Sinead Keenan as DCI Jessica James, Georgia Mackenzie as Leanne Balcombe, and Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunny Khan in Unforgotten season 5. Photo: ITV

Beginning Sunday, September 3, things are definitely looking up in 2023-24 from a drama standpoint as Sinéad Keenan (Doctor Who, Being Human) joins Sanjeev Bhaskar (DI Sunil ‘Sunny’ Khan) for the S5 premiere of Unforgotten on PBS. Keenan joins the team as DCI Jessica ‘Jessie’ James, following the tragic S4 finale and the death of DCI Cassie Stewart (Nicola Walker). Walker went on to star in Annika for the BBC and PBS this past year with series 2 beginning in October on PBS.

Nicola Walker leaves Unforgotten for Annika. Photo: (C) Mainstreet Pictures LTD

Unforgotten S5 will pick up not long after the end of the last story as DCI James desperately attempts to make a good impression on her new colleagues as she tries to replace the big shoes left by Cassie Stuart. She and DI Khan are thrown into a murder investigation, following the discovery of remains inside a newly renovated property. Determined to make a good first impression with her new colleagues, the question on everyone’s mind is will Jess be in the right frame of mind to deliver and inspire the team?

Recognizing her character will immediately be measured against the greatness that is DCI Cassie Stewart, Keenan has admitted in recent interviews that these are virtually impossible shoes to step into immediately saying, “I fully anticipate that, for at least the first half of the series, nobody’s going to like me.”

What now seems a lifetime ago, we had the great good fortune to sit down with Sanjeev Bhaskar for a pre-COVID interview about his time on Kumars at No 42, his thoughts on Unforgotten and a number of other topics such as The Indian Doctor and his choices for Desert Island Discs.

Even though we talked in mid-2019, the Kumars star and Unforgotten co-star left me with a long-lasting impression of being one of the most genuine individuals who truly loves what he does and who also possesses a passion and curiosity that is not only rare in today’s culture but plays a large role in the success of both Kumars and Unforgotten.

If Keenan happens to look familiar, Unforgotten’s ‘new partner in crime’ for DI Sunny Khan is probably best known to UK viewers for playing the role of werewolf Nina Pickering on BBC Three’s supernatural drama Being Human, which starred a few other well-known faces to PBS Masterpiece fans including Aidan Turner (Poldark) and Russell Tovey (Sherlock).

Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar at a read through for Unforgotten. Photo: ITV

Unforgotten S5 returns to PBS beginning Sunday, September 3 at 9pET/8pCT as part of Masterpiece.