SECRETS AND LIES (UNFORGOTTEN, SERIES 3)

There is a moment in the third series of 'Unforgotten' where you fear Chris Lang's cold case series might finally go off the rails.

The police procedural, whose no frills approach has reaped dividends for ITV in the previous two series, loses a significant character in what appears to be a classic ratings grab.

However in true 'Unforgotten' tradition, Lang's series doesn't lose the plot.

Somehow it manages to keep its focus on its greatest strength - depicting diligent police work.

The series begins with the discovery of the remains of a female by construction workers on a motorway.

Nicola Walker's DCI Cassie Stuart and Sanjeev Bhaskar's DI Sunny Khan are quick on the scene and, before you know it, forensics have established they have the remains of a young woman who appears to have had a titanium surgical plate on her arm.

Khan's enquiries establish the plate could date as far back as 1991 and it appears to have been foreign made in Greek Cyprus.

Trawling through the records, the duo begin the difficult process of contacting the families of missing young women since the 1990s over the phone to see if any of them had a surgical plate.

Their hard work pays off, with Bronagh Waugh's Jessica Reid revealing her twin sister Hayley had a plate attached to a fractured wrist - a fact confirmed by her distraught mum, Brid Brennan's Suzanne.

The disappearance of Hayley Reid was a prominent case, given she vanished on New Year's Day 2000.

Stuart, Khan and their team head to the Hampshire town of Middenham and when word leaks out that Hayley's remains have been found, it triggers a media frenzy.

However it also attracts ignorant online commentary including from Tori Allen-Martin's blogger Sandra Rayworth who initially writes an insensitive article attacking the Reids.

A chat with Alastair Mackenzie's former DCI John Bentley reveals time in the original investigation was wasted on the theory that Hayley had run away.

Bentley also confirms that her boyfriend, Gerald Kyd's Adrian Mullery was an initial suspect but that line of enquiry yielded nothing that could lead to him being charged 

However, when a friend of Hayley's approaches Cassie and Sunny and reveals the murder victim subbed for her in her job cleaning holiday cottages rented around the Millennium, it opens up a whole new line of investigation.

Cassie's hunch that it is worth looking at those who rented holiday homes in the area results in the investigation increasingly focusing on four friends and their families. 

Alex Jennings' unflappable GP, Dr Tim Finch is currently the subject of a General Medical Council hearing in Manchester, facing allegations that he threatened an elderly patient with dementia.

Cool and detached, he easily brushes off the allegations and enjoys a warm relationship with his daughters, Amanda Root's Carol Finch.

Neil Morrissey's salesman Pete Carr is struggling at work and flirts with defrauding a client.

The investigation unearths some uncomfortable truths about his past life in Hong Kong.

Kevin McNally's broadcaster James Hollis hosts a popular TV quiz show for teenagers and is a dead ringer for the BBC newsreader Huw Edwards.

However he has a messy relationship with his first wife, Sara Stewart's Mel Hollis who has been writing a novel about their marriage and his troubled son, Tom Rhys Harries' Elliot. 

James Fleet's softly spoken artist Chris Lowe is a former high flying advertising executive he lost it all and makes a living selling paintings.

He lives in a camper van with his dog but has fallen for Sasha Behar's refugee Jamila Faruk whose young son he teaches art.

As Stuart and Khan begin to train their focus on the former friends, the four of them band together to get their story straight 

But with Cassie also juggling concerns about her father Peter Egan's Martin's relationship and about his memory and Sunny and her also tentatively embarking on relationships, will the strain in their personal lives start to impact on their ability to crack the case?

Once again, Lang and director Andy Wilson's series gets the basics right with a script that allows the audience to follow the evidence without veering into the hysterical or sensational.

With the solid foundation of Lang's screenplay, Wilson draws out reliably strong performances from Walker and Bhaskar as Cassie and Sunny are tested like never before personally and professionally.

Walker and Bhaskar's characters have been allowed to develop naturally over three series without resorting to histrionics.

But they have also been allowed to become endearingly fallible.

They are once again ably supported by Jordan Long, Lewis Reeves and Carolina Main as DCs Murray Boulting, Jake Collier and Fran Lingley.

Peter Egan also continues to gel well with Walker, as Martin and Cassie's father daughter relationship comes under strain.

Jassa Ahluwalia briefly appears on Facetime as Cassie's son Adam who is in the US but there is a hint that their relationship is also being tested.

However Wilson also knows its other great strength is the quality of the guest performances and Series 3 does not disappoint.

Jennings brings real cunning to the role of Dr Finch, while Fleet imbues Chris Lowe with a real vulnerability.

McNally skilfully mixes surface charm with a degree of pomposity and a degree of desperation as a worried father of a wayward son, while Morrissey is very effective as a father with his neck barely above water.

Stewart is excellent as Hollis' angry estranged wife and Rhys Harries does well in the role of a troubled son.

Behar is effective as a refugee widow who is taken aback by Lowe's lavishing of attention and affection on her and her young son.

Indra Ove impresses as Pete Carr's increasingly frustrated wife Maria, while Alastair Mackenzie opens up a romantic possibility for Cassie.

Tori Allen-Martin is also effective as a blogger desperately trying to build a career, while Siobhan Redmond also shines as Tim Finch's derided ex-wife.

Lucinda Dryzek and Jo Herbert are also note perfect as Finch's daughters 

The other great strength of 'Unforgotten' over its three series is its sensitivity towards the murder victims and their relatives.

Bronagh Waugh is particularly good as Hayley Reid's grieving twin sister Jessica and Brid Brennan is also believable as her distraught mum Suzanne.

Three series in and 'Unforgotten' is showing little signs of wear and tear.

Stuart and Khan remain a well matched duo and with the cracks beginning to show in Cassie, in particular, they are becoming an even more fascinating detective pairing.

The alchemy works and provided Lang, Wilson, Walker or Bhaskar don't get too bored, this is a series that could just run and run.

Long may it continue.

(Series three of 'Unforgotten' was broadcast on ITV on July 15-August 19, 2018)