Unforgotten star explains Sunny backpack mystery

Sanjeev Bhaskar's character always carries a bag and fans want to know what is in it

Sinead Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar star in Unforgotten. (ITV)
Sinead Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar star in Unforgotten. (ITV)

Unforgotten star Sanjeev Bhaskar has explained the mystery behind his character’s famous backpack.

The actor stars as DI Sunny Khan in the ITV drama, which follows a team which looks into cold case crimes. While viewers are gripped by the twisty tales, Sunny’s ever-present bag often steals the show as people debate what could be in it.

Picking up on all the interest, Bhaskar decided to get crew members to fill the bag with all sorts of different things, which he then reveals on social media.

The actor was on The One Show on Friday, 31 January with his co-star Sinead Keenan, and was asked how the backpack buzz began. He replied: “It started from series two and continues to this day. There was a lot of weird criticism I got after the first series, about why my character had a backpack. I just chose a bag that was practical!

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“But they kind of said, ‘Oh he looks like a child, he doesn’t wear it properly’.”

Sunny is known for his backpack. (BBC screengrab)
Sunny is known for his backpack. (BBC screengrab)

He went on: “From the second series onwards I asked the costume department to fill it with stuff, but don’t tell me what’s in it. And I won’t look until the end of the day. I open it up at the end of the day, take a picture of it and post it.”

Pictures of some of the things that have been in the bag were then shared, showing items like a blow up guitar and game show buzzers.

Presenter Roman Kemp jokingly suggested to Bhaskar that crew members were trying to “do you over” as he pointed to some printer ink “which could go anywhere”.

Read more: Unforgotten

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“It didn’t go off but also there is a picture of Sinead in there as well, which I didn’t realise I was carrying around!” the actor laughed.

Sanjeev Bhaskar on The One Show. (BBC screengrab)
Sanjeev Bhaskar on The One Show. (BBC screengrab)

“It’s them having a laugh at my expense, which is cool,” he added.

Unforgotten started in 2015, and so far five series have aired. The show previously starred Nicola Walker, but she left after the fourth season. Keenan joined the show in its fifth series, and plays Detective Chief Inspector Jessica James.

The sixth series of the show starts in February.

Unforgotten series six premieres on ITV1 on Sunday 9, February at 9pm.

The One Show airs at 7pm on BBC One on weekdays.