Here’s when the fourth series of Morecambe ITV drama The Bay will hit your TV screens

ITV has said an exact date for the opening episode will be confirmed in due course.

The Bay is co-created and written by award-winning Lancaster writer and playwright Daragh Carville.

Filming for the new season began last year, and many local residents spotted actors and TV crews out and about in the Morecambe area.

The fourth series sees Marsha Thomason reprise her role as Morecambe CID’s Family Liaison Officer, DS Jenn Townsend.

She stars alongside series regulars Daniel Ryan, Erin Shanagher, Thomas Law and Andrew Dowbiggin.

The series also sees the return of Barry Sloane, Georgia Scholes, David Carpenter and Emme Haynes.

When young mum of four, Beth Metcalf, dies in what seems to be a targeted attack, Morecambe’s team are called to the scene.

Jenn immediately realises this shattered family will need every support available to them.

Bereft husband Dean finds himself at sea. Numb from shock and completely unprepared for being the sole carer to his four children he struggles at every turn - unable to process what’s happened.

As Jenn and the team dig deeper into the case, they discover secrets and lies lurk beneath every surface

Joining the new series as guest cast are Joe Armstrong as Dean Metcalf, Claire Goose playing Chris Fischer’s ex-wife Jacqui, along with Ian Puleston-Davies, Karl Davies and Christopher Coghill .

Catherine Oldfield, creative director of Tall Story Pictures and executive producer of The Bay, said: “Marsha’s arrival in series three elevated The Bay yet again and Daragh has delivered another thrilling story for our hugely talented cast to get stuck into. We can’t wait to bring it to life once again set against the backdrop of Morecambe’s beautiful eerie skies and shore.”

The Bay is commissioned for ITV by head of drama Polly Hill, who said: “The Bay continues to captivate viewers and is a hugely successful drama for ITV, both on linear transmission and the ITV Hub.

"Marsha Thomason's casting in the last series was inspired, and Daragh Carville and the Tall Story Pictures team once again deliver a plot full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing to the end, whilst all set again the dramatic coastline of Morecambe, with its glorious sea and skyscapes."