A lot of storylines were wrapped up in the series four finale of Endeavour, with Shaun Evans’ Morse finally promoted to Sergeant and Joan Thursday making amends with her family.

But fans worried about the episode’s air of finality need not have worried, as it was announced on-air when the episode concluded that there was another series of the Inspector Morse prequel commissioned to air in 2018 – and this time, there’ll be six episodes instead of the usual four.

According to a release, the next series will be set in 1968 and start filming in and around Oxford this spring. Series creator Russell Lewis will continue to pen the episodes, with all the major cast (including Evans, Roger Allam, Anton Lesser and Dakota Blue Richards) also returning for more young Morse mysteries.

Speaking about the extended series, Russell Lewis said: “The prospect of creating further chapters in Morse’s secret history is always exciting, but expanding our quartet of investigations to a sextet gives us the opportunity to deliver a truly epic year in the life of Colin Dexter’s immortal creation.”

Executive producer Tom Mullens added: “We’re delighted that Endeavour will return next year with another set of striking stories from Russell Lewis and once again it’s an honour to have Shaun Evans and Roger Allam on board, bringing Morse and Thursday exquisitely to life in the ‘revolutionary’ world of 1968.”

“Endeavour continues to be hugely popular with ITV audiences, and we’re delighted to announce that it’ll be returning for an extended fifth series,” ITV Head of Drama Polly Hill continued.

“Russell Lewis’s scripts are always immensely intriguing and gripping, and [producers] Mammoth Screen consistently deliver high-quality drama.”

Endeavour will return to ITV on Sunday 4 February

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