While Shetland fans will be thrilled to welcome the BBC crime drama back when it returns for season 11 later this year, it’s set to be bittersweet in light of the news that it will be Alison O’Donnell’s final outing as Tosh.
Following a 13-year stint, the show’s joint longest-serving cast member – alongside Steven Robertson (DC Sandy Wilson) – has decided to depart the series to explore other acting opportunities.
There were question marks over how long O’Donnell would remain on the show after Douglas Henshall announced his exit in 2022, with O’Donnell herself later telling Radio Times that she would “hate to… overstay my welcome”.
“So I would always have one eye on, OK, is this the moment?,” she added. “I just would love to find the moment where we reach the top and then quit. I wouldn’t want to start going down.”
And it seems that moment has finally come.
“Playing Tosh has been the greatest gift an actor could hope for,” said O’Donnell in an emotional statement that pays tribute to both the show and its loyal fanbase.
“To be able to stay with the character, to allow her to grow in depth and maturity, and to be consistently rewarded and challenged by the writing and stories, has been such a rich and special experience.
“And to have had the support and loyalty of our wonderful audience has meant so much. I feel so incredibly lucky to have worked with so many hugely talented people both on and off screen.”
O’Donnell went on to discuss how working on Shetland has shaped her into the actor she is today, while also praising the islands themselves for all they have given her.
“I grew up in this job. It has shaped me as an actor, and as a collaborator,” she added. “It’s in my bones and in my heart. As are the isles themselves, which have become like a second home to me, and to my family.
“It’s not going to be easy to leave it all behind, but I am excited for the future, for new adventures, and to take everything I have learned and loved in Shetland forward with me, to whatever may come next.”
Executive producer for BBC Drama Gaynor Holmes described O’Donnell as “a pleasure to work with, and [she] has truly brought the character of Tosh to life over the years”.
“Her warmth shines through on screen, and we will ensure Tosh is given the fitting farewell she deserves,” she added, while executive producer at Silverprint Pictures Kate Bartlett said that it had been “such a privilege to work with Alison and see her incredible performances grow and evolve over each series of Shetland”.
While specific details around Tosh’s exit are being kept firmly under wraps, her final storyline is part of a “thrilling” season that revolves around “an historic murder which will forever change the lives of all those connected in the present day”.
The synopsis continues: “When a car is pulled from the water, a grim discovery is made – crammed in the boot are the decomposed, skeletal remains of an unknown male. The team’s search to uncover the victim’s identity, begins with a hunt for the vehicle’s owner – a respected, local GP who left the Isles under a cloud of troubled rumours nine years ago.
“As Calder and Tosh dig deeper into the enigmatic GP’s state-of-mind and the lives of the loved ones he left behind, the investigation takes them to dark and dangerous places in their quest for the truth.”
Joining O’Donnell for her final hurrah will be Ashley Jensen, who made her debut as DI Ruth Calder in 2023 following Henshall’s exit after seven seasons.
“I couldn’t imagine the show without Perez,” O’Donnell told Radio Times in the aftermath of her former co-star’s departure. “To me, that was just unimaginable. And then we did it. So it’s not impossible.”
But the show’s future beyond season 11, which would mark the first chapter without O’Donnell, has yet to be confirmed.
“Even if I got to the point where I thought I should step back, it may very well carry on without me,” she previously told Radio Times.
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But regardless of what happens next, it’s set to be a moving send-off, with plenty of familiar faces on hand to see O’Donnell off, including Robertson, Lewis Howden (Sergeant Billy McCabe), Anne Kidd (pathologist Cora McLean), Samuel Anderson (Procurator Fiscal Matt Blake), Steven Miller (Rev Alan Calder), Conor McCarry (PC Alex Grant), Eubha Akilade (PC Lorna Burns) and Angus Miller, who plays Tosh’s partner Donnie and could also exit alongside her.
They will be joined by guest stars Christine Bottomley (Sherwood), Kevin Harvey (This City Is Ours), Stella Gonet (Holby City), Gavin Mitchell (Crime), Charlene Boyd (Summerwater) and Gregor Fisher (Love Actually).
Shetland seasons 1-10 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Ann Cleeves’s Shetland novels are available to buy.
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