The Bay has released a first look snap of new leading actress Marsha Thomason in the role of DS Jenn Townsend. Marsha will be replacing Morven Christie, who starred as DS Lisa Armstrong in seasons one and two.
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The new star will be joined by Outlander's Gary Lewis, Eleventh Hour star Rina Mahoney and Revenge actor Barry Sloane for the upcoming series. Speaking about season three, the Creative Director of Tall Story Pictures and Executive Producer of The Bay, Catherine Oldfield, said: "Daragh and I always felt that there were so many brilliant stories to be told in the world of The Bay so after Morven decided to leave the show, we got straight to work finding a new lead actor.
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"From the moment Marsha read for the part we knew it was ‘game over' and we’d found our new lead, DS Townsend. We are so excited to see Marsha bring these stories to life."
Morven has yet to reveal why she decided to leave the show after the first two seasons, but she did share behind-the-scenes snaps with her co-star Taheen Modak on Instagram to confirm the news, writing: "Day one till the end. So honoured to have spent my two seasons on The Bay with this guy, from fresh out of college to smashing it like an old pro.
Marsha Thomason will play DS Jenn Townsend
"My partner, my pal, this big souled lil king. They should never have let you go, but that’s for another day. Now you get to go build your kingdom - and I’m right behind you pal. We did it [sic]."
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Fans were full of praise for her, with one commenting: "Just binged watch season one and two in the last two days recovering from minor surgery. What an unbelievable show and what an amazing team of actors. I loved your character and so sad to know you won’t be in series three! You were amazing in it. Wishing you all the best and looking forward to seeing whatever your next project is."
Another added: "Am so gutted you and Med won't be in series 3. You are such a talented beautiful actress. The show won't be the same without you both."
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