A changing of the guard was announced on ITV’s The Bay back in February, with Morven Christie, who starred in the crime drama as DS Lisa Armstrong, deciding to move on to pastures new.
“She’s absolutely at the heart of what it is and she’s been amazing,” show creator Daragh Carville told Metro.co.uk. “I’ve loved writing for her and I’ve loved the character of Lisa, so I’m really sad to see her go.
“Morven’s going to go on to conquer the world and do fantastic things because she’s brilliant, but I’m really excited to be writing for the new character, for Marsha [Thomason].”
COBRA star Thomason is playing Morecambe CID’s shiny new Family Liaison Officer DS Jenn Townsend in the show’s upcoming third season.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press about the contrast between Lisa and Jenn, Carville said: “Lisa was very much rooted in the world of The Bay and the world of Morecambe; that’s where she lived her whole life. So I knew our new character should be not like that, she shouldn’t be rooted there.
“Jenn, she’s really different from Lisa. Jenn is kind of empathetic to a fault, and I think she does find it harder to kind of… leave work at work. She’s got a family of her own and she’s in a new relationship, and she’s moved to this new place; she’s got a new job, so there’s a lot of reinvention going on. She’s a breath of fresh air really.”
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Thomason went on to discuss what viewers can expect from her character: “Jenn is super nervous on her first day. She’s lost confidence in her ability, but she’s very good at her job, even though right now she’s in a bit of a crisis when we meet her. So when she gets straight to work, she’s just on it and focused, and getting it done. She doesn’t have to think too hard about that, it comes naturally to her.
“She’s a very empathetic person and so it’s a crazy first day, but she just gets on with it. It’s when she has those moments alone that we see maybe things aren’t quite as they seem with her. There’s her work face, and then her private face.”
And this is what Jenn will be confronted by in her first outing as part of the Morecambe force.
According to the official synopsis, 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. While she’s eager to give the family answers, she also needs to prove herself as the team’s newest recruit.
“The pressure is multiplied when her new blended family struggle to settle in Morecambe, proving to Jenn that a fresh start might not be as simple as moving to a different town.”
There isn’t currently a release date for The Bay season three. Watch this space for updates.
Additional quotes from Laura Denby.
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