One of the jewels in ITV’s crown, Unforgotten has led the channel’s returning-drama output for 11 years and it shows no signs of stopping.
Originally starring Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar as a detective duo who – shockingly – weren’t especially mismatched or dysfunctional, just compassionate, thoughtful and dedicated to their work finding justice for victims of cold-case murders.
After Walker’s departure, Sinéad Keenan took over as head of the squad DCI Jess James.
Despite some teething troubles, mostly caused by her faithless husband having cheated on her with her sister, she settled into the big chair with all the smarts and empathy we’d come to expect, even finding a respectful balance in her working relationship with DI Khan (Bhaskar).
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming seventh season.
ITV
What can we expect from Season 7 of Unforgotten?
ITV have teased that the new series will investigate “a complex and emotionally charged cold case”, which is pretty much the show’s DNA, so no surprises there. But every season brings a whole new cast of supporting characters, too.
Previous season featured stars like Mark Bonnar, Tom Courtenay, Lorraine Ashbourne, Adeel Akhtar, Bernard Hill, Neil Morrissey, Alex Jennings, James Fleet, Sheila Hancock and Trevor Eve, so there’s a lot to live up to.
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This year will see Sophie Rundle (also starring in ITV’s After the Flood at the moment) playing a social worker under pressure, alongside some other newcomers to the series including Julian Rhind-Tutt (from Green Wing), Kirsty J Curtis (Joan) and Natalie Simpson (Trigger Point).
The show’s format always involves a body or significant evidence being discovered somewhere in the UK that they don’t really dwell on, leading to buried secrets re-emerging and casting new characters in shifting lights. Innocence and guilt become hard to distinguish until the final piece fo the puzzle pops into place.
ITV
Series Creator and Executive Producer, Chris Lang, said: “I am so delighted to have been asked to create another series of Unforgotten, and given the opportunity once again to follow Sunny, Jess and their brilliant team, as they attempt to crack another cold case. Unforgotten is a drama that has always asked its audience to lean in, concentrate and engage with complex ideas, plots and themes, and we are profoundly grateful that such a large and loyal audience continue to enjoy doing exactly that.”
Huw Kennair Jones, Drama Commissioner at ITV, said, “Unforgotten is undoubtedly one of the UK’s best loved dramas and we’re thrilled to be returning for series 7. As well as Jess and Sunny, Chris has created a host of brilliant new characters in a totally compelling story. We’re also indebted to Mainstreet Pictures for continuing to deliver such stand out drama with series 7 promising to be as enthralling as all the others. We can’t wait to share it with the ITV and ITVX audience.”
Unforgotten season 7 cast: who’s in it this year?
• Sinéad Keenan as DCI Jess James
• Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunny Khan
• Jordan Long as DS Murray Boulting
• Carolina Main as DS Fran Lingley
• Pippa Nixon as DC Kaz Willets
• Sophie Rundle as Mary Brock
• Kirsty J Curtis as Lacee Cook
• Julian Rhind-Tutt as Hugh Swafham
• Natalie Simpson as Ruby Allenford
ITV
When can I watch Unforgotten season 7?
Sadly there’s no release date yet as they’ve only just started filming, so don’t expect it before the end of the year. September ’26 is our educated guess. But you can see season 1-6 on ITVX right now if you like.
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Editor, Digital Spy Chris has over 25 years’ experience as a writer and editor, having worked as a journalist covering TV and movies since the ’90s. Starting out as a TV listings editor at the Press Association, he was quickly hired by the nascent Heat magazine, where he rose to become Senior Editor, interviewing the likes of Simon Cowell, Boris Johnson and Paris Hilton. Over the years he has written about entertainment with clarity and wit for Heat, Elle, Q, The Telegraph and of course Digital Spy, and has served many times as a judge in the Royal Television Society awards. He has written and recorded a novelty single with Lord Lloyd-Webber, written scripts for the National TV Awards, made Noel Edmonds cry, accidentally punched an Inbetweener and stolen a small piece of rubble from the Battle of Hogwarts movie set. (They can’t have it back.) LinkedIn