ITV’s ‘Young Morse’ returns for full series

Shaun Evans plays the young Morse
ITV has ordered four more episodes of the Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour, which stars Shaun Evans as the young Morse, the role first made famous by John Thaw.

A “one-off” episode aired over New Year to mark the 25th anniversary of the very first episode of Morse.

The broadcaster says the new episodes have been ordered following a “hugely enthusiastic” response by audiences.

ITV Drama Commissioner Sally Haynes says: ”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.”

Also returning are Roger Allam as Endeavour’s boss, Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, James Bradshaw as Dr Max Debryn and John Thaw’s daughter Abigail who will make further guest appearances as Dorothea Frazil.

The stories will be written by Lewis creator and Morse writer Russell Lewis with Morse creator Colin Dexter acting as consultant for the series.

“We’re delighted to be making a series of Endeavour and have been overwhelmed by the reaction to the first film,” said Damien Timmer, joint MD at production house Mammoth Screen.

“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.” 

The new episodes go into production in late summer.

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