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    Tuesday, July 01, 2008

    ITV may revive Foyle's War

    Rebecca Thelin spotted this on the guardian.co.uk site and thought you should see it.

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    Note from Rebecca Thelin:

    Nifty News about our favorite WWII Mystery Series! (Foyle's War)
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    To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/apr/09/itv.television

    ITV may revive Foyle's War
    Wednesday April 9 2008
    guardian.co.uk


    Fans of ITV1's second world war drama Foyle's War can take heart – the new series starting on Sunday may not be the last after all.

    ITV is looking at reversing the decision by outgoing director of television Simon Shaps to axe Foyle's War.

    The broadcaster confirmed today is it is in "early discussions" to continue to keep the ITV1 drama, which stars Michael Kitchen as a second world war detective, on air.

    Foyle's War had been abruptly axed by Shaps, to the disappointment of writer Anthony Horowitz and its million of fans.

    However, with Shaps due to leave ITV later this month, to be replaced by ex-BBC1 controller Peter Fincham, the broadcaster's director of drama Laura Mackie said she is "very hopeful" Foyle's War will return.

    "Foyle is an iconic character that viewers love, and although this current series ends on VE Day, Europe would remain in turmoil for some time to come and Foyle's life and work could continue in many different and interesting ways," Mackie added.

    "We are very hopeful that we can bring him back to our screens sometime in the future."

    Horowitz recently told the Radio Times that it was Shaps who had pulled the plug on Foyle's War, in an interview to be featured in next week's edition pegged to the return of the show.

    When asked why it had been decommissioned, he said: "The answer in two words is Simon Shaps."

    The axing meant that Horowitz had suddenly to bring the drama to a close and skip from 1943 to the end of the war for the fifth series, which begins this weekend.

    Sunday's episode is set in 1944 and then on the following Sunday, April 20, viewers will see a two hour finale set on VE Day 1945.

    Since it was first commissioned by former director of drama Nick Elliott in 2002, Foyle's War has regularly been in ITV1's 10 most popular programmes.

    Starring Kitchen as Hastings-based detective Christopher Foyle it has been a mainstay of ITV1's Sunday schedule.

    A statement released by ITV today said: "ITV has confirmed that following the huge popularity and success of the Foyle's War series, early discussions have taken place with Foyle creator and writer Anthony Horowitz and Greenlit Rights about the possibility of keeping Foyle on our screens in the future."

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