Skip to main contentSkip to footer
unforgotten sanjeev sinsead© Photo: ITV

Unforgotten season 5 shares first look following Nicola Walker’s exit 

Nicola Walker left the show after four seasons 

Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
December 14, 2022
Share this:

Unforgotten season 5 is nearly back on our screens, and we couldn't be more excited to see how the hugely popular ITV series fares without one of its lead stars, Nicola Walker. Instead, Sinead Keenan will be joining Sanjeev Bhaskar as DCI Jess James - and ITV has finally shared the first look!

MORE: Criminal Record with Peter Capaldi confirmed - and we think Unforgotten fans will love it

The picture shows Sinead and Sanjeev - who plays Sunny Khan on the hit show - looking seriously at the camera while standing outside a derelict building. Will the building have a part to play in the new series? It certainly appears so, as the first case for Jess and Sunny involves the discovery of a human skeleton in a recently renovated property - and is thought to have been from a murder committed in the 1930s. 

WATCH: Season four ended in tragedy for Nicola Walker's character Cassie

The guest stars include Game of Thrones star Ian McElhinney, Silent Witness’ Rhys Yates and The Bay star Martina Laird - and we can’t wait to find out who did it!

The new series is set to be released on ITVX, and the show’s writer Chris Lang recently shared an update on the show, tweeting: "So we finally finished production on S5 of @Unforgotten last week. All that is left to be done now is for it to be wrapped and tied with a bow, and then it'll be delivered to you in the new year. It's a close team, it's so close. @TVSanjeev @SineadKeenan." 

unforgotten table reading© Photo: ITV

Sinead joined the cast for season five

Nicola left the show after four seasons, telling the Radio Times: "Chris Lang and I had been discussing the storyline for Cassie since the first series. By the time we got to her nervous breakdown in series three, we were already talking about where that story might naturally go, so her sudden death was very much a joint decision."

MORE: Unforgotten series five: synopsis, airdate and Nicola Walker's replacement

MORE: Why did Nicola Walker leave Unforgotten?

She added to TV Insider: "Chris and I were always interested in looking at the cost of being involved with these sorts of cases that we all love watching on television. Cassie does not have superpowers. She’s an ordinary person who’s really good at her job, and it took her to the place of having an emotional breakdown."

Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter and get the heads-up on the shows and films everyone’s talking about.

Sign up to Off Camera for all the gossip and goings-on from the wonderful world of TV and film

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More TV and Film

See more