Perfect CRIME

Shetland leads our celebration of 10 must-see mysteries set to hit our screens in 2025

- REBECCA FLETCHER

1 SHETLAND BBC1 RETURNING

A new complex case with long-held secrets at its heart must be unravelled as we head back to windswept Shetland for a milestone 10th outing of the hit murder-mystery drama.

The six-part story sees tenacious crime-fighting duo DI Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh (played by Alison O'Donnell) and DI Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen) - both pictured-travel to the isolated fictional hamlet of Lunniswick to investigate the suspicious death of a retired social worker.

'I love playing Ruth,' Ashley, 55, tells TV Times in an exclusive chat. 'She's fiercely independent and doesn't care what other people's opinion is of her!" Ashley, who made her debut as Ruth in 2023 to replace Douglas Henshall's outgoing DI Jimmy Perez, is also delighted at the way her and co-star Alison's on-screen partnership is evolving.

'Alison and I have gone from strength to strength, as have Ruth and Tosh,' she says. 'And this season, without giving too much away, the dynamic shifts between them. We see them where they're both flawed and human.' Luckily, the pair can again rely on the help of returning regulars DC Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson), Sgt Billy McCabe (Lewis Howden) and pathologist Cora McLean (Anne Kidd).

Amandaland's Samuel Anderson joins the cast as new procurator fiscal Matt Blake, while guest stars include Louise Brealey (Sherlock), Ellie Haddington (Motherland) and Clive Russell (Dept. Q).

2 BLUE LIGHTS

BBC1 RETURNING