Waking the Dead to return as a BBC Radio 4 drama
Original stars Claire Goose, Sue Johnston, Holly Aird and Wil Johnson are reuniting for a prequel series
Hit crime drama Waking the Dead is to return for a prequel series on Radio 4, seven years after it came to an end on BBC1.
The five-parter has been penned by creator Barbara Machin and will reunite original stars Sue Johnston, Holly Aird, Claire Goose and Wil Johnson for a new case set in 1984.
Trevor Eve will not feature, although his character Peter Boyd will be referenced in a story that charts how the Cold Case Unit first came together.
Entitled The Unforgiven, the Waking the Dead revival finds a serial killer-rapist launching a huge appeal and claiming police corruption, pointing the finger at a young DC Peter Boyd and implicating scientist Frankie Wharton (Aird).
With the clock ticking, the police have just five days to save their necks and stop the killer's acquittal. Boyd is forced to disappear, while profiler Grace (Johnston), Spencer (Johnson) and Mel (Goose) join Frankie to clear their names.
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Waking the Dead originally ran for nine series between 2000 and 2011, with ratings often topping nine million viewers. However, spin-off series The Body Farm - starring Tara Fitzgerald - flopped and was axed after just one series.
The Unforgiven will be stripped across the week beginning 5 March 2018, with each episode airing at 2.15pm on BBC Radio 4.
