Sanjeev Bhaskar tells all as ITV’S Unforgotten reaches its shock finale
sanjeev Bhaskar on the gripping finale to Unforgotten...
After five weeks of trying to untangle a web of secrets and lies surrounding the historic murder of teenager Hayley Reid, viewers will finally discover whodunit this week, as the third series of Unforgotten reaches its dramatic conclusion.
The investigation into the murder of Hayley, who vanished on New Year’s Eve 1999 soon led DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and DI Sunil ‘Sunny’ Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) to four men who’d been friends since school: game show host James
Hollis (Pirates of the Caribbean’s Kevin Mcnally), Dr Tim Finch
(The Crown’s Alex Jennings), Chris Lowe (The Vicar of Dibley’s James Fleet) and Pete Carr (The Good Karma Hospital’s Neil Morrissey) – who was fatally stabbed by a vigilante mid-way through this series, after details of the case appeared on social media.
Of course, this series of Unforgotten has also given us a twin sister, some bitter ex-wives and a troubled, cross-dressing son – any one of them could know what really happened to Hayley!
Before all is revealed, here in an exclusive interview with TV Times, Sanjeev, 54, looks back on the story so far and previews the finale…
How has this series compared to the previous two? and what’s it been like working opposite the four actors playing the main suspects?
It’s been a joyous experience. When Nicola and I have been interviewing these ‘people of interest’ it’s like having a front row seat at the theatre. You’re two feet away from people doing fantastic, extraordinary acting, which is so layered. Nicola and I would film a scene with either Alex or Kevin or James or Neil and say, in front of them, ‘He’s good, isn’t he?’ It’s been a real privilege.
Have you been following fan theories online about who may have killed Hayley?
Yes, I have. Following all of the various thoughts, guesses and opinions on social media, on Twitter particularly, has been really interesting. People seem genuinely torn between various characters. you obviously know ‘whodunit’ now – but if you were a viewer, who would your money be on?
At this stage, it really could be anyone! We’ve been looking closely at the four men, but there are some real grey areas as well surrounding some of their ex-wives and James’ son Eliot. It could be that a person or some people killed Hayley and other people covered it up. There’s also that element of other people being guilty of a greater crime, rather than just a specific crime. As you can tell, I’m being utterly non-committal!
does your wife, the Split star Meera syal, have her own theories on the outcome?
She has… and I have to remain absolutely poker-faced as she lists all the reasons why each person could have killed Hayley. She thinks homeless Chris may have done it at a time in his life when he was more ill; she thinks game show host James has got the most to lose, so it must be him, and she thinks doctor Tim looks a little bit too innocent, so maybe he’s involved in some way. Meera goes through every potential suspect and I just sit there, like a blank wall, staring back at her and just nodding. I’m not giving anything away!
How much do you enjoy working with nicola walker?
There’s nothing I don’t enjoy; she’s a brilliant actress and one of the most instinctive people I’ve ever worked with. After filming the very first scene we did on the first series, I felt like I’d known Nicola for years – not for just an hour! We’ve built on that and now she’s a really good friend.
we’ve seen more of sunny’s personal life this series, while cassie has been balancing the struggles of the job with problems at home. could this mean they both turn their back on policing?
It could… or it could not. Both those options are a possibility. They work very hard and I really don’t know how our police keep a balanced life while having to deal with the grim, dark end of reality. If Cassie and Sunny give up policing, maybe they could open a shop together?! Whatever happens, I really like these characters, I love working with Nicola and I love Chris Lang’s writing, so I’d do another series of Unforgotten in a heartbeat.
is previewed on pages 44-45