Douglas Henshall looks worlds away from Shetland role in chilling new drama
Douglas Henshall has undergone a striking transformation for his latest television role, leaving behind the rugged detective fans knew as DI Jimmy Perez in Shetland for a much more vulnerable and troubled character.
The Scottish actor stars as Robert Barrie in Channel 5’s new six-part thriller Forever Home, the television adaptation of Graham Norton’s best-selling novel. The series premiered on Monday, September 14, at 9pm, with the story centring on family secrets, dementia and a house hiding a disturbing past.
Douglas Henshall takes on a very different role
Henshall is perhaps best known to television audiences for playing DI Jimmy Perez in the first seven seasons of BBC One’s Shetland, before leaving the crime drama in 2022.
Perez was a quietly formidable detective, usually seen in jeans and his familiar dark peacoat. Robert Barrie, by comparison, is a far more uncertain and fragile figure.
In Forever Home, Robert is living with early-onset dementia, and his condition is gradually affecting his confidence, behaviour and memory. As his anxiety about the house intensifies, particularly around its hidden basement, his partner Carol Crottie begins to question what he might be trying to hide.
Amy Nuttall plays Carol, who finds herself increasingly drawn into the mystery surrounding Robert’s home and his past. The drama was filmed in Northumberland, moving the story away from the Irish setting of Norton’s original novel.
Henshall’s appearance also marks a clear departure from his Shetland image. As Robert, he wears his hair swept back and appears throughout the series in brightly coloured button-up shirts and jumpers.
The wardrobe and performance combine to create a character who feels almost unrecognisable from the detective audiences came to associate with him.
A house filled with unanswered questions
The mystery begins to take shape around Robert’s first wife, Joan.
In the opening episode, Carol learns that Joan left Robert and ran away with his brother Neal, a subject that has rarely been discussed between the couple.
Robert’s increasingly confused and angry behaviour eventually prompts Carol to look more closely at the story she has been told.
His reaction at his birthday dinner leads her towards a disturbing discovery and opens the door to what the drama describes as a history of hatred and unresolved trauma.
The official premise of the series goes further. Carol begins to question whether Robert’s refusal to leave the house is connected to Joan’s disappearance, particularly as his anxiety about the basement grows.
The six-part adaptation was written by Clara Salaman, with Graham Norton serving as an executive producer. FilmNation Entertainment and The Mediapro Studio produced the series for Channel 5.
The cast also includes Denise Welch, Kevin Whately, Samantha Bond, Lewis Cope, Jenny Walser, Shane Zaza and James Baxter.
Henshall’s post-Shetland career
Forever Home is one of several projects Henshall has taken on since his departure from Shetland.
His more recent work includes Who Is Erin Carter?, Murder Is Easy, The Darkness and The Revenge Club, adding a range of very different characters to his post-Shetland career.
He is also part of the cast of One of Us, a mystery horror film starring Heartstopper actor Kit Connor.
Directed and written by Stefan van de Graaff, One of Us follows a family whose members begin dying one after another during a funeral. Connor plays Youngest, who searches for the stranger hiding among them. Henshall appears alongside Connor, Sienna Guillory, Charlotte Hope, Callum Woodhouse, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, David Horovitch, Ian Beattie, Beccy Henderson and Helena Bereen.
Watch the Forever Home trailer
A first-look trailer for the Channel 5 drama was released ahead of its September premiere, offering a glimpse of Henshall’s unsettling performance as Robert and the growing tension surrounding the house.
