British television is brutal. The job security of actors, even in leading roles, is perilous. From the urtext, Spooks, where everyone from Keeley Hawes to Matthew Macfadyen cut their teeth, through to ITV’s returning Monday night drama, Unforgotten, writers have always been willing to throw their characters under the bus (sometimes literally). The challenge, then, is reacclimating audiences, once the dust settles, to a very different version of the same old show.
Back for its fifth season, Unforgotten is still reeling from the death of Nicola Walker’s Cassie Stuart. DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) is grieving, while incoming DCI Jessie James (Sinéad Keenan) is met by a rather cold shoulder. She doesn’t help herself: at home, her family life is falling apart, and the new gig couldn’t come at a worse time. Both she and Sunny are thinking of chucking it all in: Sunny is interrupted composing a letter (Chekhov’s “Resignation Draft.doc”?), while Jessie makes it to the chief superintendent’s door, before rethinking her decision. Is it possible that a gripping cold case will reel them both back in?
