FANS of a Bath-based detective series were surprised when ITV bosses revealed it wouldn’t be returning – but the cast are already hopeful the series can live on.
McDonald & Dodds had aired for four series and viewers were left with a storyline that teased that a fifth may be on its way.
The cast included the multi award winning Jason Watkins, known for projects like Nativity! and The Crown as DS Dodds, and Tala Gouveia, known to parents everywhere as one of the BBC Go Jetters, as DCI Lauren McDonald.
The last we saw of the mismatched duo, Detective Chief Inspector McDonald appeared to accept her partner’s marriage proposal, but now viewers worry they’ll never see this come to pass.
ITV execs confirmed their decision at the star of the year, saying that the series just hadn’t passed their threshold for a recommission.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Jason seemed to suggest that the decision wasn’t just down to viewing figures.
He said: “The only thing I’ll say is that we did hold our own in terms of numbers. That’s a complicated picture, which I don’t think I should go into.”
The Bafta winner also said that the team had no idea the decision was coming but he had to reflect on the difficulties the TV industry is currently facing.
He said: “No, we didn’t have any inkling. You know, it’s television. It’s a hard time for TV, so we’re glad that we got four wonderful series from that show.”
But the cast were optimistic about the future for the unlikely crime fighting couple and they wanted to leave the door open to new possibilities for it.
Tala said: “I mean, you never know. There could be other channels that want to do it. I guess it all depends on the budgets people have, because it is a show that people will watch.
“So of course it could find another home. I think we wouldn’t mind having another stab.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”ITV viewers double take as they spot huge 00s singer in brand new series of McDonald and Dodds” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6358831642112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Jason agreed adding: “Who knows? I mean, one of the things that was the strength of the show was our relationship on screen and off. We’re very close and I think that always showed on screen.
“That was one of the unique features of our show, that we genuinely have this great relationship. So if somebody wants to pick us up, then that’s what we’d bring.”
Tala was keen to get the message to the show’s fans that everyone involved appreciated their support.
She said: “Thank you for watching. I mean, so many people come up to us in the street and just love it, and not just a particular demographic.
“It’s been such a family show, so many age groups and people from all around the country – and not just our country, it’s still selling all over the world.
“I was once in a tiny village in the mountains of Greece, there was someone that couldn’t speak English, but was still typing being like, ‘Television’. They remember us. It was a fun run. And just everyone that watched, thank you!”
McDonalds and Dodds is available on ITVX.