ITV’s critically acclaimed, ratings winning drama, Unforgotten, returns to filming, starring Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar

ITV’s critically acclaimed, ratings winning drama, Unforgotten, returns to filming, starring Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar, written and created by Chris Lang and produced by Mainstreet Pictures

***The last series averaged over 8 million viewers and was the number 1 drama on ITV1 and ITVX in 2023***

Hugely successful drama, Unforgotten, created and written by multi award-winning screenwriter Chris Lang and produced by Mainstreet Pictures, has commenced filming for a sixth series.  

Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar reprise their roles as DCI Jess James and DI Sunil 'Sunny' Khan as their dynamic on-screen partnership returns to investigate emotionally charged cold cases from the past, unravelling secrets and unearthing buried truths along the way.

Commented Sinéad Keenan:

“I am absolutely delighted to be stepping into the world of Unforgotten once more. To be involved with the incredible team at Mainstreet on yet another set of stellar scripts from Chris Lang, with the brilliant Andy Wilson at the helm is a real treat. And to get to work again with Sanjeev, Carolina, Jordan, Pippa, and Georgia is an absolute joy. To call it *work* is a total misnomer. I can’t wait to get started!”
Commented Sanjeev Bhaskar:

“I’m humbled and excited to be back as Sunny Khan, bearing the backpack for series 6 of Unforgotten.  Chris’s scripts, as ever, are intriguing, detailed and empathetic.  Andy’s direction and the skill of Sinead and the cast make this a warm and creative experience that so much more than a job.  Once again I feel lucky to be a part of it.”

Each of the highly anticipated new episodes (6 x 60”) will be written by Chris Lang who is also known for his work on Innocent, The Hookup Plan, Dark Heart, A Mother’s Son and BAFTA nominated ITV1 drama The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe.  During 2023 the series was also the third most watched drama across all channels and the 9th most watched of all television programmes.

The new series has been commissioned for ITV1 and ITVX by Head of Drama Polly Hill and Drama Commissioner, Huw Kennair Jones, who will oversee production on behalf of ITV.

Commented Huw Kennair Jones:

“We’re thrilled that filming has started on series 6. Once again Chris has woven a brilliant story with a great cast of new characters, that promises to keep Unforgotten’s many fans gripped until the final frame.”  

Commented Chris Lang:

“I'm incredibly excited to be about to start filming the sixth series of Unforgotten, with a story that has been gestating for nearly eight years, since the 23rd June 2016, when our country seemed to fracture in two. The UK, and indeed the world, has today never seemed more divided, and series six attempts to try and understand how we got to where we are now, and perhaps more importantly, where we can go from here.”

The new series will be directed by Andy Wilson (Ripper Street, Spooks, The Forsyte Saga) who has been the sole director responsible for directing each of the previous 30 episodes across five series of the globally successful drama.

Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes, on behalf of Mainstreet Pictures, return to executive produce alongside Chris Lang, Guy de Glanville (Unforgotten, Gold Digger, Age Before Beauty) and Andy Wilson. Carmel Maloney produces the series (Time, Domina, Dublin Murders).

Commented Sally Haynes:

“After the huge success of Series 5 with the brilliant team of Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar, Chris has once again delivered a compelling and timely story that reflects the world we live in through the mystery of a dismembered corpse buried in marshland and the people whose lives connected with him.  It’s going to be another gripping ride.”

Joining Sinéad and Sanjeev for this series are Victoria Hamilton (Cobra, His Dark Materials), MyAnna Buring (The Responder, The Witcher, The Salisbury Poisonings), acting newcomers Max Fairley and Elham Ehsas and legendary British actors Jan Francis and Damien Maloney with returning performances from Andrew Lancel (Bolan’s Shoes, Unforgotten, The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe) as Jess’s husband Steve and Kate Robbins (Unforgotten, The Couple Next Door, Death in Paradise) as her mother Kate.

Jess and Sunny’s loyal and hard-working police team are also back including Jordan Long as DS Murray Boulting, Carolina Main as DC Fran Lingley and Pippa Nixon as DC Kaz Willets. Georgia Mackenzie who plays Pathologist Dr Leanne Balcombe is also returning to the series.

When suspected human remains are discovered on Whitney Marsh, Jess and Sunny are called to the scene, ditching their respective plans for the evening much to Jess’s husband Steve’s chagrin. With Dr Balcombe’s expert analysis of the human spine, it’s evident the remains are relatively recent and her guess is the body was put there already dismembered. With this knowledge Jess and Sunny begin to search the area believing other body parts may not be too far away.

In the meantime, we’re introduced to outspoken television commentator Melinda Ricci (MyAnna Buring) who is based in Ireland and renowned for her forthright views, Martin ‘Marty’ Baines (Max Fairley) an autistic man who lives with his mother, Dot, in Deal, Kent, Asif Syed (Elham Elas), an Afghan who speaks fluent English and is training for his UK citizenship test, and Juliet Cooper (Victoria Hamilton) who is a History Lecturer and Faculty Head at a central London University.  

Each of these characters live separate lives, yet they are intrinsically linked by their past and it’s for Jess, Sunny and their team to unravel these connections in search of the truth, and ultimately, who perpetrated the cold case murder.

Unforgotten producers, Mainstreet Pictures (Him, I Want My Wife Back, Age Before Beauty, Gold Digger), are an ITV Studios company, founded in 2013 by Joint Managing Directors and Executive Producers, Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes. They have produced each of the five previous series of Unforgotten.

Unforgotten is co-produced with Masterpiece PBS in association with BBC Studios, who distribute all 6 seasons of the series internationally. Susanne Simpson (from WGBH) on behalf of PBS serves as an Executive Producer.

Series 1-5 of Unforgotten is available for streaming now on ITVX.