Unforgotten viewers were overjoyed to see a familiar face on their screens in the new season of ITV's hit detective drama.
The police series, which returned on Sunday night and is available to stream on ITVX, sees DCI Jessica James (Sinéad Keenan) and DI Sunil 'Sunny' Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) take on emotionally charged cold cases. In the latest series, the detective duo investigate the discovery of human remains on Whitney Marsh.
Warning! Spoilers for episode one ahead.
Towards the end of the series premiere, the identity of the human remains is revealed to be a man named Gerard Cooper, who disappeared in 2021. While his body was never found, the police concluded that he jumped into the River Thames.
After doing some digging, Sunny uncovered that the police officer in charge of the investigation was Ram Sidhu (Phaldut Sharma), who we last saw back in season four.
Taking to social media, viewers shared their delight over Ram's surprise return. One person wrote: "Like how they've brought Sidhu back for this story. Nice link to the past series even if a bittersweet one. #Unforgotten," while another added: "The squeak I squealed when Ram turned up! He's such a brilliant villain."
A third viewer penned: "Last night goosebumps omg the ending was spectacular. Ram Sidhu absolutely love this guy, this character was incredible in the story in Unforgotten series 4," while another added: "So happy to see slimy Ram back #Unforgotten."
A fourth viewer suggested that Sidhu could be involved in the death of DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker), who died in a car crash at the end of series four. "Won't be surprised if Ram Sidhu was responsible for Cassie's death," they penned.
The new series follows Sunny and Jess as they investigate the discovery of human remains. After Dr Balcombe's analysis reveals that the remains are relatively recent, suggesting the body was already dismembered when it was placed there, Jess and Sunny intensify their investigation.
As the search continues, a diverse new cast of characters come into the story, including an outspoken TV commentator based in Ireland named Melinda Ricci (MyAnna Buring); Martin 'Marty' Baines (Maximilian Fairley), an autistic man living with his mother, Dot (Michele Dotrice), in Deal, Kent; Asif Syed (Elham Ehsas), an Afghan training for his UK citizenship test; and Juliet Cooper (Victoria Hamilton), a History Lecturer and Faculty Head at a London university.
The synopsis continues "While these characters live seemingly separate lives, they are intricately connected by their pasts. It’s up to Jess, Sunny, and their dedicated team to uncover these hidden links and ultimately expose the truth behind the cold case murder."
Unforgotten is available on ITVX.