ITV’s Endeavour axed after 10 years as bosses praise Inspector Morse prequel for being ‘a labour of love for us all’

ITV have announced that Endeavour will be coming to an end as the show has been axed after 10 years.

The detective drama is currently filming its ninth series – now confirmed as its last – in Oxford and is set to air later this year. 

On Monday, stars of the show Shaun Evans and Roger Allam along with screenwriter Russell Lewis mutually decided it was time for the much-loved TV series to come to an end.

Sad news: ITV have announced that Endeavour will be coming to an end as the show has been axed after 10 years

Executive Producer Damien Timmer said in a statement: ‘Endeavour has been a real labour of love for all of us, and we salute Russell Lewis for his extraordinary achievement in chronicling Endeavour Morse’s coming of age across 72 hours of tv.

‘Russell always knew where he wanted the series to end, and that Remorseful Day is nearly upon us! 

‘We’d like to thank Shaun and Roger and all the other members of the Endeavour family on and off screen, and to the show’s fans both in the U.K. and abroad.

‘Russell has many surprises up his sleeve for the final three films, with the return of some familiar faces and new challenges for Endeavour and Thursday to face before the final goodbye!’ 

Coming to a close: The detective drama is currently filming its ninth series – now confirmed as its last – in Oxford and is set to air later this year

The dramatic TV show, which is set in the 1960s, follows the adventures of a young Endeavour Morse after he transfers to the Oxford City Police following a double-murder investigation. 

Shaun plays the titular character, a younger incarnation of the legendary Inspector Morse, made famous by the late actor John Thaw, who played the role from 1987 until his death in 1999.

Also reprising their roles for the upcoming drama will be Roger Allam, who stars as DCI Fred Thursday and Anton Lesser who plays CS Reginald Bright.

In the last season finale, tensions mounted and Morse was effectively sidelined from a key investigation.

Main character: Shaun plays the titular character, a younger incarnation of the legendary Inspector Morse, made famous by the late actor John Thaw, who played the role from 1987 until his death in 1999

Endeavour is the third of the Inspector Morse trilogy series, which aired from 2012 until now. It followed on from the original Inspector Morse (1987 – 2000), and its sequel Lewis (2006 – 2015).

Author Colin Dexter’s first Morse novel was published in 1975, and in 1987 ITV began adapting the books for the hit drama, starring Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse with Whately as the then Sergeant Lewis. It ended in 2000 after 33 episodes.  

Colin later revealed that he had agreed to a prequel series called Endeavour – about Morse as a young officer – only because it was not a betrayal of Thaw. 

Around 13 million viewers tuned in to watch the last episode of Morse in 2000, and there was a huge outpouring of sadness for the detective’s demise. 

ITV have yet to reveal an official release date for Endeavour’s final season. 

Popular: Author Colin Dexter’s first Morse novel was published in 1975, and in 1987 ITV began adapting the books for the hit drama, starring Thaw (pictured) as Chief Inspector Morse with Whately as the then Sergeant Lewis. It ended in 2000 after 33 episodes 

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