Douglas Henshall has said that he’ll explain his reasons for leaving hit drama Shetland at a later date.
The Scottish actor – who has played Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez in all six seasons of the crime series – yesterday announced his plans to step down from the role after the upcoming seventh run.
In the official announcement, he cited the fact that the character’s story has reached its natural conclusion, but he has now revealed that he will eventually give a few more details about exactly why he’s departing the popular BBC show.
“Been a weird day,” he wrote on Twitter. “Thank you for all the kind words about Shetland. The people, all around the world who followed Jimmy Perez over the years and empathised with him, thank you, it was very much appreciated.”
And he added: “For those that are interested I’ll explain my reasons for leaving later.”
The good news for fans is that the series is already confirmed to return for an eighth run – with show bosses set to cast a new actor in the lead role, although no casting information has been revealed at this stage.
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“We will miss him enormously but he leaves the show in rude health and we’re extremely excited about the plans we have for bringing more of this much-loved drama to audiences far and wide,” said Gaynor Holmes, Executive Producer for BBC Drama.
The final season of Henshall’s tenure on the show will begin this August, with the cast also including 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 in 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.
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