ITV quietly axes well-liked present after rankings unexpectedly plummet

ITV has quietly axed a popular police drama series after airing for three seasons.

The Tower, which starred Gemma Whelan, Emmett J Scanlan and Tamzin Outhwaite, followed a group of detectives investigating serious crimes in central London, after two people fell to their deaths from a tower block. It is based on Kate London’s book series inspired by her time in the Met Police service.

Despite receiving decent ratings, ITV has pulled the plug on the series after viewing figures did not meet expectations for its latest season.

An ITV spokesperson told The Sun: “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.”

Game of Thrones star Whelan played DS Sarah Collins, who was investigating crimes in London alongside Peaky Blinders star Scanlan, a maverick inspector called Kieran Shaw.

According to The Sun, the series began in 2021 with a five and half million audience. But when season three premiered in early September, it lost more than a million viewers over the course of four episodes.

However, at the time of the series airing, fans seemed gripped by the series, with one fan branding it as similar to the hit BBC police drama Line of Duty.

“Maybe getting a bit carried away, but this is starting to feel a little bit Line of Duty with the character development…Best ITV show in years,” one person wrote on X/Twitter.

Another added: “Just finished series 3 #thetower wow, that was the best series. Great acting by everyone on the show, I especially loved @EmmettScanlan and @JimmyAkingbola relationship. Well done on another fab series.”

But others seemed confused by the plot, with one person writing online: “Enjoying it…..but got no idea what’s goings on…”

It appears as though the axing might come as a shock to those who worked on the show, since early scenes for series four had already been written.

Patrick Harbinson, who adapted the books for TV, told The Sun earlier this year that he began writing for season four of the series based on London’s novel The Misper.

“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.”

“Both those characters still have a long way to go. The world of crime in England is fast changing. Different crimes, different fears, different heroes. I’d love to do more about them.”

The Independent has contacted ITV for comment.