The Bay season 5 teases gripping new storyline as filming begins

Marsha Thomason as DS Jenn Townsend for The Bay season 4
Marsha Thomason will reprise her role as DS Jenn Townsend. (Image credit: Jonathan Birch / © Tall Story Pictures 2023/ITV)

The Bay season 5 has entered production with ITV confirming some exciting new details about the upcoming crime series.

Once again, Marsha Thomason reprises her role as Morecambe MIU’s Family Liaison Officer, DS Jenn Townsend, and she's got a great supporting cast of regulars including Daniel Ryan, Erin Shanagher, and Andrew Dowbiggin. 

While it's too early to confirm an exact release date, ITV has revealed there's a brand new story at the centre of season 5, following the death of a university student while Jenn is dealing with her own personal grief.

Award-winning writer and playwright Daragh Carville returns as co-creator and writer and has penned a new story for the upcoming series.

Teasing the plot of The Bay season 5, ITV said: "When 23-year-old university student, Hannah, is found dead on the edge of the docks, Morecambe’s MIU team has another case to solve. Jenn, who is returning to work following the death of her father, pushes aside her own grief to support Hannah’s bitterly divided family.

"With the stakes of the investigation high, Jenn and the team dig deeper into the case, they uncover hidden friendships and secret liaisons as the anger rises in the student community."

They added: "As intensity increases and the team peels back the complicated layers of Hannah’s life and the secrets within it, Jenn must reconcile her personal and professional struggles as she grapples to solve the case, come to terms with her own loss, and build bridges with her family."

The main cast of The Bay season 4

The main cast of The Bay season 4, which aired earlier this year. (Image credit: ITV/Jonathan Birch / © Tall Story Pictures 2023)

In addition to this, a supporting guest cast includes Leanne Best (Cold Feet), Neil Maskell (Kill List), David Troughton (New Tricks), Stephen Wight (Screw) and Ceallach Spellman (White Lines), so there's lots for fans to look forward to when the series returns.

Speaking about the upcoming episodes, Catherine Oldfield, Creative Director of Tall Story Pictures and Executive Producer of The Bay said, “We are thrilled to be coming back to our beloved Morecambe for another series. 

"Daragh has written yet another captivating and emotional series which we know will enthral The Bay fans. We are so excited to start filming with Marsha, Dan and the team." 

The Bay season 5 will return to ITV. Previous seasons are available via ITVX.

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Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Now she works for our sister site TechRadar in the same role. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress