BBC Shetland star issues warning and says 'we're not allowed'

BBC Shetland's Ashley Jensen has admitted "we're not allowed" as she delved into strict filming rules ahead of the new series. Jensen has opened up about some of the restrictive rules in place while filming after she replaced former series lead Douglas Henshall after he left the show in 2022.

The 55-year-old was speaking about returning to the series for a second time as DI Ruth Calder. Speaking to the BBC, Jensen explained she was “excited be getting on the wee plane off to Shetland again with my half a cup of tea and my caramel wafer".

Jensen explained her character “felt like there was unfinished business there, or a sort of magnetic draw back home". She continued: “(Well), half a cup of tea, because there’s often turbulence and you can't get a full cup of tea because it'll spill, which I thought was quite funny.”

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The island of Shetland itself also holds its charms for her which she describes as “the real star of the show”. She said: “As soon as you touch down, Shetland kind of envelops you. It's like nowhere I've ever been before. It's a landscape that's arresting and breathtaking…it's just a real privilege to be able to go back there.”

“I've known cold when I've been filming but this this was something else. This is filming when it’s so cold your fingers had stopped working," she said. “We had heat pads in our pockets, our underwear taped to our backs. We even had to put our hands in hot water in between takes to literally thaw them out. It's the only thing that would bring the feeling back into my fingers.”

“You’re genuinely not allowed off the isles in case the weather turns, and you can't get back which would obviously mess up filming," she explained. She said: “There's very much a feeling of bonding and camaraderie because we're all away from home.

"We're all in the same boat, it's like being in regional theatre in the 1950s or something."