Unforgotten series five review – still cracking crime drama, even without Nicola Walker

The much-loved gaffer was killed off at the end of the last series, but Chris Lang’s show is as taut and tense and pleasurable as ever

I love Unforgotten wholeheartedly. It’s the meat and two veg of television crime dramas. Every one of its four series so far has served up a rock-solid mystery, establishing a historical murder case and solving it within six tense, taut weeks. It may not have an HBO hiss at the start, or an A-lister in a leading role, but this is television to savour.

Of course, the drama begins its fifth series under a giant cloud in the shape of Nicola Walker. It ended its last run by bumping off the much-loved gaffer, Cassie Stuart, killing her in a car crash after a bout of work-related burnout and exhaustion. Hers is such a big chair to fill that many thought the series would end for good, but the creator, Chris Lang, has chosen to continue, taking a grieving Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) into a Cassie-less future.

Anyone worried that it wouldn’t survive the loss of Walker can breathe a sigh of relief. That’s not to say she isn’t missed, but Unforgotten has been around for long enough to know exactly what it is doing.

It gets over the Cassie problem in two ways. First, it doesn’t write her out of the story. Everyone is still mourning her, particularly Sunny, who can barely make it home for dinner without popping to the cemetery for a quick chat at her graveside. Second, it doesn’t try to replace her with a like-for-like character. Sinéad Keenan plays the new DCI, Jessie James (for some reason, no one has yet mentioned that this is a funny name for a copper), and she is a standoffish tough nut who is all budget and no nonsense.

And so to our cold case. During renovations of an old house in Hammersmith, the builders discover something hidden up the chimney. “Could it be a squirrel or a rat?” asks one of them, to which regular Unforgotten viewers might reply: try a very old human body that leaves a sprawling web of interconnected suspects spread out around the country, my friend!

Naturally, given that he and Cassie have form for cracking historical cases wide open, Sunny gets the call, reluctantly inviting his new boss to the crime scene. From the off, it becomes clear that we’re not in Kansas any more. DCI James sniffs around, makes a couple of solid suggestions, then lays down the law. She wants them to stop focusing on historical cases in favour of more recent murders. Essentially, she wants to lead a show called Forgotten, in which long-buried victims of horrible crimes are left without justice for ever more. What would Cassie say?

“We don’t live in an ideal world, do we? We live in a shitty one,” says Jessie, pointing out that they have barely enough time or resources to cover murders that happened this week. Unforgotten has always been good at showing the home lives behind the detective work; as Jessie’s first day on her new job has been spectacularly torpedoed by her husband casually letting her know that he has been having an affair, before nipping off to an overnight conference, you can understand why she might come across as a little chilly.

But this is all about the body, how it got there and who is responsible. So far, like a good game of Cluedo, it lines up the suspects without telling us much about who they are, how they are connected and what they have to do with a body up a chimney in an old house in west London.

So far, we have a wealthy aristocrat with what seems to be a social conscience; a petty criminal who funds his addiction by mugging women for handbags on the street; a formerly homeless chef at a small, successful restaurant in Bath; his partner, who is hiding at least one secret; and an Englishman working several jobs in Paris, who is lying to his mother about having a girlfriend.

I can’t piece any of it together yet. I am happy not to try. The pleasure of Unforgotten is allowing yourself to be carried along by it, as it drops more and more breadcrumbs, leading you gradually to the end of the trail. Without Walker, it is a different trail, sure, but Sunny and Jessie have a lot to work through; I don’t doubt they will find some common ground in doing the job properly, whether leading by head (Jessie) or heart (Sunny). After all, if Bake Off can survive without Mel, Sue and Mary Berry, Unforgotten should be just fine.

Unforgotten aired on ITV1 and available on ITVX now

Contributor

Rebecca Nicholson

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Unforgotten series four review – the coldest of cold cases
Nicola Walker’s Cassie and Sanjeev Bhaskar’s Sunny team up once again, but even these seasoned professionals have their work cut out when a headless, decades-old corpse is discovered

Stuart Jeffries

22, Feb, 2021 @10:00 PM

Article image
Sisterhood review – an Icelandic crime drama perfect for Unforgotten fans
Just because it has one of the world’s lowest crime rates, that doesn’t stop Iceland from coming up with an ominous TV show about a killing in a town full of terrible secrets and spectacular monsters

Rebecca Nicholson

19, Sep, 2022 @11:45 PM

Article image
Unforgotten series five, episode five recap – TV doesn’t get more head-spinning than this
Did Precious have a ‘sugar daddy’? Why was she blackmailing Karol? And will Hume make it to Zurich? A revelatory hour left us tantalisingly poised for the finale

Michael Hogan

27, Mar, 2023 @9:00 PM

Article image
Unforgotten review – for once, a crime drama that avoids being Sherlock-clever or Scandi-bleak
The second series kicks off with a soapy, suitcase corpse, but already the bigger picture is beginning to emerge. Plus: volunteers try out for the intelligence services in Spies

Sam Wollaston

06, Jan, 2017 @7:20 AM

Article image
Unforgotten series five episode one recap – Sinéad Keenan more than fills the biggest boots ever
After the last season left 9.5 million of us weeping, the beguiling cop drama is back with no Nicola Walker and a testy new boss. Will Sunny heal while the team crack the case of the corpse up the chimney?

Michael Hogan

27, Feb, 2023 @10:00 PM

Article image
The Confession review – you’ll study every gesture in this true-crime documentary
Keith Hall confessed his wife’s murder to an officer wearing a wire – and was found innocent. This programme will leave you scrutinising his every second on screen to make your mind up about him

Jack Seale

25, Nov, 2022 @6:00 AM

Article image
The Gold: The Inside Story review – follow that smelter in the Rolls-Royce!
As a companion to the superb drama, this documentary confirms, and occasionally corrects, the astonishing details of the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery. But there are just too many nuggets to fit in

Jack Seale

20, Mar, 2023 @10:00 PM

Article image
Karen Pirie review – this female-led crime drama absolutely sings
Humour, confidence and charm are perfectly blended in this suspenseful adaptation of Val McDermid’s bestseller. As its young female detective tackles a cold case it really belts along

Lucy Mangan

25, Sep, 2022 @9:00 PM

Article image
Annika review – Nicola Walker as a maritime murder cop is sure to reel you in
Yes, she’s a daffy Norwegian supercop with a dodgy accent. But Walker’s droll dialogue and womansplaining should keep you waterside for the long haul

Stuart Jeffries

17, Aug, 2021 @9:00 PM

Article image
Unforgotten review – magnificent cast, dodgy dialogue
Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar are highly convincing investigating officers in this six-part thriller – but it’s hard to believe real police officers talk like this

Lucy Mangan

09, Oct, 2015 @6:20 AM