Endeavour to mark Morse anniversary with 'tips of the trilby'

Shaun Evans (right) plays Morse in the show alongside Roger Allam as Inspector Thursday

The new series of crime drama Endeavour will contain "many respectful tips of the trilby" to mark the 30 years since its central character's TV debut.

The fourth season of the show, which follows the early career of Endeavour Morse, will include "guest casting" and "heritage characters", ITV said.

Created by Colin Dexter, the much-loved Inspector Morse debuted in 1987.

James Lawrenson, who appeared in that show's first episode, will be among the cast for the new series of Endeavour.

Set in the summer of 1967, the series will see Morse, played by Shaun Evans, and the rest of "Oxford's finest picking up the pieces of their lives, both personal and professional", the spokesman said.

Roger Allam, Anton Lesser, Sean Rigby, James Bradshaw, Caroline O'Neil, Dakota Blue Richards and Abigail Thaw will all reprise their regular roles.

Morse was originally played by John Thaw (centre), with Kevin Whately playing Sergeant Lewis

The series will once again be written by Russell Lewis, who also wrote for Inspector Morse and created the spin-off show.

Endeavour is the second series to have come from the original show, having been preceded by Lewis, which centred around Inspector Morse's faithful sidekick, played by Kevin Whately.

That show ended in 2015.