Unforgotten creator and writer Chris Lang has teased Nicola Walker's replacement for the upcoming series of the ITV drama.
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Chris took to social media to announce that the cast had started table reads for season five and gave fans a glimpse at DI Sunny Khan's (Sanjeev Bhaskar) new detective partner.
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Sharing a photo of the cast, he wrote: "Read-through day! Pared down (Covid) but so lovely to be back in the room with the #Unforgotten team. And how fantastic to say hello to Sunny's new partner in crime, sitting there, right next to him, reaching for her tea, plain as day!! @TVSanjeev #Unforgotten @mainstreetpics."
Eagle-eyed fans will be able to see a blonde-haired actress sitting next to Sanjeev in the photo, but it looks like Chris is keeping the identity of Nicola's replacement well under wraps for now.
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However, he did hint to finds that they can expect to find out which actresses will be taking over the role very soon. Replying to a fan's comment, Chris wrote: "All will be revealed in six days, Julie!"
Chris Lang teased Nicola Walker's replacement
Sanjeev was quick to comment on the photo, jokingly writing: "I’d like to point out there were plates of chocolate biscuits at strategic intervals on the left side of the room. And absolutely none on the side that me and Jeanette Krankie were sitting."
Fans shared their theories about who the new recruit could be. One person tweeted: "I’m going Sharon Small or Hermione [Norris]!" while another responded: "I thought it kinda looked like Hermione Norris too."
Fans will be glad to know that filming for the upcoming series is imminent, as Sanjeev revealed in a recent interview.
Nicola Walker's character met a tragic end in season four
"We start filming in about two months," he told the Radio Times. "I think there are maybe some tweaks to go, but I've seen the scripts."
Discussing the new scripts, the actor also said that there will be a "connection" to season four: "Chris Lang, who has written all of them, has written this one," he said. "So yeah, it's very exciting reading the scripts, a bit weird not to see Nicola's character there, but I saw Nicola two, three times, I suppose, in the last couple of months, over Christmas. So we keep in touch a lot anyway."
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