ITV Renews 'Unforgotten' For a Sixth Season as Ratings Soar
Nicola Walker’s exit from Unforgotten proved a ratings goldmine, as the show’s fourth season was one of ITV’s most-watched programs of 2021. But, at the time, it was not clear if the popularity was due to Unforgotten itself or Walker’s exit. When Walker’s new detective series, Annika, broke viewership records on Alibi, it seemed like it might be the latter. However, Unforgotten Season 5 on ITV proves there’s room for both shows in viewers’ hearts, as the premiere scored the network’s highest rating of 2023 so far. With the season now concluded, ITV has announced it has commissioned Season 6.
Walker’s character, DCI Cassie Stuart, was the central lead of Unforgotten for its first four seasons, and her death — killed by a random driver in a car crash — shocked audiences. Her exit left the show’s popular second in command, DS Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar), to be promoted to lead. Though the show has promoted him, he’s listed as DI Khan in the Season 5 description; he also gained a new boss, DCI Jessie James, played by Being Human’s Sinéad Keenan. Three of the core cast, including Jordan Long as DS Murray Boulting, Pippa Nixon as DC Kaz Willetts, and Carolina Main as DC Fran Lingley, also returned for Season 5.
The season’s guest cast also helped season 5. The series brings in a new set of four suspects as part of the season-long mystery, with major A-listers including Bernard Hill, Lorraine Ashbourne, Kevin McNally, and Susan Lynch among those who have appeared on the series. Season 5 features Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones), Rhys Yates (The Outlaws), Max Rinehart (Jekyll and Hyde), and Martina Laird (The Bay).
