Fans of TV detective series Endeavour are now hopeful that new episodes of the Inspector Morse drama are about to be filmed.
Series eight of Endeavour was filmed in Oxford in April last year and screened in September.
Industry insiders thought series eight could be the last as a total of 33 episodes of Endeavour had been filmed by the end of it - the same number as the Inspector Morse series.
But now a TV fan site, iheartbritishtv.com, has discovered a clue suggesting series nine will go ahead.
Read again: Should Endeavour series eight be the last
The site said: “We spotted something new - a casting notice for series 9 of Endeavour.
“Dated February 22, 2022, it mentions the new season will begin filming in May 2022 in Buckinghamshire.
“Matthew Hamilton is listed as the associate producer/line producer for the project, with Mammoth Screen as the production company.”
The casting notice on UK Production News is for three 90-minute episodes.
Asked if series eight would be the last Shaun Evans said earlier: “That’s a decision for the whole team. As we have always done, we need to finish this series, take a look at them, take a view over what was done well, if there’s still a story to tell and if we all still want to tell it. So, we’ll see.”
In series eight, the year 1971 had just begun and the team’s first case got off to an explosive start as they investigated a college bomb with possible links to recent IRA threats.
Read more: Endeavour filming brings memories of Inspector Morse
Filmed on location in Oxford, including scenes filmed in Wellington Square, the strong ensemble cast for series eight featured Anton Lesser who returned as CS Reginald Bright, Sean Rigby as DS Jim Strange, James Bradshaw as Dr Max DeBryn, Abigail Thaw as Dorothea Frazil, Caroline O’Neill as Win Thursday and Sara Vickers as Joan Thursday.
John Thaw became recognised around the globe as Oxford-based Inspector Morse, thanks to the ITV series which ran between 1987 and 2000.
The actor died in 2002 but his memory lives on and while he had many roles it is perhaps as Morse that he is best known.
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Episodes of the Inspector Morse sequel Lewis, starring Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox, ran from 2006 until ITV announced in 2015 the ninth series would be the last.
Endeavour focusing on Morse’s early career as a detective was launched in 2012.
Oxford author Colin Dexter’s first Inspector Morse novel Last Bus To Woodstock - the first of 13 - was published in 1975.
The TV detective dramas have attracted thousands of tourists to Oxford over the years.
Colin Dexter died aged 86 in 2017. Over the years he was given a number of cameo roles in the TV dramas.
Asked to confirm series nine was now being planned, Janice Troup, head of ITV programme publicity, drama and soaps, said: “There’s no news presently.”
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