Unforgotten: ITV shares update on future as series five reaches dramatic conclusion

Virgin Radio

4 Apr 2023, 06:47

With the fifth series of Unforgotten ending last night, an announcement has been made regarding the future of the show.

Following the popularity of the latest instalment of the popular police drama, it has been revealed that ITV is commissioning a sixth series.

Written by award-winning screenwriter Chris Lang, Unforgotten first aired in 2015, and has been a hit with fans ever since. The most recent series, which ended last night (3rd April) was the first without DCI Cassie Stuart (played Nicola Walker). But the absence of the popular character didn’t put fans off, as the new outing is the number one series on ITVX so far this year. 

With Sanjeev Bhaskar (and his backpack) returning as DI Sunny Kahn, and Sinéad Keenan’s DCI Jessie James replacing Cassie, the opening episode of series five is the most watched programme on ITV this year.

The latest series looked into the death of Precious Falade, and how her son Jay (Rhys Yates), estranged mother Ebele (Martina Laird), social worker Karol Wojski (Max Rinehart), and Tory politician Tony Hume (Ian McElhinney) were involved.

In a complicated finale, the drama centred around Hume, who we previously learned is Ebele’s father, meaning that he was Precious's grandfather. Ebele tells Sunny and Jessie that her mother was raped by him when she worked as a cleaner at his father's company. 

Tony had been sending Ebele money across the years, and, in episode six, we learn that he was called to the house where the murders took place because Precious's son was in a drug-induced state, demanding dosh. However, this wasn’t Jay, but Jay’s half-brother, Joseph Bell (you’ll recall that his body was found buried in a garden in last week’s episode and that unregistered Jay had been using his identity ever since).

What happened on that fateful night, according to Hume, is that Joseph pulled the gun, Precious tried to get hold of it, and Joseph was accidentally shot dead. Mortified that she’d killed her son, she shot herself in the chest. When Ebele arrived at the house, Hume took Joseph away to bury him, and, traumatised, she eventually placed her daughter’s body in the chimney.

However, Jay, who witnessed the incident as a child, had a different version of events. He told Sunny and Jessie that Hume was choking Joseph, who pulled a gun, Precious accidentally got shot. Joseph, devastated, gave the gun to Tony, who then shot him in the head. 

Hume is arrested, and that seems to be that. However, in a big twist, Jay tells Ebele that he lied and that the Lord was, in fact, telling the truth. He explains that Hume should be punished for the rape of Ebele's mother and everything that happened to the family since. 

And as for why Hume seems to accept this? Presumably for the guilt he feels for all the bad things that he has done, and because, ultimately, he only has a very short time to live anyway, due to a terminal illness.

It has been announced that Sunny and Jessie will be back in series six, where fans will hope that their friendship will continue to grow after a somewhat frosty start. Each of the new six episodes will be written by Chris Lang.

Catch up with season five of Unforgotten on ITVX.