What happened in The Bay series 2? Recap as ITV drama returns with new leading lady

Expectations are high as The Bay returns to ITV on Wednesday night but many viewers have the same problem - they can't really remember how the last series ended.

Since its debut in 2019, the Morecambe based drama has been a real ratings winner for ITV, thanks to its main twists and 'who dunit' cliff hangers.

After a two year wait following the gripping conclusion of series 1, the second finally arrived last spring and, just like the first, brought shed loads of drama as Morven Christie's lead character, disgraced copper Lisa Armstrong was propelled back into the line of duty after the doorstep murder of local businessman Stephen Marshbrook.

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Marshbrook was gunned down at home, with the finger of suspicion pointing at a whole host of characters and enquiries focusing on the 'man with the tattoo' who pulled the trigger.

The final episode of The Bay series 2 brought the bombshell revelation that Stephen's wife Rose had been having an affair with scrap yard boss Frank Mercer.

Mercer was then charged with conspiracy to murder, having paid Viktor Zima, who turned out to be 'the man with the tattoo', to shoot Stephen.

Mercer was seen on CCTV going to a cash point to withdraw money before handing Zima £400 to do the deed.

Zima earlier confessed to police he had shot Stephen and that Frank was the man who hired him to carry out the murder, which was then followed by a confession from Rose that she and school friend Frank had been intimate behind her husband's back.

One of series 2's most memorable and horrific moments came when DS Armstrong's colleague Med was brutally killed, being run over several times by an unknown driver as he tried to attempted to get to bottom of some dodgy dealings in Marshbook's business, Breakwater Developments.

Who killed Med will surely be a question for The Bay series 3 as millions of viewers were left shaken by his death.

A big change in personnel for series 3 sees Lisa Armstrong, make way for DS Jenn Townsend, played by Marsha Thomason.

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