The new series of hit crime drama The Bay will air on ITV1 early in the new year, it has been confirmed.
Series 5 of the popular show filmed in Morecambe will be screened some time between January and March, with an exact air date still to be announced.
Since the first series aired in 2019, the police drama has grown in popularity with millions of TV viewers getting to see the town on screen.
The plot of the new series will centre around 23-year-old university student Hannah, who is found dead on the edge of docks, giving Morecambe's crime investigation team another case to solve.
Lead character Jenn Townsend, who is returning to work following the death of her father, pushes aside her own grief to support Hannah’s bitterly divided family.
Marsha Thomason returns as Morecambe’s Family Liaison Officer DS Jenn Townsend alongside cast regulars Daniel Ryan, Erin Shanagher and Andrew Dowbiggin.
Olwen May (Happy Valley, Trying) joins the team, Barry Sloane returns as Chris Fischer, Georgia Scholes plays Chris’s daughter Erin, and David Carpenter and Emme Hayes return as Conor and Maddie, Jenn’s children, while Suzanne Packer (Casualty, Keeping Faith) joins as Jenn’s mum Anne Townsend.
The first episode of the new series was premiered earlier this month at Reel Cinema as part of the first Morecambe Film and TV Festival.
Cast members Dan Ryan, Georgia Scholes, David Carpenter and Andrew Dowbiggin attended, as did writer, Lancaster-based Daragh Carville.
Read more: Beyond Radio presenters quiz the stars at first Morecambe Film and TV Festival - Beyond Radio
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: The Bay actor Dan Ryan speaks of his love for Morecambe - Beyond Radio