Shetland confirms season nine release date – sooner than you think

The BBC has finally confirmed the release date for the upcoming season of its hit crime drama Shetland – and it’s so soon!

The police series returns to our screens on Wednesday November 6th and will see Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell reprise their roles as Detectives Ruth Calder and Alison “Tosh” McIntosh respectively – and the new episodes sound captivating!

As we return to the titular Scottish islands, Calder and Tosh are called to investigate the disappearance of Tosh’s friend Annie.

The full summary reads: “The case of a double missing person blurs the lines between the personal and the professional.” Calder and Tosh become embroiled in a labyrinthine investigation. 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 her life-threatening ordeal as they set out together to search for Annie and her young son Noah. They discover that accountant Annie is estranged from her husband Ian and is living with mussel farmer John Harris and his two sons Patrick and Fergus. What’s worrying is that there’s no trace of Annie there either.

“Calder follows Tosh’s instincts and searches for Annie in the house she shared with Ian. There they discover Professor Euan Rossi, who claims to have been Annie’s tutor at Oxford University many years ago. Suspicions are raised when Tosh and Calder learn that Rossi has traveled all the way to Shetland Annie left him a frantic voicemail the night she disappeared. “Calder can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to Rossi than meets the eye,” it continues.

© BBC/Silverprint Pictures/Jamie Simpson

“Meanwhile, at the station, Calder delves deeper into another case involving a fatal argument between two brothers. The missing persons investigation draws Tosh and Calder into a web of lies, and when a person covered in blood shows up in a remote garage, nothing can prepare the team for what lies ahead.”

Joining Ashley and Alison in the new episodes are Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson, Lewis Howden as Sgt Billy McCabe, Anne Kidd as Cora McLean and Angus Miller as Donnie.

© BBC/Silverprint Pictures/Jamie Simpson

Rounding out the main cast are Steven Miller as Rev Alan Calder, Tibu Fortes as PF Harry Lamont, Conor McCarry as PC Alex Grant and Eubha Akilade as PC Lorna Burns.

Some exciting guest stars have now been confirmed for the series, including The answerer star Ian Hart, who will play Euan Rossi, and House of the Dragonis Vincent Regan as John Harris.

Elsewhere, Annie Bett is portrayed by Sarah MacGillivray, while Jacob Ferguson plays Noah Bett, alongside Robert Jack as Ian Bett, Ross Anderson as Patrick Harris and Macleod Stephen as Fergus Harris.

©Jamie Simpson

Other stars of the show include Leeroy Boone, Stuart Campbell, Nalini Chetty, Richard Thomson, Andrew John Tait, Tara Lee, Jimmy Yuill, Lesley Hart and Gemma McElhinney.