Unforgotten's Sinead Keenan almost turned down chance to replace Nicola Walker

22 February 2023 , 20:10

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Unforgotten's Sinead Keenan almost turned down chance to replace Nicola Walker

Sinéad Keenan has said how she almost turned down the chance to replace Nicola Walker in hit ITV show Unforgotten.

The Irish actor, 45, stars alongside Sanjeev Bhaskar in the ITV show's fifth series as new arrival DCI Jessica 'Jessie' James.

She replaces Walker who bowed out of the ITV series in 2021 after six years as DCI Cassie Stuart after being killed-off.

She said: "I got a phone call from from my agent to say that people from Unforgotten have been on the phone and they want to give the script to three actors - you're one of them, would I read it.

"I said, 'Thank you very much, no….who's going to be the gobsh*** to follow Nicola Walker.'"

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Sinead Keenan (left), pictured alongside Sanjeev Bhaskar (right), joined the cast of Unforgotten for its upcoming fifth series (ITV/Mainstreet)

But she admitted her agent persisted and made her read it.

"The story was so compelling and then it was a no brainer," she continued.

Asked if she thought about contacting Nicola, she said: "No, maybe I should have done that. My initial reaction was that she's so brilliant, you kind of almost have to forget about her because you're not going to [be her]

"I am a different person and different actor and it’s a different character so that's it."

She replaces former cast member Nicola Walker (ITV)

Bhaskar, who plays DI Sunil 'Sunny' Khan, said it was a "Incredibly bold" decision to kill off Walker's character.

He revealed: "People on social media did say to me 'why couldn't she retire and gone lived with her boyfriend and live a nice life' and that's because life is really horrible sometimes.

"But if you're being brutally honest creatively, sometimes you have to go that's the right thing for that to happen for that particular character.

Nicola left the show in 2021 (ITV)

"I think with creator Chris Lang and Nicola, I think they made an incredibly bold decision because each of them could of decided she can retire and then three years later she can come out of retirement for one last case by which point Sunny has a drinking problem. So it's very bold and very honest."

Unforgotten is on Monday from 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

Tom Bryant