''Unforgotten'' is a British

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television series, which initially aired on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by

Chris Lang Chris Lang (born 1961) is a British screenwriter, producer and actor. Lang has written for many British television series but is best known as the writer, creator and executive producer of ''Unforgotten''. Career Actor He trained at RADA, g ...

and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Cassie Stuart (

Nicola Walker Nicola Jane Walker (born 15 May 1970) is an English actress, known for her starring roles in various British television programmes from the 1990s onwards, including that of Ruth Evershed in the spy drama '' Spooks'' (2003–2006 and 2009–2011 ...

) and DI Sunny Khan (

Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Two sketch comedy series '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and as the star of the sitcom ''The Kumars at No. 42''. H ...

) as they solve

cold cases A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

of disappearance and murder. Each series consists of six episodes. Series 1 to 4 were broadcast in the UK in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2021. On 30 March 2021 a fifth series was announced, scheduled for release in 2022, and it was confirmed that Sanjeev Bhaskar would reprise his role. A year later it was confirmed that

Sinéad Keenan Sinéad Keenan (born 27 December 1977) is an Irish actress with a wide range of television, film and stage credits. Keenan is best known for playing Farrah Phelan in ''Fair City'' and for playing the role of werewolf Nina Pickering on BBC Three' ...

would replace Walker as Bhaskar's new partner, DCI Jessica "Jessie" James. Filming for the fifth series began on 14 March 2022. Each series deals with a new case, introducing seemingly unconnected characters who are gradually revealed to have some relationship with the victim. As the murder mystery unfolds, the emotional ramifications of the crime on the lives of those affected are also explored. ''Unforgotten'' has received critical acclaim.

Tom Courtenay Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Courtenay achieved prominence in the 1960s with a series of acclaimed film roles, including ''The Loneliness of t ...

won the 2016 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for the first series and

Mark Bonnar Richard Mark Bonnar (born 19 November 1968) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Max in ''Guilt'', Duncan Hunter in ''Shetland'', Bruno Jenkins in ''Casualty'', Detective Finney in ''Psychoville'', DCC Mike Dryden in ''Line of Duty ...

won the 2017 BAFTA Scotland for Best Actor in Television for the second series.

Plots

Plots of each series

Series 1 focuses on the murder of James "Jimmy" Sullivan ( Harley Alexander-Sule), a 17-year-old who disappeared in 1976. His remains are discovered during the demolition of a house in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

. Series 2 follows the murder of David Walker (Daniel Gosling), a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

consultant who went missing in 1990. His saponified remains are found in a suitcase in the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

in north-east

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Series 3 investigates the murder of schoolgirl Hayley Reid (

Bronagh Waugh Bronagh Waugh (born 6 October 1982) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She played Cheryl Brady in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2009 to 2013. At the 2010 British Soap Awards, Waugh was nominated for awards for Best Newcomer, B ...

), who disappeared from a seaside resort town on New Year's Eve 1999. Her skeleton is discovered by workmen repairing the

central reservation The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...

of the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...

in London. Series 4 follows the discovery in 2020 of Matthew Walsh's headless and handless corpse, apparently frozen since his disappearance in 1990 when he encountered five police trainees celebrating their graduation from the academy.

Plots and themes spanning series

Series 1 to 4 include the story of DCI Cassie Stuart's personal life: of the typical but growing conflicts in her immediate family, of her spartan arms-length relationships with individuals who like her, of her drive to solve cases and of her coping both successfully and unsuccessfully with the relentless strain of her job. During the historical cold cases Cassie verbalizes her driving motives: find the truth of what happened, provide closure to the living and possibly bring a criminal to justice. An inner motive surfaces when she says she hopes solving a current case will help "... emove on... If we can do this right, if we can ignore who they are and do it by the book, then all the questions nd facesmight all go away. And I might be able to sleep at night."

Cast

as DCI Cassandra 'Cassie' Stuart (series 1–4) *

as DI Sunil 'Sunny' Khan Listed in the credits in the first three series as DS and sometimes also referred to as such in dialogue; more commonly referred to in dialogue as DI and, in series 3, this rank is shown on his warrant card. *

as DCI Jessica 'Jessie' James (series 5) *Jordan Long as DS Murray Boulting * Lewis Reeves as DC Jake Collier *

Pippa Nixon Pippa Nixon (born 1980) is an English actress. She trained at Manchester School of Theatre. Nixon has had numerous roles in film and television as well as recording drama for BBC Radio, but she is best known for her critically acclaimed theat ...

as DC Karen 'Kaz' Willetts (series 1, 4-present) *

Peter Egan Peter Joseph Egan (born 28 September 1946) is a British actor and animal rights activist. He is known for his television roles, including Hogarth in ''Big Breadwinner Hog'', the future George IV of the United Kingdom in ''Prince Regent'' (1979 ...

as Martin Hughes, DCI Stuart's father *

Jassa Ahluwalia Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (born 12 September 1990) is a British actor, director and radio presenter. He acted in the BBC television series ''Some Girls'', the film ''The Whale'' and presented the Disney Junior TV show ''Art Attack''. Early life ...

as Adam Stuart, DCI Stuart's son *Colin R. Campbell as DSI Clive Andrews, DCI Stuart's boss *

