‘Scott and Bailey’ is to end after the current series.
The crime drama, which stars Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp as the titular detectives Rachel Bailey and Janet Scott respectively, is to come to a natural conclusion after five series because bosses are keen for the programme to "bow out at the top".
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Scott and Bailey have had a good run together and have proven to be one of television’s most popular detective duos but they won’t be doing any more crime fighting after this series has ended.
"ITV made the decision to not make any more episodes. Suranne and Lesley have loved playing the parts but they’re ready to hand their badges in and do something else.
"It’s definitely not been axed or decommissioned but has just come to a natural conclusion after five brilliant series."
Suranne is said to have "plenty on her plate" with the upcoming second series of ‘Doctor Foster’ – in which she plays the titular character, who finds out her husband is having an affair – and admitted she considered quitting ‘Scott and Bailey’ when Amelia Bullmore left at the end of series four.
She said: "We had thought it might end, then ITV said, ‘Look, it’s really popular, people love the characters, would you do another one?’ We thought, ‘Why would we not?’ The golden carrot for me was my role as a producer – I’ve always stuck my nose in, but now I do it officially!"
Former ‘Coronation Street’ star Suranne landed an additional role as executive producer on the detective drama’s fifth series, and admitted she was "proud" to be involved behind the camera.
She said: "I have always worked closely with the producers and script writers on the show from the beginning and now I am very proud to be executive producer on the current series.
"In this role I’ve been involved in key creative decisions from selecting a director, deciding upon casting, watching the rushes and working on the edits."
Suranne and co-star Sally Lindsay – who plays Rachel’s sister Alison – originally came up with the idea for the show, which has been mainly been written by ‘Happy Valley’ creator Sally Wainwright.
As well as starring in the show, Amelia was head writer for the fourth series and Lee Warburton wrote two episodes and returned for the fifth season.
Scott and Bailey to end
