Jimmy’s last case Give it a twirl
Why the star of Britain’s highest-latitude crime drama is hanging up his peacoat. Why Te Matatini – the national kapa haka championships – has become a live broadcast event for TVNZ.
SHETLAND, season seven is now streaming on Acorn TV
He might not have always looked like he was, but Douglas Henshall was very happy to be Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez of Shetland. The Scottish actor is sad to say goodbye to the character he’s played across 10 years and seven windswept seasons of the crime drama. But he thinks he’s had a pretty good run.
“I’ll miss him as a person I crawl into every now and again because I liked him, he’s a nice man. I enjoyed playing Perez and exploring the complications of his life.
“It will be nice to play somebody who isn’t so irredeemably good.”
Perez was the second detective – after Vera Stanhope – from the books of mystery writer Ann Cleeves to have become a long-running smallscreen character. The BBC show ran out of book plots at the end of season two. But it has sailed on, often with storylines about the outside world encroaching on the remote archipelago, whether it was Norwegian right-wing
“I felt that his story was coming to a natural end. It was time to find a resolution to Perez’s private life.”
extremists or human traffickers or, in the new season, possible eco-terrorists.
Through it all, there has been the stoic and slightly crestfallen Perez in his black peacoat.
Henshall says after season five, he and show writer David Kane decided to wrap up Perez’s story and his losing battle with his work- life balance. The seventh series would be his out.
“I felt that his story was coming to a natural end. It was time to find a resolution to Perez’s private life,” he says. “I never wanted to ruin the things that were unique to him and our series, so it felt like the right time to wrap up his story in a way that would be satisfactory to everybody.
“I am aware we’re not changing the world in any way, shape or form, but as far as crime shows go, Shetland does really well in that genre. We tell stories that are very good, the characters are great and I wanted to go out on a high.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of shows like ours. It isn’t big and shouty, it’s subtle and quite nuanced. We’ve explored lots of things that TV shows don’t and I think all of those things are partly what kept our audience loyal to us.”
The show will continue with a new senior officer played by Ashley Jensen taking over the station in Lerwick, although most of the show’s interiors and some outdoor scenes are shot in and around Glasgow. Henshall says he’ll miss his trips to the subarctic isles, but is looking forward to going back as a tourist – an industry the show has helped.
“After going there for nearly 10 years, I’m still discovering places to go and see.
“I loved the pace of the place. I really loved the sea, I loved how stark it could be, I loved the weather in all its glory. I loved the drama of the Shetland Isles. There aren’t many places like Shetland – it’s very much of itself. It’s unique and I’ll miss that.”
He took some souvenirs from the set as mementos. Perez’s trademark garb, though, he left behind. “I chose not to keep the coat. I kind of figure I can never wear a peacoat again.” ▮
TE MATATINI HERENGA WAKA HERENGA TANGATA 2023, TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+, Wednesday, Feb 22, Thursday, Feb 23, Friday, Feb 24, Saturday, Feb 25, 8.00am
The country’s biggest performing arts event is likely to be the year’s biggest extended live broadcast. The national kapa haka champs, Te Matatini, will be screened and streamed live on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+ from morning to late afternoon over four days.
As a result of the pandemic, it’s been four years since the last event. Since it began in 1972, Te Matatini has usually been held biennially.
In past years, Whakaata Māori has been the broadcaster, having taken over from TVNZ some 20 years ago. With this year’s broadcast funded by $780,000 from Te Māngai Pāho, organisers are happy the event may find a bigger viewership with the return to TVNZ.
“We’re so excited to be partnering with TVNZ to bring kapa haka to new audiences who have never been exposed to this artform until now,” says Te Matatini chair Selwyn Parata.
“It’s vital we platform Te Matatini so there can be a better collective knowledge of the power and purpose of kapa haka amongst our general population and society.”
Some 45 kapa haka teams – including one from Australia – will be performing at Auckland’s Eden Park in the three days of heats, all hoping to be among the 12 finalists returning to the stage on the fourth day.
The groups’ 30-minute performances are judged on a medley of disciplines: whakaeke (choreographed entry), mōteatea (traditional chant), poi, waiata-ā-ringa (action song), haka and whakawātea (exit).
“Te Matatini is the equivalent of the Olympics when it comes to kapa haka and it involves thousands of hours of gruelling training,” says Parata. “But the honour and prestige of performing for 30 minutes on stage makes the personal sacrifice worth it.
“Make no mistake, Te Matatini isn’t just sweet waiata and twirling poi. This is a platform that reveals the pulse of the Māori nation and an important environment for Māori to raise awareness around the issues that directly affect them.”
Scotty Morrison and Mātai Smith will lead TVNZ’s presenting line-up, assisted by Seven Sharp’s Te Rauhiringa Brown, Tāmati RimeneSproat, and Stephanie Fong from Te Karere. They will be joined in the studio by a panel of kapa haka experts who will provide analysis after each performance. Viewers will be able to tune in to Te Matatini’s “Haka Translate” service to hear English translations of waiata.
In the lead-up to the festival, TVNZ+ is showing The Road to Te Matatini, hosted by former NZ Warrior and TV presenter Wairangi Koopu. He will be heading around Aotearoa in a programme explaining the facets of competitive kapa haka and what it takes to become the best. Koopu will also be performing at his third Te Matatini, with Te Kahabased Tauira Mai Tawhiti, a group co-founded by his late father.
Thousands are expected to attend the event at Eden Park where 2019’s defending champs Ngā Tūmanako from Tāmaki Makaurau have a home-ground advantage. ▮