Fans of the series had wanted Tosh to become the show’s lead detective following Douglas Henshall’s exit. <\/p>
When Douglas Henshall announced<\/a> that he was leaving Shetland<\/a> at the end of season 7, fans were quick to rally behind Alison O\u2019Donnell\u2019s character DS Alison \u2018Tosh\u2019 McIntosh as a possible replacement for DI Jimmy Perez.<\/p>\n In the end, the role went to Ashley Jensen<\/a> \u2013 who will be joining the cast for season 8 as new character DI Ruth Calder \u2013 and although that news was generally greeted very positively, a snap poll conducted by\u00a0RadioTimes.com<\/a> after it broke revealed\u00a058 per cent of fans reckoned Tosh should have had\u00a0the opportunity to step up.<\/p>\n Now, O\u2019Donnell has responded to that support during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com<\/strong> at the Radio Times Covers Party, revealing that she was delighted by how much fans have responded to her character.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s only one way to feel about that, and that\u2019s really flattered,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to know that people appreciate your work and that people feel connected to the character.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cAnd you know I will be back and there\u2019s gonna be lots more cases to crack and I\u2019ll be part of it. And I hope that people continue to stay with me for that, I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p> O\u2019Donnell and the outgoing Henshall also teased that the new season will be very different<\/a> with DI Calder at the helm, but both said they were very excited about the changes that lie in store for viewers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be very different, but I think that\u2019s what\u2019s most exciting about it,\u201d said Henshall. \u201cSo yeah, I\u2019m looking forward to seeing it.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell added: \u201cWhat they\u2019ve done, which I think is the only thing they could have done, is taken off in another direction, but it feels different and fresh. And hopefully people will stay connected with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jensen herself said that her new character \u2013 a native Shetlander who returns to the Isles after 20 years working for the Met Police in London \u2013 will bring \u201ca whole new dynamic\u201d to the series<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of almost more about the other people \u2013 about how Alison and all the other characters are going to relate to Ruth Calder, so that\u2019ll be really interesting,\u201d she said.<\/p>