‘This is MAD’ declare Shetland fans as new BBC crime drama kicks off with dramatic opening scene
SHOCKED Shetland viewers have branded the show “mad” after it returned to the BBC with a very dramatic first scene.
Crime fans were left on the edge of their seats within the first two minutes of series nine kicking off.
The first episode began with DI Ruth Calder, played by Ashley Jensen, sitting in a kitchen while wearing a coat and scarf.
Seconds later, it was revealed she was looking down the barrel of a gun, held by a mad man called Malcolm Kidd.
DI Calder asks him: “Do you not think we should cover him up, eh?
“Let’s give your brother a bit of dignity.”
With the BBC drama reaching fever pitch within the first two minutes, the camera suddenly revealed a dead man lying face down in a pool of blood.
Fans couldn’t believe their eyes, with many flocking to social media to share their shock.
One viewer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Well that’s some opening, right into a mad scene.”
Another added: “Not bothering with the slow build up then?”
And a third chimed in: “An interesting opening for Shetland tonight!”
As the episode unfolded, viewers learned that the dead man was Malcolm’s brother Andrew Kidd.
Malcolm shot him in the head with a gun, with it emerging that Andrew had been sleeping with his fiancée.
Shetland is now in its 9th series, having first hit the small screen in March 2013.
Ashley took over the lead role from Douglas Henshall in series 8, after he bowed out of playing DI Jimmy Perez since the first episode.
Last week, Ashley told The Sun’s TV Mag that a 10th series of the crime drama has also been commissioned.
The actress said: “I thought, I can’t afford to think, is this going to run for another series or another series or whatever?
“I just thought six episodes of a self-contained show and that’s great.
“So to be commissioned for two series on the back of that with seven point something million viewers was great.
“It was huge. It was a real positive.”
Shetland series guide
Crime drama Shetland debuted on BBC One back in 2013. With over a decade under its belt, here is a look at the show’s journey so far.
Douglas Henshall led the cast in the first seven series, playing DI Jimmy Perez. However, the actor’s departure from Shetland was announced in 2022.
In his place, Ugly Betty alum Ashley Jensen took over, playing newcomer DI Ruth Calder.
- Series One: Ederly Shetlander, Mima Wilson is found murdered. DI Pérez and the team suspect the murder is linked to the Haldane family (to whom Mima was related) and the Shetland bus.
- Series Two: DI Pérez and the team investigate the murder of teenager Catherine Ross. Along the way, they find links to local recluse Magnus Bain – and a seven-year-old’s unsolved disappearance two decades earlier.
- Series Three: A young man disappears on a ferry crossing and a small boy ends up in intensive care after overdosing on Ecstasy. DI Pérez and the team become convinced the two events are linked.
- Series Four: Convicted murderer Thomas Malone returns to Shetland, prompting DI Pérez and the team to reopen a 23-year cold case. That case concerns Lizzie Kilmuir, who had been found strangled to death in a lime kiln. However, things take a turn when a local journalist is killed, in apparently a copy of Lizzie’s murder.
- Series Five: After severed parts are discovered on a Shetland beach, the victim is determined to be a Nigerian man who’d been looking for his sister. However, the investigation leads Pérez to suspect the murder has ties to a human trafficking ring.
- Series Six: A local lawyer is shot dead on the day of Pérez’s mother’s funeral. The team focus on two of the lawyer’s case – but are impeded by a teenager running a crime blog.
- Series Seven: In Pérez’s final series on Shetland, the run starts as he is cleared of wrongdoing by the police tribunal. In his final act, Pérez lets an innocent man – who had been due to be executed for allegedly killing an American citzen – go free while he resigned from the police.
- Series Eight: DI Ruth Calder, who grew up in Shetland, takes over Pérez’s old role. In one of Calder’s first cases, a young woman flees to Shetland after witnessing a police informant being murdered by hitmen in London.
The Ugly Betty and Extras star added that she was “very much thrilled” to be continuing in the show.
Meanwhile, returning regulars include Steven Robertson as Detective Sandy Wilson and Lewis Howden as Sergeant Billy McBride.
Harry Potter actor Ian Hart has taken on the role of Euan Rossi in Shetland’s new series.
Shetland airs on BBC1 and is available on iPlayer.