Shetland: Series 8 Premiere (BBC One Wednesday 1 November 2023)

Shetland: Series 8 Premiere airs Wednesday 1 November 2023 on BBC One.

What is this episode about

Met detective DI Ruth Calder travels to Shetland after a thirty-year absence in order to question Ellen Quinn, a terrified witness to a murder committed by a London gang. Tosh puts her investigation into the suspicious deaths of animals on hold in Lerwick so that she can assist Calder in his search for Ellen.

Ellen comes from the powerful and notorious Bains, who are headed by Ellen’s dominant grandmother, Grace. Ellen’s parents, Stella and Kieran, haven’t seen her since she left for London six months ago, so Calder and Tosh are surprised to learn that she has returned to Shetland.

As if things weren’t bad enough, two armed London gangsters, the seasoned Howell and the volatile Nowak, show up on the Isles with the intention of silencing Ellen.

Calder’s ex-boyfriend Cal Innes and her estranged younger brother Alan – now the minister of their late father’s old church – add an extra layer of complexity to an already complicated case. However, these siblings’ perspectives on their childhood are radically different from one another.

Calder and Tosh, who have been working on the case since its inception, are shocked to learn of a brutal murder that bears all the hallmarks of organised crime. The team, however, is in for yet another surprise.

Ruth Calder is played by Ashley Jensen, Tosh by Alison O’Donnell, Sandy by Steven Robertson, Ellen Quinn by Maisie Norma Seaton, Grace Bain by Phyllis Logan, Stella Quinn by Dawn Steele, Kieran Quinn by Barry O’Connor, Howell by Don Gilét, Nowak by Arnas Fedaravičius, Cal Innes by Jamie Sives and Rev Alan Calder by Steven Miller. Also starring Lewis Howden, Anne Kidd, Lorraine McIntosh, Ann Louise Ross, Conor McCarry, Angus Miller, Nina Toussaint-White, Tibu Fortes, Russ Bain, Eubha Akilade and Kevan Mackenzie.

Series 8 Episode 1 of 6

When can we see the episode

Shetland: Series 8 Premiere airs Wednesday 1 November 2023 at 9:00pm on BBC One

Featured Image Credit: BBC One