Phone sex, drug raids and alfresco corpses: It’s all go in Shetland
Alison Rowat on the week’s television highlights
Alison Rowat surveys the highs and lows of the week’s TV, featuring the much-anticipated return of Shetland, a fresh documentary about Celtic and Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, the Bake Off final, and The Troops.
From Traitors to Race Across the World
The BBC lineup made sharp shifts this week. Celebrity Traitors (BBC One, Thursday) bowed out as Celebrity Race Across the World returned, almost as if the network had adopted a one-in, one-out policy. Yet, while the former starred well-known contestants, the latter left viewers wondering, “Who’s she? Dylan who?”
The steady pull of Shetland
No such confusion surrounded the familiar comfort of Shetland (BBC One, Wednesday). In its tenth season, the series opened with detectives Tosh and Calder—played by Alison O’Donnell and Ashley Jensen—awaiting the return of a fishing boat suspected of smuggling drugs.
As soon as that case wrapped, another call sent them to the quiet village of Lunnswick, where a grim discovery awaited. Retired social worker Eadie Tulloch had been found dead, tied to a post outside her home. Inside, the house appeared untouched, adding to the mystery.
“It was as if,” Calder observed, “she was led out meekly, like an animal to slaughter.”
New faces and personal tensions
Amid forensic work and island winds, tensions rose when a new fiscal, Matt (Samuel Anderson), arrived. His charm was matched only by his loose tongue, revealing troubles in his long-distance relationship with a girlfriend back in Edinburgh.
Author’s Summary
The week’s television swung from celebrity chaos to crime drama, reaffirming Shetland as the BBC’s most grounded and gripping mainstay.