Unforgotten is returning to series five with RTS award-winning actress Sinéad Keenan. The Dublin-born star will take on the brand new role of DCI Jessica James alongside Sanjeev Bhaskar, who has played DI Sunil 'Sunny' Khan in four previous series of the hugely successful cold case murder drama.
Sinéad joined the ITV show following the exit of Nicola Walker, who played DCI Cassie Stuart in seasons one to four. Sinéad, who was BAFTA nominated for her role as Melanie Jones in Little Boy Blue, was announced as a new cast member back in March 2022.
Series five opens with the clock ticking down to DCI James's first day in her new job with an unforeseen and devastating introduction to her family life. A synopsis reads: "Determined to make a good first impression with her new colleagues, will Jess be in the right frame of mind to deliver and inspire the team?
Read more: Unforgotten: New full cast list as Sinead Keenan takes over role from Nicola Walker
"And inevitably how will the ghost of much-loved former colleague Cassie Stuart haunt her? After all, Cassie will be big shoes for her to fill. Does she have the resolve, professionalism and spirit to live up to her much-admired and respected predecessor?"
But why did Nicola Walker quit, how did her character DCI Cassie Stewart die and what has Sinéad and her fellow co-stars said about the new role of DCI Jessica James? Here's everything you need to know.
What happened to DCI Cassie Stewart?
In a huge twist at the end of series four, Cassie was involved in a fatal car accident. She later died from the brain injuries she sustained in the crash, with the team – especially Sunny – grieving the loss. The series ended with Sunny visiting Cassie's grave.
Speaking about series five following the devastating end to series four, writer and executive producer, Chris Lang, said: "So how do I follow that? Was the question that exercised me as I absorbed the extraordinary audience reaction to the end of series 4.
"Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise (the reaction) - I've been left heartbroken enough times myself when a favourite TV character has died. We take these people into our homes and into our hearts, and when they leave us, it is genuinely sad.
"And so then it struck me, that that's what I start with. Allowing our characters (Sunny and the team) to go on exactly the same journey as the audience, as they deal with the loss of a person they adored, whilst also trying to process the brutal inevitability of someone else stepping into those much-loved shoes."
He added: "Now it helps of course that that 'someone else' is Sinéad Keenan. If we'd searched every day for a year we wouldn't have found a better actress,nor one who fitted in to the 'Unforgotten' world more effortlessly.
"But we didn't have to search for a year, we didn't have to search for a day, because as soon as I knew the team needed a new DCI, I also knew it had to be Sinéad, having watched her TV work in slack jawed wonder, over the years. That was my hunch anyway. Having now completed production, I can confidently say it was the soundest hunch I ever had."
Why did Nicola Walker leave?
Nicola left after feeling Cassie's story had "come to an end".
Releasing a statement at the time, ITV said: "We would like to thank Nicola Walker for playing the brilliant role of Cassie Stuart in four series of Unforgotten which has become one of the best-loved and most critically acclaimed police dramas on TV.
"Nicola and writer Chris Lang decided that Cassie's story would come to an end last night, but that Unforgotten would continue, in series 5, with a new case, and a new 'Partner in Crime' for DI Sunny Khan."
Nicola also told RadioTimes in 2021 that the decision to leave after six years was a joint one between herself and writer Chris. She told the publication: "I'm not on social media, but when the final episode went out, I almost wanted to join Twitter to tell everyone that I didn’t walk away from the show, nor did they ask me to leave. It was simply that Chris and I thought it was a fantastic, impactful story.
"I love the irony of this brilliant woman dying an accidental death that wouldn’t be investigated in a show about complicated investigations ... We hoped people wouldn't feel we were being cruel by serving up this incredibly sad story."
Who is Sinéad Keenan?
RTS award-winning actress Sinéad Keenan is known for programmes including Showtrial and as Melanie Jones in Little Blue Boy, a role which saw the star BAFTA nominated.
Speaking about joining the team, Sinéad said: "If you're at the start of something, you’re all in together and you’re all running blind a bit. You’re doing your best work, you’re hoping people will like it, but you’re all in the same boat. When you come into an established show, it’s very, very different. And obviously I’d seen the show, and Nicola is brilliant, so I was initially reticent about even reading the scripts. But then I read the scripts, and they were brilliant.
"When I spoke to my agent she said, 'Apparently it's really lovely job,' and I was like, 'Okay, you’re just trying to sell this now.' My fear was, that I didn’t want to be filling a Cassie-shaped hole. But obviously, Chris Lang has created a completely different character with their own storyline, and it’s great. So I was very glad to have been wrong, essentially.
"And the whole team behind Unforgotten is really lovely, I have not had an experience like that on any set. It was so smooth. And I could not have been made to feel more welcome. Which was really lovely. So I’m very lucky."
Speaking about her character, Sinéad explained: "Jess is the new DCI. She was a fast-tracked cop, one of these ones who have a degree and can skip a few levels. She is very good at her job, very ambitious, and has a promotion. She's got a husband, two children, perfect life. And then she starts this new job, and on the first day she gets some news on the way to work that completely blindsides her that has implications in terms of how she is at her job. So that’s simmering in the background."
Unforgotten series 5 starts on Monday, February 27 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.
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