Alison O'Donnell says leaving Shetland will take 'years to fully process'

Centre · 2Actor Alison O'Donnell has spoken about leaving BBC drama Shetland, saying it will take her "years to fully process" her exit as DI Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh. 1 2 Centre · 2O'Donnell has played Tosh since the show began in 2013, and the character has grown from a young junior officer into a seasoned Detective Inspector. 1 2 Centre · 2Her final scenes appear in season 11, which begins on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday 12 November, with seasons 1-10 on BBC iPlayer. Digital Spy says she announced earlier this year that she was leaving. 1 2

Centre · 2O'Donnell said that filming the exit was so big she could not take it in at the time, comparing it to "trying to look directly at the sun", and that she tried to soak it all in and spend time with her favourite people. 1 2 Centre · 2On her last day, she said, many crew members came dressed as Tosh in fair isle jumpers with their hair in a bun, and producer Angus Sharpe made a speech after her final scene that she cannot remember because she was crying. 1 2 Centre · 1Radio Times reports she described Tosh's final storyline as "a wild ride", involving specially built sets, a stunt artist and "some extremely deep emotional digging", and said she thinks it is "a memorable exit". 2

Centre · 1Digital Spy reports she called fellow original cast members Steven Robertson, Lewis Howden and Anne Kidd a "family" that will stay close, said her last day filming on the Isles was sunny and beautiful, and said she will miss the landscape and Tosh herself, a "constant companion for over a decade". 1 Centre · 1Radio Times adds that she was partnered with Douglas Henshall's DI Jimmy Perez until his departure in 2022, and has since worked with Ashley Jensen's DI Ruth Calder. This season's case begins with skeletal remains found in a car dredged from the water, which belongs to a GP, Dr Raymond Linden. 2 Right · 1The Daily Express reports she has now spoken out for the first time about why she is leaving after 14 years, saying: "It's not down to one particular thing, but rather a coming together of various components." 3

Right · 1She said that after so many storylines and co-stars "it feels like we've probably explored it enough", and that although no moment to step away would have felt anything but "sad and bittersweet", "something in me said 'leap', and so I did"; the Express attributes her comments on the final storyline to the Daily Record. 3 Right · 1The Express also lists season 11 cast and plot details, including Stella Gonet as Martha Linden, John Wark as Eric, Christine Bottomley as Emily and Gregor Fisher as Donald Pierce, and says Tosh and Calder face "their final case together". 3