ITV Press Centre

Morse returns for a seventh series of Endeavour.
 
ITV has confirmed that hit detective drama Endeavour has been recommissioned for a seventh series. The announcement follows critical acclaim and consistently strong viewing figures for the most recent series.
 
Produced by leading indie Mammoth Screen in partnership with PBS Masterpiece, the successful series charts the early career of the young Endeavour Morse, played by acclaimed actor, Shaun Evans. The new set of films will see Evans reprise his role alongside celebrated star of stage and screen, Roger Allam as mentor DI Fred Thursday.
 
Written once again by Russell Lewis, who has penned all of the 27 Endeavour screenplays to date, the new series will be set in 1970 and production will begin later this year for transmission in 2020. Filming will take place in Oxford and the surrounding area.
 
Creator Russell Lewis says: “We’re thrilled ITV has asked #TeamEndeavour to continue to add to the Casebook of Colin Dexter’s immortal creation, and take E. Morse and Oxford’s Finest into a new decade of decimalisation, package holidays, the Oil Crisis, Blackouts, Three Day Weeks, and Europa Endlos.”
 
Mammoth Screen’s Managing Director, Damien Timmer added: “We’ve been thrilled with the response to Series 6 – it's testament to Russell Lewis’ continuing cleverness and also the brilliant partnership between Shaun Evans and Roger Allam as Endeavour Morse and Fred Thursday. The 1970s are calling us, and we can’t wait!”
 
Head of Drama at ITV, Polly Hill commented: “We’re incredibly proud of Endeavour and delighted to have recommissioned the drama for a seventh series. Writer and creator Russell Lewis continues to engage viewers with carefully crafted stories for Endeavour and Thursday as we move into the 1970s. We’re grateful to the production team at Mammoth Screen for continuing to deliver such a high quality drama.”
 
Recently voted the fourth greatest British crime drama of all time in a poll conducted by Radio Times, the drama has gone from strength to strength since its first outing as a one-off film in 2012. The latest series launched with a consolidated audience of 6.9m and a 27% share, marking Endeavour’s biggest audience since 2014.
 
Mammoth Screen’s Damien Timmer and Helen Ziegler will act as executive producers for the seventh series, alongside writer and creator Russell Lewis and WGBH’s Rebecca Eaton. The new set of films will distributed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment internationally.

ENDEAVOUR 2019 star Shaun Evans has been as sharp as ever during the sixth instalment of the Inspector Morse saga. However, with the series coming to an end this evening, will there be another?

By Charlie Milward - SUNDAY EXPRESS

Shaun, 38, has starred in the leading role of Endeavour Morse since the prequel to Inspector Morse (played by John Thaw) began on ITV with a TV film in 2012.

Six series later, Endeavour (played by Shaun Evans) has continued to crack some tough cases, with the fourth and final of the current episodes coming to a conclusion this evening.

The finale will see DI Morse and his partner Fred Thursday (Roger Allam) investigate the murder of a librarian which leads to some shocking fallouts as the case spirals into something much greater.

Ahead of the final episode, Endeavour star Evans has spoken out about the future of the show and has revealed whether viewers can expect to see another series.

Speaking to Radio Times, Evans revealed it was unlikely the series would continue all the way through to 1987, where fans of the original Inspector Morse series saw the late John Thaw’s portrayal of the detective come to light.

Explaining the decision not to follow through with the timeline, Evans said: “No. We won’t do that.”

Teasing the return of his younger portrayal of the DI, the actor revealed there would only be another series “if we reached the destination of the story in this series".

“If we felt that we’d seen it all, then we all have to be brave and say, we’ve done that now,” Evans added.

Although Evans revealed the show won’t tie in with the crossover to Inspector Morse, future series' could see the detective step into the 1970s and the early 80s, with viewers seeing further challenges the DI had to face before Thaw’s time.

With the current and previous series set in the 1960s, seeing Morse as he matures even further could reveal more about the character's past.

The sixth series saw Evans also step behind the camera as the star of the show directed the second episode of the current block.

This isn’t the actor's first directing credit as he also took on an episode of BBC medical drama Casualty in the past.

If the detective drama were to come to an event after the current series, Evans admitted he would continue with directing alongside his acting career.

With the potential of another saga of crimes for Morse to uncover, the sixth instalment began with an expected twist as the Endeavour and his mentor Thursday were seen working alone after the previous series saw them solving crimes side by side.

Thursday actor Roger Allam, 65, spoke about the sudden divide between the characters which saw his character demoted as he was sent to work away from the Oxford City Police division.

“Morse starts off in uniform in Woodstock. And Thursday is at a new station; he’s been bumped down a rank, and he’s under the command of Box, who’s a younger, aggressive Sweeney-type, shall we say.

“He’s tempting Thursday with bribes, with a bung. Obviously, he’s in a bit of a vulnerable position, and so he’s tempted by Box with that,” Allam explained to Radio Times.

However, the split was brief as tonight will see the pair tackle another case, with the synopsis for the episode reading: “The detective investigates the murder of a librarian, and suspicion immediately falls on two professors connected to each other by a seemingly innocent college bequest.

“As Endeavour and Thursday dig deeper, they uncover a web of professional and personal rivalries, and a series of broken promises with a grim connection to the Holocaust.

“There are further casualties in the recent series of heroin-related deaths, and Strange is convinced that a larger criminal conspiracy is at work as evidence emerges of a link to the murder of George Fancy.”

Endeavour concludes tonight at 8pm on ITV.