RULING the roost

PHYLLIS LOGAN on playing the fearsome head of a notorious Shetland family

- STEVEN PERKINS

SHETLAND
WEDNESDAY, 9PM, BBC1 DRAMA

Phyllis Logan is known to millions of viewers worldwide as kindly housekeeper Mrs Hughes in ITV period drama Downton Abbey and its film sequels, but we’re seeing a very different side of her in the latest series of BBC1’s crime thriller Shetland as prickly matriarch Grace Bain.

The Bain family are on tenterhooks waiting for news of Grace’s granddaughter, Ellen Quinn (Maisie Norma Seaton), who returned to Shetland after witnessing a murder in London but has gone missing, and, as the family opt to take matters into their own hands this week, it’s clear that Grace is a woman you don’t want to get on the wrong side of!

Thankfully, in real life, Phyllis, 67, is full of fun and laughter as TV Times joins her for an exclusive chat about her latest role, and the joys of working with her on-screen family…

How would you describe Grace?

Grace is the head of the Bain family since her husband died, and family means a lot to her. She keeps them all close-knit and together, until things start to crumble.

She’s what you’d call a bit of a nippy sweetie [Scottish slang for an irritable or sharp-tongued woman]. I think she quite enjoys the fact that people are a wee bit fearful of her – she rather relishes that, in her sadistic way! It’s always fun to play somebody who’s got a bit of an edge to them.

The Bain family have quite a reputation on Shetland. Could you tell us more?