Endeavour gets second series on ITV

Shaun Evans and Roger Allam will reprise their roles in the show

ITV has commissioned a second series of Endeavour, the prequel to the long-running drama Inspector Morse.

Shaun Evans will reprise his role as the young Morse, with Roger Allam also returning as Det Insp Fred Thursday.

The first series of the 1960s-set drama, which was broadcast in April, drew an average audience of around seven million.

The new series, which will comprise four two-hour films, goes into production in Oxford later this year.

Morse creator Colin Dexter will continue to act as a consultant to producers on the show.

"We're truly delighted by the audience's reaction to the first quartet of Endeavour stories," said Russell Lewis, who will return to write the second series.

The makers of the show, he added, were "very grateful to ITV for the opportunity to further embellish the legend".

"The audience's response to the classic crime partnership of Endeavour and Thursday has been incredible," said Steve November, ITV's director of drama commissioning.

"We're thrilled at the prospect of more Endeavour stories."

Endeavour is the second spin-off from the original Inspector Morse series that starred John Thaw.

Lewis, which saw Kevin Whately reprise his role as Morse's sidekick, ran from 2006 until February this year.