The co-creator and writer of The Bay, Daragh Carville, has opened up about how he felt about Morven Christie’s departure from the show, expressing his excitement for the future of the drama with Marsha Thomason as the new lead.
Later this month, the ITV programme is set to return for series 3, transporting viewers back to Morecambe Bay for a new, intriguing case.
The upcoming episodes will follow DS Jenn Townsend (Marsha) when she moves to the area with her children and partner, investigating the death of a young boxer while getting to grips with starting a new job as a FLO (family liaison officer) in the police force.
Ahead of the crime drama’s return, members of the cast and crew took part in a press event attended by Metro.co.uk and other media, with Daragh saying he’s ‘thrilled’ that the show is back.
Speaking about Morven’s departure, having played the lead character DS Lisa Armstrong in the first two seasons, he said: ‘Obviously it was a big change when we learned that Morven was moving on.
‘There was a huge shift and personally I felt it was very sad because she’s so brilliant in this show in series one and two, she brought so much to that character and I loved writing for her, for Lisa.’
Nonetheless, he acknowledged that ‘at the same time, it was kind of an opportunity to reinvent things and to refresh the show and to see what else we could do with this world and with these stories’.
He explained that while it was a ‘shame’ for Morven to leave the cast, it was ‘really exciting to welcome Marsha’ onto the drama.
While Marsha’s character, Jenn, is a new character in her own right, she also shares some characteristics with Lisa.
Daragh explained that FLOs need to have certain attributes in order to carry out their jobs effectively, including being ‘emotionally empathetic and sensitive’, while also having a ‘degree of toughness’, which is where the similarities can be seen.
The screenwriter said that they knew they wanted Marsha for the lead role ‘as soon as we saw her’, describing the casting choice as ‘really obvious’.
Marsha chimed in to express her gratitude, saying: ‘As an actor, it’s so nice to hear that, because we audition all the time and we’re just throwing stuff at the wall. So it’s so nice when you hear somebody say, “We saw the tape and it was you.” Because, so often it isn’t us. So that’s really nice, thanks Daragh.’
Marsha, who was already booked to play Jenn when the second series aired, stressed that having been in the industry ‘a very long time’, she has ‘never been the lead of anything’.
‘I’m always around number three or four, which by the way is lovely, but I tell you what’s really nice – number one!’ she said.
‘This is the best role I’ve ever played, honestly. It gave me the opportunity to be in almost every scene and to follow Jenn in her work life and in her personal life. I was just ready for this challenge and this opportunity so I was excited about that.’
The Bay returns with the new series on Wednesday January 12 at 9pm.
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