Douglas Henshall has revealed the reason why he will be leaving the role of DI Perez in Shetland, after nearly a decade of acting in the BBC One programme.
The actor sat down ahead of the new series airing on BBC One, to discuss his thoughts on the plot, his reasons for leaving, and if he will return to the Shetland Isles on his off days. He noted that it felt "natural" to leave at this juncture of the programme.
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Douglas said: "I decided to leave a few years ago because I felt that Perez’s story was coming to a natural end - it was time to find a resolution to Perez’s private life. I never wanted to ruin the things that were unique to him and our series so it felt like the right time to wrap up his story in a way that would be satisfactory to everybody.
"I am aware we’re not changing the world in any way, shape or form but as far as crime shows go, Shetland does really well in that genre. We tell stories that are very good, the characters are great and I wanted to go out on a high."
Douglas also said that it will be a hard moment to bid farewell to DI Perez as a character, after almost ten years in the role. He explained: "I think it was always going to be sad. It will be nice to play somebody who isn’t so irredeemably good as Perez!
"I’ll miss him as a person I crawl into every now and again because I liked him, he’s a nice man. I enjoyed playing Perez and exploring the complications of his life. Flawed humans are always the most interesting to play because I feel they are the most truthful.
"I’d love to play a baddie again, that would be fun - I used to get asked to be the baddie lots in the past. I don’t know what the future holds. I mean, I don’t fancy playing a policeman for a while!"
DI Perez will be a special character to the actor, as he added: "He’s one of my favourite characters and it’s been a real privilege to play him. We got very lucky with lots of things - I even got to dress him for a while including choosing the pea coat which is now famous.
"I chose not to keep the coat, though – I kind of figure I can never wear a pea coat again! I did take a couple of key items from the set including the incident board from the police station.
"I got it for my daughter. After all the gruesome things that have been up on that board over the years, I thought it was a bit of karma to have a little child drawing pictures of flowers and houses on it.
"I also took a painting from Jimmy’s house which is by a Shetland artist and I’ll be hanging it somewhere special in our home."
Douglas also plans to return to the Shetland Isles, but not for work - rather for pleasure. He said: "What I’m looking forward to doing is going back and hopefully staying in the lighthouse at Sumburgh because it’s fantastic. It looks right into the ocean and if the wind picks up and a storm comes in, it’s the best place in the world to be.
"I want to take my daughter, show her the beaches and get her into the sea. Just to go and hang out and get to be a tourist would be nice."
Douglas also added: "My final series has a really great story at its heart and it’s very much the Shetland the audience know and love. I hope people have enjoyed watching Perez over the years as much as I’ve enjoyed playing him. I’m going to miss Jimmy Perez."
Shetland will air its seventh series on Wednesday, August 10 at 9pm on BBC One. It will be available for catch-up thereafter on BBC iPlayer.
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