Unforgotten season 6 autism representation is "really refreshing"

One of the new cast members joining Unforgotten for season 6 is Maximilian Fairley, who stars as Marty Bains, and has praised the "refreshing" nature of Marty's story.

Described as an autistic man who lives with his mother in Kent and is a little lost, Fairley reveals that he thinks autism representation has "come a long way".

Ahead of the series returning this weekend, Fairley said: "I always felt for a long time that autistic characters were often consigned to background roles or 'the victim' and seeing [writer] Chris [Lang] challenge that with Marty’s story is really refreshing."

In terms of whether he thinks his portrayal of Marty can impact viewers' perceptions of autism, Fairley said: "The way in which a group of people are depicted can be very influential on how the community is perceived by the general public.

"I hope Marty’s story can help challenge people’s typical depictions of individuals on the spectrum and the potential difficulties they can face in situations like the one Marty finds himself in.

"Very often, decisions are made about autistic individuals that don’t really take into consideration what that individual wants. I hope the show can highlight the potential consequences that brings when any kind of individual has their dignity put at risk."

Being autistic himself, Fairley also added that playing Marty comes with a "shared understanding" about "what it feels like to be lonely, to be misunderstood what it feels like to be craving that sense of finding your people and the place where you belong".

He said: "Chris has written Marty in a way that almost subverts the norm in that this definitely comes through in the scripts, but without knocking you on the head with it or being overly on the nose. I am in love with this character.

"There is a real purity and innocence to Marty and what is particularly interesting is even though that’s true, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t also make terrible mistakes.”

As for how Marty links to the wider story and case, we'll just have to wait and see. But if there's one thing that Unforgotten always gets right, it's the amount of twists and turns each episode packs in so we're sure we'll be in for quite the rollercoaster of emotions in season 6.

According to the official synopsis for the upcoming season: "The series begins when suspected human remains are uncovered on Whitney Marsh – Jess and Sunny are immediately called to the scene, abandoning their evening plans to Jess’s husband’s chagrin.

"Dr Balcombe’s analysis reveals that the remains are relatively recent and suggest a grim conclusion: the body was placed there already dismembered.

"With this insight, Jess and Sunny intensify their search certain that other body parts may not be far away."

Read more:

• How vital Unforgotten moment paved the way for season 6
• A strong premise lets a crime drama like Unforgotten not just survive but thrive on casting changes

Unforgotten season 6 will premiere on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 9th February at 9pm.

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