Reports suggest that ITV has decided to axe the crime drama series The Tower. The police drama, which ran for three seasons, aired its last series over four consecutive nights in September.
Based on the popular novel Gallowstree Lane by Kate London, the show consistently attracted an audience of between three and six million viewers. However, it appears The Tower has now been toppled as reported by the Mirror.
According to The Sun, ITV has decided against renewing the show due to disappointing viewing figures for the final series. “The Tower was much loved by the audience who watched the drama but the viewing figures for the last series did not reach expectations so sadly we won’t be recommissioning,” an ITV spokesperson stated.
The cast included Gemma Whelan, Emmett J Scanlan, Tamzin Outhwaite and Jimmy Akingbola. Although set in southeast London, most of the filming took place in the Northwest of England, particularly Liverpool and Manchester.
In the third series, Whelan’s character, police officer Sarah Collins, investigated a teenager’s stabbing, leading her to confront Lizzie, a detective trying to balance her career with motherhood.
It is understood that scripts were being prepared for a fourth series following its autumn broadcast. Patrick Harbinson, the adaptor of the novels for the screen, told The Sun’s TV Mag: “I’m already writing the first episode of The Tower four just to show to ITV that we’re ready to go, because Kate [London] has already written a brilliant fourth novel, The Misper, on which the new series would be based. There are more brilliant stories to tell, involving Gemma Whelan’s character DS Sarah Collins and PC Lizzie Adama, played by Tahirah Sharif.”
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But now, it seems his efforts have been in vain as ITV bosses have decided to pull the plug on the drama, which kicked off in 2021. Originally gaining favourable reviews from critics who likened it to Line of Duty, the drama also received acclaims for its cast including Gemma Whelan hailing from Leeds.
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