ITV axes Ridley after two series
ITV has shelved police procedural drama Ridley after two series.
ITV has axed Ridley after two series.
The police procedural drama followed Detective Inspector Alex Ridley (Adrian Dunbar), who returned to the force 18 months after retirement following a nervous breakdown caused by losing his wife and daughter in a house fire.
An ITV spokesperson told The Sun newspaper's TV Biz column: "There are currently no plans to return to Ridley.
"We’d like to extend our thanks to creator-and-writer Paul Matthew Thompson, executive producer Jonathan Fisher and the team at West Road Pictures for producing two successful series."
Ridley - who spent some of his retirement co-running a jazz club, where he performed as a pianist and singer inside the venue - is encouraged back to the force when his former colleague, DI Carol Farman (Bronagh Waugh), calls upon him for help solving complex murder cases.
Although Adrian, 67, is not revisiting Ridley, he will be back as Ted Hastings, commanding officer of AC-12 - a fictional anti-corruption unit in Central Police - in the upcoming seventh series of the BBC's Line of Duty.
In series seven, AC-12 have been disbanded and rebranded the Inspectorate of Police Standards.
Anticorruption work has never been more difficult, and in this challenging climate, Ted, Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) and Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) are assigned their most sensitive case so far.
Speaking of the seventh series - which is set to air in 2027 - Adrian said: "As we count down the AC12 days of Christmas, what a joy it is to know that the Three Amigos will be back filming together next year.
"Delighted with the news and looking forward to those mercurial twists and turns."
Season seven of Line of Duty will start filming in Belfast in Spring 2026.
Its creator-and-writer Jed Mercurio, 60, said: "Everyone involved in Line of Duty feels enormous gratitude to the show’s fans.
"We’re privileged to have had so many of you follow the ups and downs of AC-12 over six previous seasons, and we couldn’t be more delighted to be returning for a seventh.
"Corruption in this country is supposed to have come to an end while Line of Duty was off air, so I’ve been forced to use my imagination."
