Shetland twist as Annie's killer 'revealed' after fans spot eerie clue

Shetland returned with a bang as last week unfurled a gripping storyline for DI McIntosh and DI Calder.

The BBC hit series is back for an explosive ninth season, launching with DI Calder, played by Ashley Jensen, staring down the barrel of a gun, held by a grief-stricken young man who appears to have murdered his sibling.

Although Calder manages to walk away unscathed, another puzzling case quickly emerges that rocks both her and DI Tosh McIntosh (played by Alison O'Donnell) to the core when Tosh's companion Annie is tragically discovered deceased.

It began when Annie and her son vanished, followed by the discovery of her body at a building site owned by her alienated spouse, Ian. Her son was found at a local farm in a state of shock, leading to the grim find of his mother.

Covered in blood, questions arose about its origin. After finding Annie lifeless, suspicion naturally steered towards the likeliest culprit - but was it him?

Speaking of the harrowing discovery, Alison O'Donnell conveyed to Radio Times: "In those moments, you stop being a copper and you just become a person. When it's your friend lying there, covered in blood, it's the personal stuff that really bubbles to the surface. What rushes in is, 'What about her son? ' And Tosh sort of wobbles for about five seconds.

"But then she's on the phone to Billy, because you have to. And I think that's something that you learn as a parent. Even when everything's burning around you, you still have to be the person in charge. And so she has a very brief moment to be the friend, and then she's got the police hat back on again and she's having to deal with logistics, the practicalities."

Intriguingly, one fan believes they've cracked the mystery of who murdered Annie in a shocking twist.

"This better not be another one of those "the kid did it" whodunnits. #Shetland," one penned, while another speculated: "Surely it's not the kid who killed her? " Whatever unfolds, it's guaranteed to be another nail-biting episode.

Tosh star Alison hinted that her character's partner Donnie becomes entangled in the investigation due to his close friendship with Ian, with Alison confessing that things take a dramatic turn for the main character by the series' end.

She warned: "At the conclusion of the series, her relationships are not what they were when the series begins."

Shetland airs Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer