SHETLAND RENEWED FOR TWELFTH SERIES ON BBC ONE AS ALISON O'DONNELL DEPARTS DRAMA
EXCLUSIVE
Hit murder mystery drama Shetland has been recommissioned for a twelfth series on BBC One. Filming will commence in Spring 2027, TV Zone understands.
Before then, the eleventh series comes to BBC One and iPlayer this November which sees Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell reprising their roles as DI Ruth Calder and DI Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh alongside series regulars and guest casting.
Joining the cast of Shetland alongside Jensen and O’Donnell for this new six-part series are Christine Bottomley (Sherwood), Kevin Harvey (This City Is Ours), Stella Gonet (The Crown), Gregor Fisher (Only Child), and Gavin Mitchell (Crime). Other guest cast include John Wark (Lockerbie: A Search for Truth), Jude Bain (Let It Come Down).
Plus Robin Weaver (Rivals), John McLarnon (I Swear), Beth Marshall (The Bombing of Pan Am 103), Daniel Boyd (House of the Dragon), Charlene Boyd (Department Q) and Helen Mackay (Shetland).
Returning for the new series are cast regulars Steven Robertson (playing DC Sandy Wilson), Lewis Howden (Billy McCabe), Samuel Anderson (Procurator Fiscal Matt Blake), Steven Miller (Rev Alan Calder), Anne Kidd (pathologist Cora McLean), Angus Miller (Donnie, Tosh’s partner), Conor McCarry (PC Alex Grant) and Eubha Akilade (PC Lorna Burns).
Originally based on award-winning novels by crime writer Ann Cleeves, the forthcoming new series centres around an historic murder which will forever change the lives of all those connected in the present day.
When a car is pulled from the water, a grim discovery is made - crammed in the boot are the decomposed, skeletal remains of an unknown male. The team’s search to uncover the victim’s identity, begins with a hunt for the vehicle’s owner – a respected, local GP who left the Isles under a cloud of troubled rumours nine years ago.
As Calder and Tosh dig deeper into the enigmatic GP's state-of-mind and the lives of the loved ones he left behind, the investigation takes them to dark and dangerous places in their quest for the truth.
Shetland is loved by millions of fans on BBC iPlayer and BBC One and it was in the top five most watched BBC Drama series of 2025. In Scotland, it remained the No.1 BBC Drama with audiences.
Paul Logue is the lead writer of the new series of Shetland, alongside Anita Vettesse and Ross Dunsmore. The series is produced by Angus Sharpe and directed by Ruth Carney and Jonny Blair. Executive Producers are Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, Kate Bartlett, Paul Logue and Denise Paul for Silverprint Pictures.
All previous series of Shetland (S1-10) are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
