ITV’s latest drama Unforgotten starring Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar is anything but forgettable.
The new six-part series, written by Chris Lang (Undeniable), focuses on a murder case from 39 years ago.
Triggered by the discovery of human remains underneath the concrete in a demolished house, an investigation begins that unravels the lives of four people who had seen this day coming for almost 40 years.
Following the discovery of the body at Arlingham House, four individuals will quickly discover that the past can’t, and won’t be buried forever. But who are they?
Our first suspect is Father Robert Greaves, played by Bernard Hill. He is a priest in Leigh-On-Sea, on the South-East coast, and has been married to Grace for 39 years.
Together they have two daughters, Ellie, who is currently planning her wedding, and Caroline who is pregnant with her first child.
The reason Robert is being interviewed as part of the investigation, is because he acted as chaplain from 1972-1983 in Arlingham House, the house in which the remains were found.
CEO of a successful retail company, Sir Phillip Cross is our next suspect, and is played by Trevor Eve. He has been happily married to his childhood sweetheart Shirley for over 40 years and together they have two grown-up children, Josh and Bella.
As Cassie and Sunil discover, Phillp has gone to great lengths over the years to cover up a past that he is deeply ashamed of. But what is it? And is he responsible for the body found in Arlingham House?
Now living in Croydon with her second generation Jamaican husband Ray, Lizzie Wilton, played by Ruth Sheen, is a very different person to the one she used to be.
Back in 1976, Lizzie was known as Beth Laws, a troubled runaway living on the streets. Did she have anything to do with the body that was discovered?
Today, she is very much involved in community projects helping local disadvantaged young people, and has formed a particularly strong friendship with Curtis, one of their most troubled kids.
Lizzie is trying to help him find a way in life that doesn't involve joining a gang, something peer pressure is pushing him towards.
And finally, retired book keeper Eric Slater is played by Tom Courtenay. He worked at Arlingham House in the late seventies, and remembers the victim well.
Today, Eric, himself in a wheelchair, looks after his wife Claire who suffers with advanced dementia. Currently organising a party for their 40th wedding anniversary, Eric is constantly resisting his son Les' proposal to put Claire in a home.
Discovering that each of these four people have a past they'd rather keep hidden, are DCI Cassie Stuart, played by Nicola Walker, and DS Sunil Khan, played by Sanjeev Bhaskar.
DCI Cassie Stuart has two sons, both at University, and is now divorced living with her father Martin. When the remains of a body are found at Arlingham House, Cassie could not have predicted how much the case would touch her. Especially when she has to break the devastating news to the victim's mother.
Nicola Walker is an actress I’ve always enjoyed watching on screen and with two dramas on in the same week, this and BBC One’s River, 2015 may well turn out to be the year Nicola shone and was truly recognised as an outstanding actress.
DS Suni 'Sunny' Khan, is Cassie's work partner, himself a single parent of two teenage girls. Together Sunny and Cassie work really well together and have built a really tight working relationship, often littered with light-hearted moments in what is otherwise a rather bleak job.
For me, Sanjeev Bhaskar is an actor I’ve always associated with comedy, most notably The Kumars, however I've really enjoyed seeing him take on a very different role in Unforgotten. This could well be the first of many more serious roles for Bhaskar.
In an autumn schedule surrounded by outstanding drama; Doctor Foster, River and This Is England '90, Unforgotten is a welcome addition that certainly has enough going for it to keep you coming back week on week.
Bucking a recent trend for three-part dramas, ITV have offered us six episodes of Unforgotten, and each week your opinion on what exactly happened 39 years ago will change. Who you think is guilty will change. What you think each of the secrets are will change, and with surprises at every turn Unforgotten is easily one of ITV's strongest dramas this year.