ITV The Tower axed after series three despite attracting millions of viewers

ITV has scrapped The Tower, a police drama which stars Gemma Whelan, Jimmy Akingbola and Karl Davies, which ran for three seasons from 2021 to September of this year

ITV has cancelled crime drama series The Tower, according to reports.

The police drama ran for three series, the last of which was broadcast across four consecutive nights in September. Inspired by popular novel Gallowstree Lane, from author Kate London, the programme regularly pulled in between three million and six million viewers.

But The Tower has now been demolished, it is understood. The Sun says ITV has pulled the plug on any further seasons, citing viewing figures for the final series plunged below expectations.

"The Tower was much loved by the audience who watched the drama but the viewing figures for the last series did not reach expectations so sadly we won’t be recommissioning," a spokesperson for ITV said.

Gemma Whelan, Emmett J Scanlan, Tamzin Outhwaite and Jimmy Akingbola were among the cast of the show, which although was set in southeast London, was mostly filmed in the Northwest of England, particularly Liverpool and Manchester.

In series three, Whelan's character, police officer Sarah Collins investigated the stabbing of a teenager, which brought her face to face with Lizzie, who was trying to juggle being a detective and a mother. Following its broadcast in the autumn, bosses were preparing scripts for a fourth series, it is understood.

Patrick Harbinson, who adapted the books for TV, had remained hopeful of a fourth run. He told The Sun’s TV Mag in August: “I’m already writing the first episode of The Tower four just to show to ITV that we’re ready to go, because Kate [London] has already written a brilliant fourth novel, The Misper, on which the new series would be based. There are more brilliant stories to tell, involving Gemma Whelan’s character DS Sarah Collins and PC Lizzie Adama, played by Tahirah Sharif."

But his hope has reportedly been dashed now, with the bosses at ITV axing the drama, which began in 2021. Positive comparisons were initially made by critics to fellow police corruption drama Line of Duty, and the acting of Whelan, from Leeds, was also considered a highlight.