The Bay star admits 'main concern' as Endeavour's Shaun Evans joins as director

ITV's The Bay is back on our screens, with Marsha Thomason reprising her role as DS Jenn Townsend. She's quickly returned to work after the death of her father and now has to juggle her personal grief while dealing with a mother whose daughter was tragically found dead.

This new season sees Endeavour actor Shaun Evans join the team, having directed several episodes. Since Endeavour concluded in 2023, the young Inspector Morse actor has taken on a variety of roles.

He honed his directing skills on the Endeavour series, overseeing numerous episodes. Daniel Ryan, who portrays DI Tony Manning in The Bay, confessed he felt anxious about working with the Endeavour star.

In an exclusive chat with The Mirror, Daniel revealed: "I was very nervous to work with Shaun, interestingly. I guess possibly because he's played the king of the cops, he's played the cop of all cops.

"You're getting directed by Morse and you just think 'Oh, please don't think I'm rubbish', that was my main concern. 'Please don't see through my pretence'."

The star was full of praise for Shaun, describing him as "very good to work with" and promising that the new series "looks amazing". Marsha, who plays Jenn, also had nothing but compliments for the director.

She explained how his past acting experience helped forge a bond with the cast. She shared: "I would say Shaun's experience as an actor really formed him as a director. It was one of the most joyous experiences I have had.

"He gets it and he just makes you so comfortable and open to doing your best work, he's open to you trying anything and he's really smart. He made really great notes and intelligent observations."

Shaun revealed that he was attracted to the series because it wasn't like any other procedural drama, noting its emotional depth. He said: "The appealing thing about The Bay is the family liaison element, it's not like your usual procedural.

"It feels more emotional because Jen is in with the family getting to know about them and the victim in a far more emotionally centred way, and the fact it's a female lead as well. I found both of those things very appealing and equally it was lovely to get back working up north, so all of those things combined... I thought 'I'd love to do this'."