Shetland star Ashley Jensen on why she owes it all to Ricky Gervais
ok.co.ukShetland may be the setting for one of our bleakest crime dramas, but for new cast member Ashley Jensen, filming alongside killer whales, puffins and seals was a magical experience.
In the upcoming eighth series of the show, Ashley joins as DI Ruth Calder, who will be teaming up with DS Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh, played by Alison O’Donnell.The change follows the departure of Douglas Henshall and Mark Bonnar, who played DI Jimmy Perez and criminal Duncan Hunter. “Every day we’d be like, ‘Are we going to see an orca today?’” says Ashley. “There are orcas, there are seals.
I was doing a scene on the beach and I was wearing cashmere, sweating, and there were about 40 seals on the beach, all basking in the sun.
I thought, ‘This is just magical and this is Scotland.’ It was one of those moments where you had a wee warm heart.” Fans love the show for its serious scripts and Ashley was so dedicated to learning her lines that she missed out on joining the crew for evenings of wildlife spotting and bathing in the clear waters. “Everybody on the crew would be going, ‘Did you see the puffins?’ and I’d say, ‘It’s alright for you – I’m going home, learning lines and working out what I’m going to be doing tomorrow.’ They were all running about, wild swimming or looking at puffins.
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