Shetland | Series 8 Preview (BBC One)

The murder-mystery series is back for a thrilling, new six-part tale, as Met detective Ruth Calder returns to the Shetland Isles on the trail of a vulnerable witness, teaming up with Tosh on a case that will test their fragile, new partnership.

After thirty years away, Met detective DI Ruth Calder returns to Shetland on the trail of Ellen Quinn – the scared witness to a London gangland murder. In Lerwick, Tosh pauses her investigation into a string of sinister animal deaths to help Calder find Ellen before it’s too late.

Ellen’s family are the influential and notorious Bains, led by dominant matriarch, Grace. Calder and Tosh discover her mother Stella and father Kieran haven’t seen Ellen since she left for London six months ago and are surprised to hear that she’s back in Shetland.

Matters are made worse when armed London gangsters - the experienced Howell and volatile Nowak - arrive on the Isles on a mission to silence Ellen.

On top of the twists and turns of the case, Calder is faced with figures from her past including her ex-boyfriend Cal Innes and estranged younger brother Alan – now the minister of their late father’s old church. However, these siblings have starkly different views of their shared childhood.

As the case gathers momentum, Calder and Tosh are stunned by news of a brutal murder which has all the hallmarks of organised crime. However, there’s another shock in store for the team.

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.

Shetland returns Wednesday 1st November on BBC One.