{"id":100238,"date":"2023-10-24T03:27:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T03:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebritycovernews.com\/?p=100238"},"modified":"2023-10-24T03:27:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T03:27:00","slug":"shetland-star-ashley-jensen-on-why-she-owes-it-all-to-ricky-gervais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebritycovernews.com\/tv-movies\/shetland-star-ashley-jensen-on-why-she-owes-it-all-to-ricky-gervais\/","title":{"rendered":"Shetland star Ashley Jensen on why she owes it all to Ricky Gervais"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shetland 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.<\/p>\n

In the upcoming eighth series of the show, Ashley joins as DI Ruth Calder, who will be teaming up with DS Alison \u2018Tosh\u2019 McIntosh, played by Alison O\u2019Donnell. The change follows the departure of Douglas Henshall and Mark Bonnar, who played DI Jimmy Perez and criminal Duncan Hunter.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day we\u2019d be like, \u2018Are we going to see an orca today?\u2019\u201d says Ashley. \u201cThere 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, \u2018This
is just magical and this is Scotland.\u2019 It was one of those moments where you had a wee warm heart.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody on the crew would be going, \u2018Did you see the puffins?\u2019 and I\u2019d say, \u2018It\u2019s alright for you \u2013 I\u2019m going home, learning lines and working out what I\u2019m going to be doing tomorrow.\u2019 They were all running about, wild swimming or looking at puffins. I was
so jealous,\u201d Ashley confides. <\/p>\n

However, on her last night, Ashley set off to see what she\u2019d been missing. \u201cMe and Stuart, my driver, went looking for the puffins and they\u2019d all gone to bed,\u201d she laments. \u201cWe saw about two puffins, and I was shown photographs of the crew with thousands of puffins!\u201d<\/p>\n

But Ashley still appreciated the beauty of her location, saying she usually ends up filming in mundane locations like Beaconsfield or Gerrards Cross.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has this bleak beauty about it. We were fortunate enough that even when the weather was s**t, it was magical. The landscape is like nothing I\u2019d ever seen before. Everyday I delighted in the sheep!\u201d<\/p>\n

Her character DI Ruth Calder, however, does not share her enthusiasm. Ruth is a Shetland native who has left the island for a life in London, only to find a gangland killing leads her home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the opportunity comes up for her to go to Shetland, she\u2019s less than pleased,\u201d reveals Ashley. \u201cNot because she dislikes Shetland, but because that\u2019s where she\u2019s from and she left at the age of 18 \u2013 and left for a reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo she\u2019s being drawn back and having to face her past, her ghosts, people that knew her, people she knew. She\u2019s clearly not expecting to be there for very long and arrives with a wee tiny case and without her hair straighteners. She thinks she\u2019s only there for a few days to solve the crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ashley became a household name after Ricky Gervais cast her in 2005\u2019s Extras . From there she joined Ugly Betty, and in 2014 she took the lead in Agatha Raisin . <\/p>\n

After he initially gave her her big break, Ashley believes Ricky also helped her cross over into serious acting by casting her in his Netflix hit After Life as a care home nurse. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs an actor, if you\u2019re in comedy you want to be taken seriously, and if you\u2019re in drama, you\u2019re like, \u2018I\u2019m light! I\u2019m funny!\u2019\u201d says Ashley. \u201cI\u2019ve been very, very lucky that I\u2019ve been able to bridge the two worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Douglas Henshall and Mark Bonnar\u2019s left the show, there was much chatter about who would join, and Scottish Line Of Duty star Martin Compston\u2019s name was much bandied about. So Ashley was thrilled when she won the role. <\/p>\n

Ashley knows Mark from when she played his wife in Channel 4 comedy Catastrophe. She says, \u201cI had a text from Mark and he said \u2018well done\u2019 when I got the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Alison O\u2019Donnell\u2019s character Tosh steps up to lead the drama alongside Calder, and the actresses are enjoying proving that women are just as capable of leading a show and driving the narrative as men.<\/p>\n

Alison explains, \u201cOur focus puller Paul said, \u2018It\u2019s so nice to work on a show that passes the Bechdel test every single day.\u2019 The Bechdel test is when two women, who both have names, are talking about something other than a man. Loads of films don\u2019t have any scenes which pass the Bechdel test, but this passes it every day, which is very nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shetland,<\/b>Wednesday, 9pm, BBC One<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n