Oxford-based detective drama Endeavour is returning to ITV1 at the weekend for the ninth and final series.

Produced by leading indie Mammoth Screen - part of ITV Studios - in partnership with Masterpiece, the Morse prequel sees actor Shaun Evans reprise the title role of DS Endeavour Morse for the very last time.

Shaun also directs the first of the new films entitled Prelude. Alongside Evans, the series features stage and screen actor Roger Allam (Murder in Provence) return as DCI Fred Thursday.

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The final instalment of the popular drama has once again been written by Endeavour creator Russell Lewis, who has penned each of the 36 screenplays across the last decade.

The first episode of the final series of three is being shown on Sunday on ITV1 at 8pm and will then run at the same time weekly until finishing on Sunday, March 12.

Mammoth founder Damien Timmer worked on the original Inspector Morse, and executive-produced Lewis, as well as initiating Endeavour with Russell Lewis.

Mr Timmer said: “As Endeavour draws to a close, it's been an honour to be a part of this incredible journey. I'm so proud of the remarkable cast and crew who have dedicated their time and efforts to bring the series to life over the last decade, and I'm certain that the fans will be moved by the final instalment.

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"It's a massive accomplishment for screenwriter Russell Lewis to have written all 72 hours of the show, and his passion for Colin Dexter's world, combined with his own boundless creativity and fondness for the 1960s and 1970s, has made Endeavour one of the most beloved series on British television.

"From the first Endeavour pilot Russell has known exactly where he wanted to end the saga of Endeavour Morse and Fred Thursday. We put off this awful day for as long as we possibly could, but there was a point a few years ago where we agreed as a creative team that it was time to prepare for the final end, and go out on a high! ITV has been the most generous and supportive partners and were very respectful of the team's decision to make this the final series. We have now made more Endeavour films than there were Inspector Morse stories."

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The new series, set in the early 70s, finds Endeavour and Thursday entering a new era of change both professionally and personally with the return of some familiar faces along the way including Sam, played by Jack Bannon (Pennyworth), who arrives back from Northern Ireland following his service in the British Army.

Filmed in and around Oxford the strong ensemble cast reunited with Shaun and Roger includes Anton Lesser (Killing Eve, Game of Thrones) who returns as CS Reginald Bright, Sean Rigby (Gunpowder) as DS Jim Strange, James Bradshaw (Close to The Enemy) as Dr Max DeBryn, Abigail Thaw (Miss Scarlet and the Duke) as Dorothea Frazil, Caroline O’Neill (The A Word) as Win Thursday and Sara Vickers (Watchmen) as Joan Thursday.

In the opening film it’s Spring, 1972. Two unexplained deaths seem to lead to the Oxford Concert Orchestra, while a body discovered in a derelict warehouse stokes fears that ‘London business’ involving the criminal underworld has again found its way to Oxford.

Thursday and Endeavour’s investigation unearths some unsettling connections to cases the duo believed were well and truly behind them.

Series nine is produced by Charlotte Webber alongside co-producer Joe Shrubb. Chief Creative Officer and Founder of Mammoth Screen Damien Timmer is the executive producer alongside Russell Lewis, Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Mammoth Screen’s Director of Television Helen Ziegler and Susanne Simpson and Rebecca Eaton at Masterpiece.

Alongside Shaun Evans, who directs the opening film Prelude, Nirpal Bhogal (First Born, Misfits, Sket) directs the second film Uniform and Kate Saxon (Grace, Silent Witness) directs the third film Exeunt.

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The Inspector Morse spin-off starring Shaun Evans and Roger Allam launched in 2012 and scenes have been shot on location in the city ever since.

The long-running Morse franchise is based on the novels of Colin Dexter, and the Endeavour series follows the Inspector Morse series and the Lewis series.

Inspector Morse episodes ran from 1987 to 2000.

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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF