{"id":6346,"date":"2021-10-27T15:39:27","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T13:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=588361"},"modified":"2021-10-27T15:50:12","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T13:50:12","slug":"where-is-bbc-crime-drama-shetland-filmed","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/where-is-bbc-crime-drama-shetland-filmed\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is BBC crime drama Shetland filmed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Eleanor Bley Griffiths\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 27 October 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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A key part of the appeal of BBC One crime drama Shetland<\/a> is its breathtaking landscapes and seascapes, from the windswept beaches to the magnificent cliffs of Shetland itself.<\/p>\n

As DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) returns for a sixth series, the viewer also returns to the stunning backdrop of the Shetland Islands.<\/p>\n

Season six is set in Shetland once more, after a local lawyer is killed in a shooting witnessed by a professional diver \u2013 who later dies in suspicious circumstances.<\/p>\n

Speaking ahead of the new season, Henshall said that it was \u201cwonderful to be back\u201d filming in Shetland, \u201cbut it was tricky at the start because we all went into our own self-imposed lockdown again. For me, all I do is go to work and go home, with the odd visit to a supermarket once in a while. I don\u2019t really do anything else. I feel the weight of responsibility this time around,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great being on location in Shetland and out in the fresh air. Being outside again has been wonderful. You know I came to Shetland and I hadn\u2019t worked for a year and a half. I hadn\u2019t been in a room with more than four people and suddenly to come on a TV set with all the cast and crew around me was a bit daunting for a little while. It\u2019s always lovely to come back to Shetland but it\u2019s certainly not been under normal circumstances this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read on for all the key locations that you\u2019ll see on screen.<\/p>\n

Is BBC drama Shetland actually filmed on Shetland?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Shetland\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

As the name implies, BBC crime drama Shetland is set on the Shetland Islands<\/strong>, a group of islands at the northernmost part of the British Isles. Shetland is approximately 168 km from the Scottish mainland, and the current population is estimated at under 24,000.<\/p>\n

So how much of the drama is actually filmed on the Shetland Islands?<\/p>\n

Producer Eric Coulter previously told RadioTimes.com<\/a>: \u201cMost of the exteriors will be in Shetland, and we\u2019ll have some interiors in Shetland also, but we\u2019ll do quite a lot of the interiors back in Glasgow.\u201d Out of 16 weeks of filming, the team spends six busy weeks in Shetland. Much of this is spent on the largest island, known as the Mainland. \u201cIt\u2019s a joy filming there,\u201d Coulter says. \u201cPeople are genuinely supportive of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is vitally important to shoot exteriors on location in Shetland, because they can rarely be replicated.\u00a0The producer explained: \u201cThe landscape of Shetland is so particular that to try and match those exteriors is quite difficult. There is an area about an hour from Glasgow called Loch Thom<\/strong> which we do film as an exterior location for Shetland, but that\u2019s really the only area we can use. Any kind of major exterior work really has<\/em> to be Shetland.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for what makes Shetland so distinctive, Coulter says, \u201cIt\u2019s got very few trees. It\u2019s very open, it\u2019s quite gentle, the hills aren\u2019t very high \u2013 and everywhere you look there is water. You\u2019re never more than three miles away from water. So that undulating landscape and the water are really particular to Shetland and that\u2019s very hard to match anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where is Lerwick police station filmed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\u201cWe use the real police station in Lerwick,\u201d Coulter reveals. \u201cThe building itself is actually the courtroom, the procurator fiscal, and the police station.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the team uses the police station\u2019s exterior in Lerwick (Shetland\u2019s main town), the interiors are filmed on set in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

Where does Jimmy Perez live?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Shetland\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

Like the police station, Jimmy Perez\u2019s house is \u201creally two sets\u201d \u2013 an exterior in Lerwick<\/strong>, and an interior filmed on set in Glasgow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Shetland season 5 filming locations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Where is the beach where the arm is discovered?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\""Shetland\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

In one of the opening shots from series five, a jogger\u2019s idyllic morning run along the beach is interrupted when she discovers a young man\u2019s severed forearm washed up on the shore.<\/p>\n

This was filmed at Banna\u00a0Minn beach<\/strong>\u00a0on the island of West Burra\u00a0<\/strong>in the Shetland Islands, a half-hour drive from the main town at Lerwick.<\/p>\n

Where was the MacBay Hotel filmed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\""Shetland\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

DI Jimmy Perez stumbles across the MacBay Hotel on a drive back from where the victim\u2019s remains were discovered. Though it has an absolutely spectacular view, the venue has clearly seen better days.<\/p>\n

In reality, the property\u2019s name is the Westings Inn<\/strong>, and it sits near the Tingwall airstrip on Shetland and about 20 minutes\u2019 drive from Lerwick. Coulter tells us: \u201cThere was a hotel which was actually empty \u2013 it had previously been a hotel, and it had been closed for a year or two.\u201d<\/p>\n

The white-painted inn (which is sadly not expected to reopen any time soon) is located near the summit of Wormadale Hill<\/strong>, which explains the excellent sea views from the bar.<\/p>\n

Where was the fish factory filmed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\""Shetland\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

The fishing industry is a huge part of life in Shetland, and in series five a fish factory becomes a big part of the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all shot in Shetland,\u201d Coulter says. \u201cThe exterior of the fish factory is actually an old fish factory, an unused fish factory, but the interior of the fish factory was a working fish factory in Lerwick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exteriors were shot at a closed fish farm near Bixter on Shetland<\/strong>, while the interior scenes were filmed at Grieg Seafood in Lerwick<\/strong> \u2013 the largest salmon farmer in Shetland.<\/p>\n

Where did Shetland series 5 film in Glasgow?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\""Shetland\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

Part-way through the series, the investigation takes Perez (Douglas Henshall) to Glasgow \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>which was pretty convenient for the cast and crew considering they already shoot a chunk of the drama there.<\/p>\n

Fans familiar with the city will notice filming locations in various parts of the Scottish city, including Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Henshall also shared this anecdote from filming on St Vincent Street in central Glasgow\u2026<\/p>\n

The most Glasgow thing I\u2019ve heard in ages. We\u2019re filming on St. Vincent St in town today. Our First AD calls Action and from nowhere, timed to perfection somebody 50 yards away shouts \u201cGET IT UP YE\u201d Take lasts about 5 seconds before @dickie_kate<\/a> and me start laughing. #Shetland<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Douglas Henshall (@djhenshall) August 17, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote>