Waking the Dead - the end & a new beginning

The final series of Waking the Dead begins on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One with the first of five two-parters.

From the BBC Press release:

Boyd (Trevor Eve) is back leading the Met's Cold Case Unit and investigating more unsolved crimes with his team: Grace (Sue Johnston), Eve (Tara FitzGerald) and Spence (Wil Johnson) in this the ninth and final series.

In this series the team acquires a new member, brilliant ex-counter-terrorism officer Sarah Cavendish (Eva Birthistle). Foisted on Boyd by his superiors he is given little choice but to keep her out of "harm's way".

Sarah matches Boyd in rank, the first time he has worked with someone of an equivalent level. Sarah's capabilities means she quickly ingratiates herself with her new colleagues; but as her symptoms of post-traumatic stress become increasingly apparent there is mounting concern for her welfare.

Sarah challenges Boyd's recklessness in the line of duty – something, she warns, he will pay for one day.

There are also interviews with Sue Johnston and Wil Johnson at the Press Release.

However it's not quite the end for this fictional universe as there is to be a spin-off series revolving around Eve's character, called The Body Farm. From the BBC Press Release:

Tara plays Eve Lockhart, from Waking The Dead, in this original six-part series made by BBC Drama Production in association with Trevor Eve's company Projector Productions.

Eve Lockhart leads us into her other world on The Body Farm, a private forensics facility that is pushing back the boundaries of scientific research and solving crimes – it's unchartered territory. Here, no horror is taken for granted and murder is seen to be what it is – visceral and shocking.

Eve is an exceptional forensic pathologist who leads a brilliant and ambitious team of scientists at a private facility where human remains are donated for scientific experiment. They are called upon by police forces all over the world to provide expert knowledge to help solve crimes.

In the opening 90-minute special, Eve is the only character who has had any previous experience of dealing with the aftermath of a horrific crime. In the modern world, where private forensics are being used more and more by the law, Eve and her team turn to police work to pay the bills.