Roger Allam has opened up about his time on ITV's popular murder mystery, Endeavour, revealing that he initially only signed up for the first two series.
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The actor, who plays Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, admitted when first asked to do three years of the ITV drama, his "heart sank".
Chatting on Wednesday's edition of Lorraine, Roger was asked by the presenter: "Did you ever think when you signed the dotted line for the first series you'd be here ten years later?"
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The Thick of It actor replied: "I absolutely didn't. [The producers] asked for three years to begin with and my heart sank, and I only agreed to do two." He then added wryly: "They very cunningly ever since have only [renewed] year by year and I think that's made myself and Shaun more comfortable with going on with it!"
However, despite Roger's initial hesitation, it seems he couldn't be put off and has continued to be a staple part of the show ever since.
The actor will be once again joined by Shaun Evans for the upcoming eighth series as they reprise their roles as murder-mystery double act Fred Thursday and Endeavour Morse.
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Roger and Shaun are gearing up for Endeavour series eight
Roger, 67, also opened up about his Fred's future in the new episodes, teasing tension between the two leading characters. "To be fair there's often been tension [between them] in the past which has generally speaking resolved itself," he began, adding: "But this time, Endeavour is having a huge crisis because at the end of the previous series the woman he was in love with died in his arms, and this sets him off on a course of regret and drinking too much and losing the plot, really."
Although the story of Morse has been a huge success over many years and racked up a loyal fanbase, leading star Shaun recently admitted that he was yet to see his predecessor John Thaw's version of the show, but for good reason.
In an interview with PBS, the Vigil star said: "The great thing about starting with books is that it's all in your imagination so there's a freedom there rather than replicating what another actor has done, with a huge amount of respect... We agreed to do a carbon copy would be dissatisfying... then I began to see the benefit of having never seen them."
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