ITV has ended weeks of speculation about the future of fantasy action drama Primeval by confirming today that it will not be making another series of the show.

The announcement from ITV appears to scupper a rescue plan hatched by Impossible Pictures, the independent producer of Primeval, to keep the show alive by sharing the cost with a multichannel broadcaster.

ITV has now decided against commissioning a fourth series. The third run launched with 5.3 million viewers in April.

"After three very successful series of Primeval there are no plans at the present time for it to return to ITV. High-quality drama remains a key part of the ITV schedule although our current focus is on post-watershed productions," an ITV spokesman said.

The ITV director of television, channels and online, Peter Fincham, had been weighing the future of the series in recent weeks.

Impossible Pictures is understood to have presented ITV with a proposal that could have seen the fourth series of the Saturday evening drama premiere on a digital channel before airing on ITV1 later. It was understood that the Sci Fi channel was being eyed as a potential home for the show.

The series stars Ben Miller and the former S Club 7 singer Hannah Spearritt and follows a group of scientists investigating prehistoric and futuristic creatures that enter the present through anomalies in time. It is relatively expensive because of all its CGI effects.

ITV has been looking to cut costs on a range of its shows following the slashing of its programme budget because of declining advertising revenues.

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