Ashley Jensen takes the lead in Shetland Season 8 trailer

With the release date for the upcoming eighth season of Shetland having now been confirmed, the BBC has also unveiled a brand new trailer, giving us our first glimpse of Ashley Jensen's new lead detective in action.

In the trailer, Jensen's DI Ruth Calder is seen introducing herself to Tosh and the rest of the team, and she later reveals that she was born on the island, but is only now returning.

Meanwhile, we get a sense of this season's case, which will see the team attempting to track down a murder witness who has gone on the run.

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You can watch the full trailer here now.

Alongside the trailer, the BBC has also released a first-look image from the season (above), which features Jensen and Tosh star Alison O'Donnell.

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The official synopsis for the new season says that it sees "Met Police Detective Inspector Ruth Calder return to her native Shetland to retrieve the vulnerable witness to a gangland murder".

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The synopsis continues: "Tosh must pause her investigation into a string of mysterious animal deaths to help Calder find the witness before it’s too late.

Jensen previously told RadioTimes.com that Calder's arrival will "bring a whole new dynamic to everyone else", with this season being the first not to feature Douglas Henshall's DI Jimmy Perez.

She continued: "It's kind of almost more about the other people – about how Alison and all the other characters are going to relate to Ruth Calder, so that'll be really interesting."

Shetland season 8 premiere date

Shetland season 8 will air on BBC One on Wednesday 1st November at 9pm. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.