ITV’s Lewis Ends After Ten Years

LONDON: ITV has confirmed that its long-running drama Lewis will come to a close with a two-part film, What Lies Tangled, this month.

Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox are retiring after playing detective duo Robbie Lewis and James Hathaway in Lewis for the past ten years.

The drama was commissioned in 2005 as a spin-off of Inspector Morse, which had introduced the character of Robbie Lewis in 1987. Its premiere was set five years after the death of Morse, Lewis's longtime partner, pairing him with a new detective, James Hathaway. The finale on November 10 will be Lewis's 33rd episode.

ITV’s director of drama, Steve November, commented: "It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Robbie Lewis, one of ITV's most loved and enduring characters. We owe Kevin a huge debt of gratitude for nearly 30 fantastic years of Morse and Lewis, and, of course, many thanks too to Laurence Fox who has been by Kevin's side for the last ten years. We respect their decision not to continue into a further series and wish them the very best for whatever comes next."

"I feel incredibly fortunate to have shared a decade of fantastic worldwide success with Laurence and with the most brilliant crew, cast and production team anyone could wish for, and all that time with the loyal support of so many fans and of our backers ITV and WGBH ‎Boston," Whately said.

Fox added, "What an extraordinary ten years. I feel so lucky to have worked with absolutely the best crew in the business on Lewis. I will really miss hanging out with Kev for half the year. I am however fairly confident that he will not miss my flawless Geordie accent between takes. Thank you so much for watching and supporting us."