Unforgotten Season 6 Episode 1 recap: Jess walks away from dinner when duty calls

Unforgotten Season 6 is finally here, and the very first episode wastes no time reminding us why this show still packs a punch. The headline moment? Jess James is leaving behind her husband's "peace offering" dinner when a grim call from work comes in.

The choice speaks volumes about her priorities and her unraveling personal life. That one decision, i.e., walking away from the table-sets the tone for the whole episode. Duty doesn't wait, and the past never stays buried. And just like that, Unforgotten Season 6 begins with yet another dark, cold case creeping into the light.

---

Jess leaves dinner behind for a call that changes everything for Unforgotten Season 6 Episode 1

Jess is no stranger to messy family drama, but Unforgotten Season 6 Episode 1 throws her into an even deeper storm. Months after discovering her husband Steve had cheated with her sister, she's still walking on shaky ground at home. On this night, Steve surprises her with a home-cooked dinner, which is something he seldom does.

For a moment, it looks like a fragile truce. But Jess notices a red thread clinging to his coat, and suspicion floods back in.

Before she can confront him, her phone rings. The news is chilling: human remains have been pulled from Whitney Marsh. Without hesitation, Jess chooses the case over the meal, leaving Steve staring at the plates.

Hours later, when she returns, her dinner is sitting in the dog's bowl, which is a small but cutting reminder of the growing rift between them. It is the perfect setup for Unforgotten Season 6: Jess can't balance her personal turmoil when her professional life demands so much from her.

---

A grim find in the Whitney Marsh

That late-night call isn't just routine. Forensic specialist Dr. Leanne Balcombe confirms that a human spine has been uncovered in the marshland, and soon after, a leg is found tightly sealed in plastic bags.

The unusual preservation gives her team plenty to work with, and one shocking detail comes to light - a wound on the inner thigh that sliced through the femoral artery. This wasn't an accident or a random killing; it looks like the work of someone with professional precision.

The case immediately locks Jess and Sunny into detective mode. The marsh itself offers a timeline. It had been drained in 2009, then flooded again two years later, which means the body must have been dumped after that period.

With this, Unforgotten Season 6 starts to form a puzzle: the victim had been cut into pieces after death, deliberately hidden away, and the method screams danger. Whoever Gerard Cooper was, his death clearly tied him to a dangerous world.

---

Gerard Cooper’s identity is what changes the game

The preserved leg gives investigators what they need. DNA testing matches the remains to Gerard Cooper, a man once reported missing in 2021. At the time, his disappearance was written off as suicide, a conclusion that never sat right with his wife, Juliet. Now the truth is starting to surface, and it's far darker than what she had been told.

For Juliet, this revelation opens old wounds. She and her daughter, Taylor, had already been fractured by Gerard's supposed suicide. Taylor's grief showed up as fights at school, while Juliet pushed for family therapy, desperate to keep them afloat.

But now, confirmation that Gerard was murdered throws everything into disarray. Worse still, the original investigation into Gerard's disappearance was led by DI Ram Sidhu, a disgraced cop now serving time for corruption. Sunny himself had a hand in putting him behind bars, which makes this Unforgotten Season 6 case even messier.

---

Four new lives intertwine with the case

No season of Unforgotten Season 6 would be complete without a fresh set of suspects, and Episode 1 introduces them with subtle tension. In County Cork, TV presenter Melinda Ricci juggles a right-wing broadcast career while caring for her paralyzed fiancé, whose dream of walking again edges toward heartbreak.

Meanwhile, in Kent, socially awkward Marty Baines mourns his late father while slipping further into toxic online spaces, his mother struggling with illness at home.

In London, Professor Juliet Cooper (yes, Gerard's widow) is pulled into a separate storm when a student accuses her of an overly "white" reading list, escalating into a battle over academic sensitivity.

And then there's the Afghan immigrant Asif Syed, whose determination to build a life in the UK is put to the test when he picks up his brother Hassan from a dangerous journey across the Channel.

These four storylines run side by side, and even though they seem separate now, fans know the workings of the show: by the end, every thread will be tangled up in Gerard Cooper's death.

---

Episode 1 of Unforgotten Season 6 sets the stage for the episodes to come ahead. You might think Jess walking out on dinner might be trivial, but it is more than just a personal choice, and it's a sign that her world is about to be completely eaten away by the marshland mystery murder.

With Gerard Cooper's murder confirmed, and four new suspects caught in the web, Unforgotten Season 6 is shaping up to be as haunting and gripping, and interesting as ever. The past isn't forgotten, and it's simply waiting to resurface.

---

Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.

Also read: Unforgotten Season 6 cast and character guide: Who plays whom in the PBS series?