The Bay Season 3: Release date, filming locations and who’s replacing Morven Christie – everything you need to know

Fans of ITV crime drama The Bay will be delighted to know that a third season is returning to our screens in the New Year.

Series 3 comes as the second series of the show averaged 7.5 million viewers.

The first series was sold to more than 100 territories across the world and achieved consolidated audiences of 7 million viewers.

Find out who’s leading the new show and everything you need to know…

What is The Bay season 3 about?

DS Townsend has her work cut out when she finds a body in the bay on her first day in the job.

In a bid to solve the mystery behind the death of a young boxer named Saif, she needs to really understand a complicated and grieving family.

As well as trying to prove herself in her new job and help the family, she struggles to get her own family members settled in Morecambe.

Plus, a new series means a new family to get to know. This year it's the Rahman family, with Rina Mahoney (Emmerdale) playing the mum, Mariam. She's joined in Morcambe by here two sons, Adnan, played by Michael Karim (The Tower) and Jamal, played by Nadeem Islam (Small World). 

Gary Lewis (Gangs of New York) plays the owner of a local boxing gym, where he was a mentor to Mariam's eldest son, Saif, before he's found dead in the bay. 

Where is The Bay filmed?

Police drama The Bay is both set and filmed in the Lancashire coastal town of Morecambe.

The setting was inspired by the view from writer Daragh Carville's window, and, says executive producer Catherine Oldfield, the fact that the bay had never been seen in TV drama.

“No one’s ever set a drama there and it is an exceptionally beautiful place," Oldfield explained when the first series of The Bay aired.

"When (writer Daragh Carville) said it was set in Morecambe, which he can see out of his writing room on the top of a hill in Lancashire, where he lives, it was a no-brainer. There was no point looking anywhere else. Morecambe was it.”

Read more about the Morecambe filming locations of The Bay

Who's in the cast, and who's replacing Morven Christie?

Morven Christie – aka DC Lisa Armstrong - has decided to leave the show, which is written by award-winning writer and playwright Daragh Carville.

She will be replaced by Cobra star Marsha Thomason, who will play Morecambe CID’s new family liaison officer DS Jenn Townsend.

Marsha has also previously appeared in Lost, Safe House and Disney’s The Haunted Mansion.

Daniel Ryan (DI Tony Manning), Erin Shanagher (Sgt Karen Hobson), Thomas Law (DC Eddie Martin) and Andrew Dowbiggin (DS James Clarke) all reprise their roles in the new series.

Watch the trailer for The Bay series 3

When will The Bay series 3 air?

The Bay Series 3 airs on ITV on Wednesday 12 January 2022 at 9pm. It's available to watch in full on ITV Hub and BritBox.

Watch The Bay seasons 1 and 2 on BritBox.