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'I'd make a good detective'

'I'd make a good detective'

Sanjeev Bhaskar on a comic catchphrase, his “drama school” and sleuthing spouse

Unforgotten's Sunny Khan and Jess James both holding up their police identification to camera on the street, with a house and cars behind them.

Mainstreet for ITV and ITVX

Amy Raphael

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What’s it like returning as DI Sunil “Sunny” Khan for the sixth series of Unforgotten?

Joyous! The fact that writer Chris Lang and director Andy Wilson have worked on every single episode for the last decade really shows: the continuity and stability help make it a happy, inclusive set. The guest actors certainly seem to love working on the show – this series we have Victoria Hamilton, MyAnna Buring and Michele Dotrice, who of course played Betty Spencer in [hit 1970s sitcom] Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em. I had to really fight the urge to say, “Ooh, Betty!”

Unforgotten's Sunny Khan and Jess James both holding up their police identification to camera on the street, with a house and cars behind them.

Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunny Khan and Sinéad Keenan as DCI Jess James in Unforgotten. Mainstreet for ITV and ITVX

Were you pleased that this series tackles issues like immigration, the environment and Brexit?

Of course – Chris is an empathetic writer who always addresses key issues. It’s one of the things that, for me, makes it a great show – despite me being in it! There are always four disparate people who have some sort of connection and there’s always an underlying theme, be it friendship, justice or divisive issues.

Do you miss Nicola Walker, who played Jess’s predecessor, DCI Cassie Stuart?

Yes, I do. It’s a weird one. I don’t miss Cassie, but I miss Nicola. At the same time, Nicola and I text and talk all the time. That friendship is one of the best things to come out of Unforgotten. When I started on the series in 2015, I came from comedy and drama wasn’t my area of expertise. Nicola was, in many ways, my drama school. We were lucky with Nicola and now we’re lucky with Sinéad, who’s got a different energy but is really fantastic.

Sinead Keenan as DCI Jessica James and Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunny Khan in Unforgotten standing under a bridge

Sinéad Keenan as DCI Jessica James and Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunny Khan in Unforgotten. Mainstreet for ITV

Your wife, Meera Syal, plays a caterer turned sleuth in Mrs Sidhu Investigates. Do you discuss each other’s scripts?

I tell her nothing about Unforgotten, so she watches it along with everyone else and I never give anything away. She says, “Oh, he did it!” and I retain my poker face. I try to work out whodunnit when I read Chris’s scripts – I’ve got into the habit of linking clues, so I think I’d now make a good detective.

Are you signed up for more series of Unforgotten?

If it’s recommissioned, which is decided when it goes out, I would love to.

Finally, the costume department famously puts random things in Sunny’s backpack. Can you tell us what might be in there this series?

Well, previous items included a giant metal flamingo, a wooden Noah’s ark including all the animals, fake leopardskin stilettos, a hammock and a cocktail set – but you’ll have to look on my social media pages to see what Sunny is carrying around in each new episode of this series!

Authors

Amy Raphael

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