ITV fans have days to binge four seasons of ‘absolutely brilliant’ crime drama

The Bay is returning for a fifth season (Picture: ITV/Jonny Birch)

ITV viewers have just days to catch up with four seasons of a highly-rated crime and police drama before it returns for its fifth season.

The Bay, which began in March 2019, has starred Morven Christie and Marsha Thomason as detectives and family liaison officers in the series.

Set in Morecambe, from which the series’ name is derived, the series initially followed an investigation into two missing teenagers from the Lancashire town.

The show now follows murder mysteries around Morecambe, and has continued to be watched by audiences of up to six million people.

Each season has so far consisted of six episodes and the fifth season will be no different, with a weekly release schedule also expected to follow suit with previous seasons.

And ITV has now confirmed that a fifth season of the show will begin on Sunday, March 2, 2025, with the next episode released at 9pm that day.

Editorial use only Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/Jed Knight/REX (12652555p) Marsha Thomason as DS Jenn Townsend 'The Bay' TV Show, Series 3, Episode 1, UK - 12 Jan 2022 — Marsha Thomason took over the lead role in season three (Picture: ITV/Jed Knight/REX)

The new series will see Marsha Thomason continue in her role as DS Jenn Townsend – Marsha took over from Morven for the show’s third season in 2022.

Returning cast members include Daniel Ryan as Tony Manning, Erin Shanagher and as Karen Hobson, and Andrew Dowbiggin as James Clarke.

Barry Sloane is also staying on as Chris Fischer, Georgia Scholes will continue on the series in the role of Erin Fischer, while David Carpenter and Emme Haynes will still play Jenn’s children Conor and Maddie.

New faces include Happy Valley star Olwen May and Northern Irish actress Taya Lynne O’Neill who played Mary Quinn in the hit comedy series Derry Girls.

TELEVISION PROGRAMME: THE BAY MORVEN CHRISTIE as Lisa Armstrong When Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong is assigned to a missing persons investigation, at first it seems like any other. As a Family Liaison Officer, she's trained never to get emotionally involved. But there's something very different about this particular case. With horror Lisa realises she's got a personal connection with this family; one that could compromise her and the investigation. As she grapples to get justice for the grieving family, Lisa discovers it could come at a cost. — Morven Christie left the series after two seasons in 2021 (Picture: ITV/Ben Blackall)

On Facebook, Tracey Bower said, ‘Awesome [news]. Hope all episodes are available on ITVX,’ while Alan Moore was excited at the new release day: ‘It’s moved to Sunday instead of Wednesday, I will be watching it – love this show!’

Some fans had already been lucky enough to see the fifth season via Britbox in the USA and Canada, where episodes are already available, despite not being available in the UK yet.

Those who had seen the next six episodes were happy with the direction of the show, with Katrina Fawcett saying: ‘Watched all five seasons over the week, it’s absolutely brilliant including new season five.’

THE BAY When Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong is assigned to a missing persons investigation, at first it seems like any other. As a Family Liaison Officer, she's trained never to get emotionally involved. But there???s something very different about this particular case. With horror Lisa realises she's got a personal connection with this family; one that could compromise her and the investigation. As she grapples to get justice for the grieving family, Lisa discovers it could come at a cost. IMOGEN KING as Abbie Armstrong, MORVEN CHRISTIE as Lisa Armstrong and ART PARKINSON as Rob Armstrong — The Bay will now go out on Sunday nights instead of Wednesdays (Picture: ITV/Ben Blackall)

THE BAY | SERIES 3 DS Townsend is immediately thrown into the deep end when a body is found in the bay on her first day in the job. She must get under the skin of a grieving and complicated family if she has any chance of solving the premature death of an aspiring young boxer. Photographer: Ben Blackall / ? Tall Story Pictures 2021 MARSHA THOMASON as DS Jenn Townsend — ‘Love this show, looking forward to this series, and hopefully many more.’ (Picture: ITV/Ben Blackall)

Teresa O’Hagen said she was excited to see how the series continued: ‘Love this show, looking forward to this series, and hopefully many more.’

Talking about the series with Metro in 2023, Marsha explained how her character has evolved since joining the series in season three.

‘When we first met Jen last series, she was having a crisis of confidence. She didn’t trust herself anymore. Something had happened and she just didn’t trust her ability to do her job well.

‘Whereas she’s worked through that and so now we find her much more confident. She’s comfortable at home, the children are getting along and things are better there. They’ve found their flow.’

Watch The Bay on ITVX. New episodes available on ITV and ITVX from March 2, 2025.

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