Morven Christie will make a return to ITV in new Jed Mercurio thriller Payback, after her 'sudden' exit from The Bay left viewers confused.
Acclaimed actress Morven played lead character DS Lisa Armstrong in The Bay, which was an instant hit with millions of viewers, so it came as a big shock when she was replaced by Marsha Thomason for the third series, despite there still being loads of unanswered questions about Lisa.
Morven confirmed she'd left The Bay on Instagram back in spring 2021, Bye Lisa. You were a gift. Thank you Daragh Carville, thank you beloved @leehavenjones for bringing me in, and biggest love EVER to the crew the crew the crew who had my back and have my heart."
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Fans were left wondering why Morven left The Bay, with Lisa's departure referenced in just one line when her ex colleague DS Karen Hobson told newcomer Jenna that Lisa's "kids had grown up," and she'd "moved on."
Well now , ITV viewers will get to see Morven in another leading role, this time as Lexie Noble, a woman who becomes embroiled in perilous police operation to topple a notorious crime lord, after her husband launders the criminal's illegal earnings on a vast scale.
Expectations are already high for Paycheck, which will be filmed in Edinburgh and Glasgow, given that it crimes from Jed Mercurio’s HTM Television, Jed being the man who has given us the likes of Lie of Duty, Bodyguard, Vigil and Trigger Point.
An ITV teaser for what to expect reads: "With an idyllic family lifestyle in the suburbs of Edinburgh, Lexie is unaware her husband, Jared, has been laundering Cal Morris’ illegal earnings on a vast scale. Jared’s every move is being monitored by financial investigators DC Jibran Khan and DCI Adam Guthrie, who are determined to use the Noble family to bring Cal Morris to justice.
"A partner in Jared’s business, Lexie is forced into working for Cal, at the same time as the police net inexorably tightens. Soon Lexie finds herself walking a treacherous tightrope between Cal and the police in which her safety, and even her life, are in grave danger."
Discussing her new on screen alias, Morven said: "I fell in love with Lexie from the first page, and I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Peter and this wonderful team in my hometown.”
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