill since the departure of DI Perez, who was very much loved by fans of the show.

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. Tosh [Alison O’Donnell] is just as professional as Calder but needs to find her own way to navigate a new working relationship - ultimately they respect one another. They don’t treat each other with caution, I think that it’s just literally two different approaches to police work coming together but there is an element of good cop, bad cop. 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. How do Ruth and Tosh get on when they first meet and how do you see their relationship progressing?Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge.

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. Like any close relationship with someone you have to work alongside intensely, there are moments when it flows and moments when it doesn't but they are both fiercely committed to their work, they always have that in common, and it is this dogged pursuit of truth and justice that is the engine that drives them as a team. The entire cast was amazing but I have a special place in my heart for the inimitable Don Gilét [who plays hitman Howell]. The first couple of weeks were quite disorientating for me as I found my feet in this new world ofShetland. The first day I remember really loosening up I was chasing him [Don] down a beach. I was in pain with laughing. He's such a one-off, insanely funny and makes every day you're working with him memorable and special.She’s formidable, she’s strong, she’s a woman in a man’s world. Ruth Calder’s built this little barricade around herself - she’s almost like an island herself. Inspired by Ann Cleeves' Shetland novels, Shetland is a Silverprint Pictures production for the BBC. 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. This new series of Shetland boasts a stellar guest cast – what was it like working with the likes of Phyllis Logan, Dawn Steele, Jamie Sives and Lorraine McIntosh?

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. Matters are made worse when armed hitmen - the experienced Howell (Don Gilét) and volatile Nowak (Arnas Fedaravičius) - arrive on the Isles on a mission to silence Ellen. Phyllis Logan, who plays Grace, is among the fantastic guest cast (Image credit: BBC) What’s the plot? 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?

She’s very direct, she’s quite formidable with years of experience so she’s incredibly focused and very driven. When it comes to this particular case, however, her weakness is that she lets her personal issues get in the way a little bit. There’s this sort of idea that when we’re British we have to go far afield to get away. After living in America for years, I’ve got this pull to visit Scotland more, so when Shetland came up I couldn’t resist. 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.