BBC's Shetland confirms return of main character in major series announcement

BBC bosses have confirmed that Shetland will return with a brand-new series on Wednesday, 6 November.

Series nine will see Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell reprise their roles as Detectives Ruth Calder and Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh for a new series of the acclaimed murder-mystery drama.

Not only will series nine see the return of Alison and Ashley, but several fan favourites will also be making their comeback - along with a host of famous guest stars.

Steven Robertson will return to play Sandy Wison, Lewis Howden will be back as Billy McCabe, Anne Kidd will play Cora McClean, Angus Miller will reprise his role of Donny, Steven Miller will play Reverand Alan Calder, and Conor McCarry will be back as PC Alex Grant.

Stuart Campbell, Nalini Chetty, Richard Thomson, Tibu Fortes, Tara Lee, Jimmy Yuill, and Lesley Hart will also appear in the cop drama, as will Outlander stars Andrew John Tait and Gemma McElhinney.

The synopsis for the series reads: "A double missing person’s case blurs the lines between the personal and the professional, as Calder and Tosh are drawn into a labyrinthine investigation.

"When Tosh’s friend, Annie Bett (played by Sarah MacGillivray), goes missing, she suspects something is seriously wrong. Ruth Calder - now living in Shetland - has no time to recover from a life-threatening ordeal of her own, as together they set out in search of Annie and her young son, Noah (Jacob Ferguson).

"They discover accountant Annie is estranged from her husband, Ian (Robert Jack), and has been staying with mussel farmer John Harris (Vincent Regan) and his two sons, Patrick (Ross Anderson) and Fergus (Macleod Stephen). Worryingly, there’s no sign of Annie there either."

However, after following her instincts, Ruth follows Tosh’s instincts and looks for Annie at the home she shared with Ian.

"There, they discover Professor Euan Rossi (Ian Hart), who claims to have been Annie’s tutor at Oxford University many years ago," the synopsis teases.

"Suspicions are stirred when Tosh and Calder learn Rossi travelled all the way to Shetland after Annie left him a distressed voicemail the night she vanished. Calder can’t shake the feeling there’s more to Rossi than meets the eye.

"Meanwhile, at the station, Calder delves deeper into another case involving a deadly argument between two brothers. The missing person investigation draws Tosh and Calder into a web of lies, and when a bloodied person turns up at a remote garage, nothing can prepare the team for what lies ahead."

Shetland returns to screens on November 6 on BBC One.