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Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar© ITV

Unforgotten reveals new look at season 6 as Downton Abbey star joins cast

Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar star in the crime drama

Nicky Morris
TV and film writer
4 days ago
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Unforgotten has revealed a new look at the upcoming sixth season of the hugely popular ITV crime drama. 

Starring Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar, who look rather serious in the new image, the series follows DCI Jess James and DI Sunil 'Sunny' Khan as they tackle emotionally charged cold cases, uncovering buried secrets along the way. 

WATCH: Have you caught up with season 5?
Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar© ITV
ITV revealed a new look at season 6

Fans can also expect some fresh faces to appear in the new episodes, including MyAnna Buring (Downton Abbey, The Witcher), Victoria Hamilton (The Crown, Lark Rise to Candleford), Damien Molony (The Split, Brassic) and Jan Francis (Just Good Friends).

Series six opens with the discovery of suspected human remains on Whitney Marsh and it's not long before Jess and Sunny are on the case.

Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar as DCI Jess James and DI Sunil 'Sunny' Khan in Unforgotten© ITV
Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar play DCI Jess James and DI Sunil 'Sunny' Khan

When Dr Balcombe's analysis reveals that the remains are relatively recent and that the body was placed there already dismembered, the detectives intensify their search. 

As the investigation unfolds, viewers are introduced to a diverse new cast of characters: Melinda Ricci (Buring), an outspoken television commentator based in Ireland; Martin 'Marty' Baines (Max Fairley), an autistic man living with his mother Dot in Deal, Kent; Asif Syed (Elham Elas), an Afghan training for his UK citizenship test; and Juliet Cooper (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."

Sanjeev Bhaskar and Sinéad Keenan in Unforgotten© ITV
The new series arrives in 2025

Returning alongside Sinéad and Sanjeev are Andrew Lancel (Bolan's Shoes, The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe) as Jess's husband Steve, and Kate Robbins (The Couple Next Door, Death in Paradise) as her mother Kate.

Fans can also expect to see Jordan Long reprise his role as DS Murray Boulting, alongside Carolina Main as DC Fran Lingley, Pippa Nixon as DC Kaz Willets and Georgia Mackenzie as Pathologist Dr Leanne Balcombe.

Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar © ITV
Filming began back in March

While ITV has yet to share a release date for season six, we do know that the new episodes will arrive on ITV and ITVX next year. 

Taking to X, Sinéad revealed that fans won't have too much longer to wait. "Not long now. . . #Unforgotten6," penned the Irish actress. 

Filming for season six began back in March. At the time, writer and creator Chris Lang said the story "has been gestating for nearly eight years, since 23rd June 2016, when our country seemed to fracture in two."

Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nicola Walker in Unforgotten
Nicola Walker previously starred in the drama

He added: "The UK, and indeed the world, has today never seemed more divided, and series six attempts to try and understand how we got to where we are now and, perhaps more importantly, where we can go from here."

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