Unforgotten season 5 will see a female Nicola Walker replacement, creator Chris Lang has teased.
The good news is that Chris has already started work on the much-anticipated fifth run of the ITV crime drama.
And he has confirmed that Nicola Walker’s character – Cassie Stuart – will be replaced by someone brand new… and female.
Unforgotten Nicola Walker replacement: What’s going to happen in season 5?
At the end of series four, viewers were stunned and heartbroken when Cassie died after being involved in a car smash.
Now Chris has updated fans as to where he is at with the next series.
Speaking to the Radio Times, he said: “I certainly have begun conceiving the character, yeah.
Read more: Unforgotten new series: ITV confirms fifth season with Sunny Khan and new character
“I’m actually working at the moment. And I had yeah, [the] script was commissioned before we even aired season four.”
He went on to say that he has a “pretty good” idea of who the new character will be and what “her” story will be.
This confirms that the new character will be a woman.
“It is a new character, yeah,” he said. “It’s not one of the existing team, although they will remain.”
A mutual decision
Chris also revealed that he and Nicola discussed her exit as early as series three.
He said that the shock plot twist was decided between him and the actress, with both agreeing that her story “should come to an end at the end of series four”.
Chris also slammed the door shut on any future appearances by Nicola (and Cassie) in future series.
“You have to be bold,” Chris explained.
Who are the favourites to replace Nicola?
After the stunning series four finale, bookies issued odds on who they thought were the favourites to replace Nicola in the show.
Keeping Faith star, Eve Myles, was the then favourite at 3/1.
Read more: Unforgotten series 5: Bookies reveal favourite to replace Nicola Walker
Other names on the list included current Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker, former Emmerdale and Line of Duty star Sian Reese-Williams, Suranne Jones and Katherine Kelly.
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