Stepping in to replace a well-loved character is always going to be tough for actors and the new lead in ITV's Unforgotten almost didn't take up her latest role as she didn't want to "replace" the former star. For six years since 2015, Nicola Walker played the lead role of DCI Cassie Stuart in ITV's Unforgotten but she has now stepped away from the show, with Little Boy Blue and Being Human star, Sinead Keenan picking up the mantle of detective on the cold case whodunnit.
In the previous series Nicola's character Cassie was killed in a car crash when physically and emotionally drained Cassie was not paying attention to the road. Now, Irish actress Sinead is taking the lead role alongside Sanjeev Bhaskar and she will play the new character DCI Jessica James.
Speaking on ITV's This Morning, Sinead said one of the things that put her off taking the role, was replacing Nicola Walker. She told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that after watching Nicola leave the series she'd thought to herself "Woe betide anyone who takes that on".
But then she was offered the Unforgotten lead and it was thanks to her agent she pushed forward with the project. Sinead said: "My agent rang and said people from Unforgotten have been on...I said, that is okay, thank you very much, I am delighted but there is no way. Who is going to follow Nicola Walker? It is ridiculous!". However, after Sinead read the script she was swayed, because of the brilliant writing, and decided to take on the role.
Unforgotten will be back on screens on Monday, February 27. The drama will air at 9pm on ITV1 and will be available as a complete series on ITVX after the first episode has aired on ITV1. You can keep up to date with the latest TV and showbiz news by signing up to the newsletter here.
There will be guest stars starring in the fifth series of Unforgotten. Ian McElhinney, known for his roles in Derry Girls and Game of Thrones will be playing Lord Tony Hume.
Martina Laird will be playing Ebele Falade, Max Rinehart will be playing Karol Wojski, Rhys Yates as Jay and Hayley Mills, known for Parent Trap and Tiger Bay, will also be starring in the series as Lady Emma Hume. You can read everything you need to know about Unforgotten here.
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