The news that Douglas Henshall was to depart his long-running role as DI Jimmy Perez came as something of a shock to Shetland fans when it was announced last month.
But the good news is that the show will be returning with a brand new lead once Henshall has bowed out at the end of the upcoming season, with casting to be announced in due course.
And Henshall has now had his own say on the show’s future after he leaves, explaining in this week’s issue of Radio Times magazine that it will have to be “a whole other show” without him.
“It will be weird knowing they’re shooting an eighth series and I’m not there,” he said. “But I’m not sure what the show is going to be.
“I hope it works out and I wish them every success, but it isn’t going to be the show I was in. They will have to make a whole other show.”
Speaking more about his decision to leave the show, Henshall commented that doing so allowed him and writer David Kane to “wrap up Perez’s story and wrap up the show in a way that was satisfactory for both us and the audience.”
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And although he said that quitting the drama was by no means an easy decision, he pointed out that doing so was “preferable to being told that we were not going to do it anymore because it had run its course”.
“I feel very comfortable with the decision I made,” he added.
Henshall’s farewell season of Shetland – which begins later this month – will see the return of regular cast members Alison O’Donnell (Tosh), Steven Robertson (Sandy), Mark Bonnar (Duncan), Anne Kidd (Cora), Lewis Howden (Sgt Billy McCabe), Erin Armstrong (Cassie), Angus Miller (Donnie) and Anneika Rose (Maggie Kean).
Shetland season 7 begins at 9pm on Wednesday 10th August 2022 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
A fuller version of this interview is available in the latest issue of Radio Times magazine – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.