A TALENTED pair of Renfrewshire actresses are adding some star quality to the latest series of a primetime BBC show.

Neve McIntosh, from Paisley, and Erin Armstrong, from Houston, have returned to the small screen in crime drama Shetland, with series four getting under way last night.

Thankfully for both of them, filming took place on the remote islands last summer, when the conditions were considerably more benevolent than those to be expected in the depths of winter.

Even so, 47-year-old Neve revealed how her plans to join Julia Brown, who plays her on-screen daughter Molly in the show, for as much sightseeing as they could fit in around filming didn’t always go smoothly.

“It was my first time in Shetland,” she said. “What a beautiful place and lovely people.

“I wish I’d had longer to spend up there and really get out to explore. There were a few things that we had planned to do, like whale-watching, but the weather just didn’t permit us.

“There was a stormy day when Julia and I went out for a drive in the car to the north. We were getting blown around on the cliffs, you could see stacks and needles sticking out of the sea. It is so dramatic when the weather is like that.”

Neve plays Kate Kilmuir, whose twin sister Lizzie was killed when they were teenagers.

Two decades on, the man accused of murdering her sister has had his conviction quashed and been released from prison on appeal.

Within 24 hours of his return to Shetland, the body of another young woman is discovered in uncannily similar circumstances to the original murder.

Many locals believe that Thomas Malone, played by Stephen Walters, is responsible for her death.

Step forward Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez – alias Barrhead actor Douglas Henshall – to sift through the swirling gossip and uncover the truth.

There is also a key role in the drama for 22-year-old Erin, who plays the role of Perez’s stepdaughter Cassie.

To complicate matters, Cassie’s biological dad Duncan, played by Mark Bonnar, is also on the scene.

It’s a dream role for Erin, who had just started a degree in psychology when she first joined the show in 2013 – but quit her studies almost immediately.

As for the identity of the killer in the new series?

Well, in last night’s opening episode, viewers saw Neve’s character show surprising warmth and empathy towards Malone.

“I don’t think she ever truly believed that he did it,” she said. “The way we have played it with the back story is that he was in love with Lizzie and Kate was in love with him as teenagers, so it has always been something that she never quite believed he was capable of doing.”

Shetland is on BBC One on Tuesday nights, starting at 9pm.