With the start of its fourth season another ratings hit, Unforgotten has firmly embedded itself in the nation’s affections. A police drama with an emphasis on cold cases, it’s cunningly constructed as a jigsaw puzzle that draws in strands over the course of each series, gathering apparently unconnected people who are all linked to a past crime. At its heart is the relationship between detectives Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and Sunil ‘Sunny’ Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar), but the structure also takes us into the lives of a set of characters separated by time and geography.
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With this comes a mix of locations around the UK, each season providing a variety of backdrops from town to country. Creator and writer Chris Lang has admitted in the past that he bases his storylines on the places he most wants to visit, but, regardless of motive, Unforgotten really delivers on vicarious travel. Here’s our guide to the highlights of season four’s selection.
Greenwich
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SOUTHALL
Right from the start, the outskirts of London have provided Unforgotten with many of its locations. Though it’s kept low key, this is the home of the show. Season two, in particular, filmed extensively in several areas of the capital, including Camden, Islington and Lambeth, for scenes set in London as well as Glasgow, Oxford and Salisbury. Kingston upon Thames County Hall was also used as a courtroom supposedly in Brighton.
For season four, shooting took place in Greenwich and Tower Hamlets to the east but focused particularly on the West London area of Southall. This is where one of the lead characters, Ram Sidhu (Phaldut Sharma) lives. In episode one, we see him on the busy Broadway visiting the family clothes business.
Buxton
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BUXTON
We move to the wide-open spaces of the Peak District to meet another character, Fiona Grayson (Liz White). In this Derbyshire town, we see Grayson and her husband setting up their business in Market Square, and there’s plenty of opportunity to take in the hills and dales of this famous beauty spot, including aerial shots of nearby Fairfield, Winnats Pass and, in later episodes, Castleton.
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CAMBRIDGE
For the scenes with Liz Baildon (Susan Lynch), we’re amid the spires and streets of Cambridge. We watch her cycle over Garret Hostel Bridge, in sight of Trinity Bridge, then through The Backs, with King’s College Chapel looming behind her. Parts of later episodes were also shot in St John’s College, a little further along the River Cam.
Rochester
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ROCHESTER
Businessman with a past Dean Barton (Andy Nyman) takes us to Kent and the town of Rochester. Here we see the vast medieval cathedral, as well as the riverside Medway Towns Rowing Club. Shooting also took place nearby in Strood.
Southwark Bridge
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SEASONS ONE TO THREE
Previous seasons have roamed around the country just like this one. For the first series, filming took place in Southend and Liverpool, while a key scene was placed on Southwark Bridge in South London. For season two, much time was spent in Brighton, on the famous pier and along the seafront on Marine Parade, as well as historic Winchester and the Cotswolds. Season three, meanwhile, took us to Lymington in Hampshire, where this town on the edge of the New Forest stood in for the fictional Middenham. Characters were also placed in Bristol, where we saw the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Ashton Court, and Norfolk, where King’s Lynn and Hunstanton provided backdrops from beach to town.
The fourth season of ‘Unforgotten’ began screening on ITV on Mondays at 9pm on 22 February 2021. It’s also available to stream on ITV Hub.
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