Carolina Main Carolina Main is an English actress known for her TV roles as DC Fran Lingley on the ITV crime drama series ''Unforgotten'' (2017-present) and as Cat Hogan on the Channel 5 and Virgin Media drama series ''Blood Blood is a body fluid ...

as DC Fran Lingley (series 2–present)Credited as DS in series 4, but still referred to as DC in dialogue. *

Alastair MacKenzie Alastair Mackenzie (born 8 February 1970) is a Scottish actor from Perth. Early life He was born in Trinafour, near Perth, and educated at Westbourne House School and Glenalmond College in Perthshire. Mackenzie left home at the age of 1 ...

as ex-DCI John Bentley and later Cassie's partner (series 3–present) *

Georgia Mackenzie Georgia Mackenzie (born 19 May 1973) is a British actress. Career Mackenzie's notable screen credits include Sarah Beckenham in the BBC's BAFTA nominated series '' Outlaws'', Jackie Haggar in ITV's ''Hot Money'' (since remade in Hollywood as ...

as Leanne Balcombe, pathologist (series 3–present) *

Michelle Bonnard Michelle Bonnard (born 14 September 1980) is an English actress and screenwriter. She attended the Central Junior Television Workshop before studying at LAMDA. Career Michelle Bonnard has worked in television, theatre and film. She first came ...

as Sal, Sunny's partner (series 3–present) *

Janet Dibley Janet Dibley (born 13 December 1958) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Elaine Walker in the 1980s sitcom ''The Two of Us'', Lorna Cartwright in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', and Elaine Cassidy in the BBC soap opera '' Doc ...

as Jenny, Martin's partner (series 3–present)

Series 1 (2015) cast

Series 2 (2017) cast

Series 3 (2018) cast

Series 4 (2021) cast

Series 5 (2022) cast

Production

The series was originally developed, by Lang, as a serial titled ''27 Arlington Crescent''. Filming for the first series began in March 2015 and lasted for twelve weeks. Locations included

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, the London suburbs,

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

, the

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

coast,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and

the Fens The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...

. After the unexpected success of the initial series, ITV commissioned a second series, with Lang returning as writer and Wilson as director. It was shot on location by the

, in

the Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames, Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the be ...

, and along the

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. A third series order was announced on 2 March 2017, following strong viewing figures. Scenes were set in

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

(which substituted for the fictional Middenham and its

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

in Bristol,

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

in West London, and

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

and

Hunstanton Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunstant ...

in Norfolk. An empty mansion at

Bulstrode Park Bulstrode is an English country house and its large park, located to the southwest of Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. The estate spreads across Chalfont St Peter, Gerrards Cross and Fulmer, and predates the Norman conquest. Its name may ori ...

near

Gerrards Cross Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in south Buckinghamshire, England, separated from the London Borough of Hillingdon at Harefield by Denham, south of Chalfont St Peter and north bordering villages of Fulmer, Hedgerley, Iver Heath and St ...

, Buckinghamshire provided the setting for the police station and lab. Only seven weeks after filming wrapped, the third series began broadcasting in the UK on 15 July 2018. A fourth series was scheduled to be made in autumn 2019; however, ITV only confirmed in January 2020 that filming had commenced, with the planned broadcasting timeframe having been delayed. In September 2020, it was announced that filming had recommenced and the series planned on being screened in 2021, with actors Walker, Bhaskar, Reeves and Egan all reprising their roles. The new series eventually began screening in February 2021. Filming for the fifth series began on 14 March 2022, with the airing of the series due later in 2022.

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2015)

Episodes 1 – 5's ratings are based on 28-day data from BARB for ITV and ITV+1 and 7-day data for ITV HD. Episode 6's ratings are based on 28-day data from BARB for ITV, ITV+1 and ITV HD.

Series 2 (2017)

Series 3 (2018)

Series 4 (2021)

International broadcast

Prior to the UK broadcast of the third series, the first series premiered on 8 April 2018 in the United States, as part of

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Masterpiece Mystery ''Mystery!'' (also written ''MYSTERY!'') is a television anthology series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States. The series was created as a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the already established PBS show ''Masterpie ...

. After two back-to-back episodes were aired each week, the second series was similarly broadcast as three weekly parts from 29 April 2018 to 13 May 2018. Series 3 premiered on 7 April 2019. Series 4 premiered on 11 July 2021.

Home media

The first three series have been released on Region 2 DVD individually. A box-set release of the first two series was made available shortly after the broadcast of the second series. A further box-set release of the first three series came out shortly after the broadcast of the third series. The fourth series has also been released on Region 2 DVD on its own. The first four series have been made available on Amazon Prime in some countries.

Awards and nominations

Remake

In 2017, it was reported that a remake was in development for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in the United States, with

Josh Berman Joshua Berman is an American writer and producer for television. He was an executive producer on the TV show '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and consulting producer on ''Bones''. Career Josh Berman was born in 1972. Berman's writing care ...

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...

and BBC Worldwide Productions producing. Retitled ''Suspects'', it was to feature a new cast and crew.

would not be involved in the United States version, and

would not make an appearance.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unforgotten 2015 British television series debuts 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British mystery television series 2020s British crime drama television series 2020s British mystery television series English-language television shows ITV television dramas Television shows set in London Television shows set in the United Kingdom