'The Bay': Where is the ITV crime drama filmed?

The Bay is back for a third series, and while its lead character may have changed, one thing remains the same - its coastal setting.

ITV's detective drama draws on the dramatic backdrop of the UK coastline to add to the show's atmosphere, even giving its name to the series.

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Find out more about where The Bay was filmed and why it was chosen.

Where is The Bay set and filmed?

The location of the crime drama is hugely important to the series, which is even called after its setting.

The Bay is set and filmed in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe, which, like many other UK coastal towns, has a faded grandeur after its glory days as a holiday resort.

It lends the series a grittiness which is perfect for the murder investigations it features, while also providing plenty of opportunities for moody staring out to sea as the police consider their cases.

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Series one made heavy used of the actual beach, where a body was found, and there are echoes of that storyline again in series three which began with new character DS Jenn Townsend (Marsha Thomason) being assigned to a case of yet another body found in the bay on her first day in the job.

The three series have covered various different areas of Morecambe, from a town centre housing estate to an affluent suburb, and the police station scenes were filmed inside a disused police station in Manchester.

Why was Morecambe chosen as the filming location?

Writer Daragh Carville explained to Radio Times ahead of season one why Morecambe held so much significance for him.

He said: "Morecambe’s right on our doorstep, and when our kids were young we’d bring them to Morecambe and it was a place that I always liked."

Carville added: "One of the reasons I wanted to write this story and to set it there was just simply because nothing had been set there before.

"And I think there’s something really important about seeing your own life represented on screen or on stage."

Where is Morven Christie?

Fans of the series will have got used to seeing Morven Christie in the main role as family liaison officer DS Lisa Armstrong.

But season three brought in some big changes as Lisa left Morecambe and was replaced by DS Jenn Townsend who has just moved to the area with her blended family, replacing Lisa who took up a new role with the National Crime Agency.

In real life, Christie decided to free herself up for new projects but as show bosses felt there were still plenty more stories to be told from The Bay, they brought in Marsha Thomason as Jenn, known for her roles in Cobra and Magnum PI.

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Carville said: "Lisa was very much rooted in the world of The Bay and the world of Morecambe, that’s where she lived her whole life. So I knew our new character should be not like that, she shouldn’t be rooted there.

"Jenn, she’s really different from Lisa. Jenn is empathetic to a fault, and I think she does find it harder to leave work at work. She’s got a family of her own and she’s in a new relationship, and she’s moved to this new place, she’s got a new job, so there’s a lot of reinvention going on. She’s a breath of fresh air really."

The Bay continues tonight (Wednesday) at 9pm on ITV.

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