ITV axes monster series Primeval (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

ITV axes monster series Primeval

10:20pm Monday 15th June 2009

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ITV bosses have done what the massed ranks of Pristichampsus, Diictodon and Giganotosaurus couldn’t – they’ve put the bite on Bradford actor Andrew-Lee Potts and his Primeval team.

The network has announced that the hit Saturday night show – the third series, which has just finished, drew 5.3 million viewers per episode – will not be returning for a fourth outing.

It is thought that the high cost of producing each episode of the show – which features different state-of-the-art computer-generated monsters – is the reason behind the decision.

An ITV spokesman said: “After three very successful series of Primeval there are no plans at the present time for it to return to ITV. High-quality drama remains a key part of the ITV schedule although our current focus is on post-watershed productions.”

It leaves fans of the show on what looks to be a permanent cliff-hanger.

In the final episode, screened just over a week ago, all the team responsible for tracking the different monsters that appeared in the present day through “anomalies”, or holes in time, were scattered throughout different time periods.

For the three series of the show one of the lynch-pins of the team was Andrew-Lee Potts, the Wibsey-born actor who played Connor Temple. Connor began life as geeky comic relief, but throughout the life of the show he matured into an often unlikely hero and one of the lead characters.

Andrew, 29, has always been one of the most vocal supporters of the show and produced a series of documentary films charting the progress of filming and production for use on the DVD releases of the episodes.

He even got engaged to co-star Hannah Spearritt – formerly of pop band S Club 7 – after they got together while filming the first series of the show.

Bizarrely, the scrapping of the show comes at a time when Primeval is more popular than ever.

In a recent interview with the T&A, Andrew told how it had been screened on BBC America and proved such a hit that Warner Bros had signed a multi-million deal to transfer the action to the big screen.

It is not yet known whether Andrew and the rest of the UK cast will feature in the cinematic version, or whether the story will continue and tie up the loose ends left by the cancellation of the UK show.

Andrew said there had also been talk of creating Primeval spin-offs in other countries, and there were plans for an animated series, voiced by the actors.

There is already a huge merchandising industry, with Primeval action figures, toys and comics.

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