2:44pm Thursday 8th March 2007
By David Barnett
Bradford actor Andrew-Lee Potts is over the moon after critics went pre-hysterical and declared his Saturday night TV show dino-mite... and ITV bosses commissioned a second series.
Primeval, the prime-time dinosaur series which sees its fifth and penultimate episode tomorrow, has been a huge hit.
The thriller sees Wibsey-born Andrew, 27, play geeky student Connor Temple, who is one of a team of scientists led by Prof Nick Cutter who have discovered holes in time - or "anomalies" - which are spewing dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures into modern-day Britain.
With thrills and computer effects from the team that created the successful BBC TV series Walking With Dinosaurs, Primeval has proved a winner for ITV in the closely-fought Saturday night ratings battle.
Andrew and the rest of the cast - including one-time S Club 7 pop singer Hannah Spearritt, with whom Andrew is now in a relationship - are delighted.
The series' executive producer Tim Haines said: "Impossible Pictures is incredibly proud of Primeval and we're over the moon that audiences share our passion."
Nick Elliot, director of network drama for ITV, added: "Primeval has had a wonderful response from both the public and from the press."
Andrew said filming for series two would begin in May, and be shown in February.
He said: "It's great news. We couldn't really have expected a better reaction from the public and the press."
Although the T&A revealed that Andrew and his co-star Hannah were going out in January, the pair made their public debut as a couple this week at the premiere for the new Anne Hathaway movie Becoming Jane.
But he said photographers have been following Hannah and him around the streets of their home in Brighton, and there had even been paparazzi camped outside his parents' home in Bradford.
"You've got to take the rough with the smooth," he said. "And, on balance, life is pretty smooth at the moment."
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