Filming on series 3 of smash hit ITV drama The Bay has started and there's a massive change in personnel for its upcoming run.
It's been two years since millions of viewers first got hooked on the Morecambe-set programme, with it pulling in very impressive ratings for ITV.
Fans became engrossed in the mystery surrounding the disappearance of twins Holly and Dylan and central character Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong's unfortunate link to the family after she slept with their step dad on the night they went missing.
Just like the first run, The Bay's second series, which kicked off in January, gave viewers no end of drama as it focused on the death of businessman Stephen Marshbrook.
A huge twist started to unravel during its final episode when, after admitting stealing from her dead husband Stephen’s business, Rose Marshbrook confessed to having an affair with scrap yard dealer and her daughter’s boss Frank Mercer, who paid Viktor Zima to carry out Stephen's murder.
Series 2, which was made available to binge in one go on itvHub, also saw the grisly death of Lisa's colleague Med, with fans speculating that his murder will be a huge spring board for what happens in the third series.
One person who won't be involved in the action is actress Morven Christie, who played Lisa, as she has left The Bay to be replaced by a new leading lady - Marsha Thomason who will play DS Jenn Townsend.
Marsha, 45, is no stranger to a TV drama having starred in the likes of Playing the Field, Lost and Las Vegas.
Speaking as filming kicked off this week, Catherine Oldfield, Creative Director of Tall Story Pictures and Executive Producer of The Bay said, “Daragh and I always felt that there were so many brilliant stories to be told in the world of The Bay so, after Morven decided to leave the show, we got straight to work finding a new lead actor.
"From the moment Marsha read for the part we knew it was ‘game over’ and we’d found our new lead, DS Townsend. We are so excited to see Marsha bring these stories to life.”
Marsha will be joined in series 3 by other newcomers including Gary Lewis (Outlander, Rig45), Rina Mahoney (Eleventh Hour), Vincent Regan (300, Troy) and Barry Sloane (Six, Revenge) and David Carpenter and Emme Haynes who will both make their professional acting debuts on the show.
