Shetland guest stars
330 actors have guest-starred in Shetland across 56 episodes and 10 seasons. The most-credited is Lewis Howden, Sgt Billy McCabe in 49 episodes. 20 of them have also guest-starred in five or more of the other shows in this catalogue.
Who came back most
| Actor | Character | Eps |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Howden | Sgt Billy McCabe | 49 |
| Anne Kidd | Cora McLean | 33 |
| Conor McCarry | PC Alex Grant | 30 |
| Mark Bonnar | Duncan Hunter | 30 |
| Erin Armstrong | Cassie Perez | 28 |
| Julie Graham | Rhona Kelly | 26 |
| Angus Miller | Donnie Russell | 24 |
| Steven Miller | Reverend Alan Calder | 16 |
| Eubha Akilade | PC Lorna Burns | 14 |
| Lucianne McEvoy | Meg Pattison | 11 |
| Neve McIntosh | Kate Kilmuir | 11 |
| Tibu Fortes | Harry Lamont | 11 |
| Fiona Bell | Donna Killick | 10 |
| Anneika Rose | Maggie Kean | 9 |
| Julia Brown | Molly Kilmuir | 9 |
| Clive Russell | Arthur Mair, Adam Markham | 8 |
| Kevan MacKenzie | James Innes | 8 |
| Marnie Baxter | Jenny Belshaw | 7 |
| Andrew Clark | Mick Muir | 6 |
| Andrew John Tait | Michael Stack | 6 |
| Andrew Whipp | Danny Cairns | 6 |
| Barry O'Connor | Kieran Quinn | 6 |
| Catherine Walker | Alice Brooks | 6 |
| Cora Bissett | Eve Galbraith | 6 |
| Dawn Steele | Stella Quinn | 6 |
Shetland guest stars by season
| Season | Guests | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 16 | Alexander Morton, Alison Peebles, Claire Rafferty, Erin Armstrong, Finn Den Hertog, Gemma Chan, Geraldine Alexander, James Greene, Jim Sturgeon, Lewis Howden, Lindy Whiteford, Mark Bonnar and 4 more |
| Season 2 | 45 | Erin Armstrong, Anne Kidd, Julie Graham, Stewart Porter, Mark Bonnar, Alex Norton, Clive Russell, David Hayman, Finn Den Hertog, Gerda Stevenson, Henry Pettigrew, Kari Corbett and 33 more |
| Season 3 | 59 | Erin Armstrong, Julie Graham, Lewis Howden, Archie Panjabi, Colette O'Neil, Mark Bonnar, Sara Vickers, Saskia Reeves, Anna Chancellor, Jack Greenlees, James Cosmo, Jamie Michie and 47 more |
| Season 4 | 33 | Erin Armstrong, Fiona Bell, Julie Graham, Lewis Howden, Mark Bonnar, Neve McIntosh, Sean McGinley, Stephen Walters, Gerard Miller, Julia Brown, Sophie Stone, Arnmundur Björnsson and 21 more |
| Season 5 | 35 | Catherine Walker, Julie Graham, Mark Bonnar, Rakie Ayola, Angus Miller, Conor McCarry, Derek Riddell, John Kazek, Lewis Howden, Lorn Macdonald, Titana Muthui, Anne Kidd and 23 more |
| Season 6 | 40 | Andrew Clark, Anneika Rose, Cora Bissett, Lewis Howden, Mark Bonnar, Shona McHugh, Stephen McCole, Alec Newman, Angus Miller, Benny Young, Conor McCarry, Jayne McKenna and 28 more |
| Season 7 | 43 | Andrew Whipp, Ladi Emeruwa, Lauren Conroy, Laurie Brett, Lewis Howden, Lucianne McEvoy, Patrick Robinson, Shauna MacDonald, Alexandra Finnie, Angus Miller, Conor McCarry, Grant O'Rourke and 31 more |
| Season 8 | 43 | Barry O'Connor, Dawn Steele, Kevan MacKenzie, Lewis Howden, Phyllis Logan, Russ Bain, Steven Miller, Tibu Fortes, Anne Kidd, Bamshad Abedi-Amin, Conor McCarry, Jakub Bednarczyk and 31 more |
| Season 9 | 46 | Andrew John Tait, Jacob Ferguson, Lewis Howden, Nalini Chetty, Robert Jack, Steven Miller, Tara Lee, Angus Miller, Gemma McElhinney, Ian Hart, Jimmy Yuill, Lesley Hart and 34 more |
| Season 10 | 39 | Conor McCarry, Greg McHugh, Lewis Howden, Lila Rose, Louise Brealey, Niall MacGregor, Samuel Anderson, Stuart Townsend, Adam Rhazali, Clive Russell, Maria MacDonell, Ellie Haddington and 27 more |
Guest stars you know from somewhere else
The hardest-working character actors in this show's guest cast, ranked by how many other shows in this catalogue they have also guest-starred in. Not the most famous names, the most prolific ones.
| Actor | In Shetland | Other shows |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon Scott | Logan | 10 |
| Struan Rodger | Alec | 7 |
| Ace Bhatti | Calvin Sarwar | 7 |
| Mark Bonnar | Duncan Hunter | 6 |
| Julie Graham | Rhona Kelly | 6 |
| Alec Newman | Niven Guthrie | 6 |
| Anna Chancellor | Phyllis Brennan | 6 |
| Ellie Haddington | Lana Mair | 6 |
| James Greene | Andrew Haldane | 6 |
| Clive Russell | Arthur Mair, Adam Markham | 5 |
| Phyllis Logan | Grace Bain | 5 |
| Saskia Reeves | Freya Galdie | 5 |
| Jamie Michie | Lowrie | 5 |
| Vincent Regan | John Harris | 5 |
| Henry Pettigrew | Iain Redford | 5 |
Played more than one character
| Actor | Characters | Eps |
|---|---|---|
| Helen Mackay | Kirsty, News Reporter, Nurse | 3 |
| Clive Russell | Arthur Mair, Adam Markham | 8 |
| Frances Grey | Gina Powell, Jess Collins | 6 |
| Leigh Biagi | Morag McCabe, Anna Blake | 5 |
| Amiera Darwish | Kirsty Gauldie, PIRC commissioner | 3 |
| Ann-Louise Ross | Agnes Moffat, Mary Perez | 3 |
| Ian Bustard | Jacob Baker, Taxi Driver | 3 |
| Jim Sturgeon | Ronald Haldane, Alex Galbraith | 3 |
| Natali McCleary | Denise, Hotel Manager | 3 |
Shares a cast with
- Shetland and Outlander — 57 shared actors
- Midsomer Murders — 37 shared actors
- Silent Witness — 27 shared actors
- Vera — 27 shared actors
- Doctor Who — 22 shared actors
- The Crown — 16 shared actors
- Death in Paradise — 15 shared actors
- Father Brown — 12 shared actors
Cast data from TVmaze, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.