Period crime drama Ripper Street has been axed by the BBC after two series due to poor ratings.
Actor Jerome Flynn, who plays Sergeant Bennet Drake, told BBC radio the cast were “shocked” by the BBC’s decision.
“We’re all in absolute shock because it’s a wonderful job and we feel like it’s kind of this unfinished work. So we’re hoping it will turn around if anyone from the BBC is listening,” he said.
“There’s these wonderful storylines which Richard (Warlow) and Toby (Finlay), the writers, have marked out and it’s one of the most captivating characters I’ve played and also been part of in terms of the story, so it is suddenly like a marriage being broken.”
The BBC series has struggled to pull in audiences, previously attracting close to four million before the reality show I’m a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here! when it lost 670,000 viewers.
A BBC spokeswoman said: “We are very proud of Ripper Street which has enjoyed two highly ambitious series on BBC One. However, the second series didn’t bring the audience we hoped and in order to make room for creative renewal and new ideas it won’t be returning.”
TEN will air season two in 2014.
Source: The Telegraph