More Morse Endeavour

Following the hugely enthusiastic audience response to the recent one-off Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour, a full series has been commissioned by ITV.

ITV's Drama Commissioning team, Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes are delighted Mammoth Screen will produce 4 x 120 episodes, filming on location in Oxford later this year.

Shaun Evans (The Take, Come Rain Come Shine), who won over critics and viewers alike with his portrayal of young Morse, will return to film the new films written by Lewis creator and Morse writer Russell Lewis (Murphy's Law, Sharpe, Kavanagh QC). Acclaimed stage and screen actor Roger Allam (The Iron Lady, The Jury, The Thick of it) will return as Endeavour's senior partner, Detective Inspector Fred Thursday.

Consolidated ratings for the one off Endeavour film which transmitted this January to mark the 25th anniversary of the very first episode of Morse were 8.2m with an impressive audience share of 30%. Endeavour scored well with a 34% share of ABC1 individuals who made up over half (56%) of the audience.

Endeavour was an enormous hit on Twitter with thousands praising the production and Shaun's performance as the fresh faced rookie.

It was fantastic that the audience responded so warmly to Endeavour, said Sally Haynes. Shaun's portrayal of a legendary character was captivating and Endeavour thoroughly deserves a series there's so much more we can do with the character, she added.

James Bradshaw will return as Dr Max Debryn and John Thaw's daughter Abigail will make further guest appearances as Dorothea Frazil.

The new series will be produced by Dan McCulloch (Endeavour, 10 Minute Tales) and executive produced by Mammoth Screen's Joint Managing Directors, Michele Buck and Damien Timmer. The shoot will begin late summer for 16 weeks.

We're delighted to be making a series of Endeavour and have been overwhelmed by the reaction to the first film, said Damien. Russell Lewis has some bold plans to further enrich the mythology of Morse, introducing some significant new characters, and re-establishing some old favourites, all of whom are destined to have a massive impact on the future inspector's life.

Acclaimed novelist Colin Dextor, whose first Morse story was published in 1975, will act as consultant for the series.

It's important to us that Colin is across every aspect of Endeavour, said Michele. We value and respect his contribution enormously she added. We've been delighted by the success of the one-off film and look forward to revealing more about the legendary detective she added.

Michele Buck and Damien Timmer also oversee Lewis in conjunction with ITV Studios for ITV1 which is due to return in May. Four x 120 minute films have been produced with Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox in the lead roles of Inspector Robbie Lewis and DS James Hathaway with Clare Holman also returns as Dr Laura Hobson and Rebecca Front as Chief Superintendent Innocent.

The second series of Mammoth Screen's medical drama Monroe is also currently in production in Leeds.

Press contact: Janice Troup Tel: 0161 952 6220 or email janice.troup@itv.com

For photography of Shaun Evans as Endeavour contact: Patrick Smith Tel: 0207 157 3044 or email patrick.smith@itv.com

LINK:	http://www.mammothscreen.com/productions/more-morse-endeavour/...
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