Unforgotten viewers thrilled after spotting FOUR ex-EastEnders stars in gripping new series

UNFORGOTTEN fans relished in the show’s return after three seasons and were in for an extra treat after spotting a slew of soap stars.

Series four of the compelling police drama on ITV starring Nicola Walker returned tonight and left viewers on the edge of their seats.

The cast sees the return of the main characters DS Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) and DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker).

But it was some familiar faces from other beloved shows that got fans talking.

The eagle-eyed fans spotted at least four former EastEnders stars, including Lucy Speed who played Natalie Evans on the BBC soap.

Other familiar faces included, Indira Joshi, Phaldut Sharma and Sheila Hancock.

The detective drama star Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nicola Walker

“I love spotting former soap actors in ITV dramas. The Bay was full of them and now #Unforgotten has Barry’s first wife from EastEnders!” wrote one Twitter user.

Another added: “At least four Eastenders alums in this series of #Unforgotten Lucy Speed, Indira Joshi, Phaldut Sharma and Sheila Hancock. UnforgottenITV.”

Phaldut Sharma stars in the fourth season of Unforgotten and played AJ Jahangir on EastEnders

And a third said: “I’ve just remembered Indira Joshi was playing Phadult Sharma’s Mum in #Unforgotten tonight too. She played Mariam Ahmed in #EastEnders recently too. Complete ‘Enders overload.”

Filming for the news series began in January 2020, but shooting was suspended in March due to the lockdown enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fans were also thrilled to see Indira Joshi on the beloved ITV drama

Lucy Speed played Natalie Evans on EastEnders

In the series’ opening episode, the team discovers a dismembered body in a scrap metal yard that appears to have been stored in a domestic freezer for 30 years.

Nicola said the break in filming actually helped create the right atmosphere to bring back DCI Cassie Stuart.

“I am sure everyone feels this… you come back to a job and you think ‘I don’t know if I can still do this.’ It is a really strange feeling,” she explained.

“And ironically that was fine for me because that is exactly where Cassie is this year, which struck me as rather funny. It was perfect for Cassie because she doesn’t know if she can do it anymore and on a very real level I wasn’t sure that I could either. So it worked in my favour rather than against me.”