Oxford

ITVhascommissionedasixthseriesofhugelypopulardetectivedrama,Endeavour,followingsuccessfulratingsandcriticalacclaimforthefifthseries.Co-producedbyleadingindieMammothScreenandMASTERPIECE,thesmartandsavvyInspectorMorseprequelchartsthecareerofEndeavourMorseasherisesupthroughtheranks,witheachfeature-lengthfilminvestigatinganewintricatelyplottedcase.ThenewsetoffilmswillseeShaunEvansreprisehistitularroleasDSEndeavourMorse,andcelebratedstageandscreenactorRogerAllamreturnasmentorDIFredThursday.EachstorywillbewrittenbyRussellLewis,whocontributedtoInspectorMorseandhaswritteneachofthe23Endeavourscreenplayssofar.Receivingpraisefromcriticsandviewersalike,thedramahasgonefromstrengthtostrengthsinceitsfirstoutingasaone-offfilmin2012tomarkthe25thanniversaryofInspectorMorseonITV.Thelatestserieslaunchedwithconsolidatedfiguresof6.7mand25\%ashare,withtheconsolidatedfiguresforthefirstfourfilmsthehighestforthreeyears.FilmedinandaroundOxford,thenewsetoffilmswillbesetin1969andgointoproductionlaterthisyearfortransmissionin2019.MammothScreen’sDamienTimmerexecutiveproduces,alongsidewriterandcreatorRussellLewisandWGBH’sRebeccaEaton.DeanneCunningham(ColdFeet)willproducethenewseries.Creator,RussellLewissaid:Asourstoryreachesthelastyearofthe1960s,andmankindmakesitsgiantleap,allat#TeamEndeavourlookforwardtoexploringfurtherearlychaptersinthecasebookofColinDexter’sbelovedcreation.ITV’sHeadofDrama,PollyHilladded:EndeavourcontinuestobehugelypopularwithITVaudiencesandwe’redelightedtobebringingviewersmorefilmstoenjoy.ThankstoRussellLewis’sconsistentlyintriguingscriptsandtheexcellentproductionvaluesatMammothScreen,itisahighqualitydramathatITVisimmenselyproudof.ITVStudiosGlobalEntertainmentdistributethedramainternationally.

This new feature-length biographical film tells the extraordinary and dramatic story of the planet's most famous living scientist, told for the first time in his own words and by those closest to him. Made with unique access to his private life, this is an intimate and moving journey into Stephen Hawking's past and present. Interviewees include Stephen Hawking's sister Mary, his ex-wife Jane, carers and students, as well as colleagues such as Roger Penrose, plus Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Jim Carrey, and Sir Richard Branson This inspirational portrait of an iconic figure relates Hawking's incredible personal journey from boyhood underachiever to scientific genius and multi-million-selling author. And it charts how he overcame being diagnosed with motor neurone disease - and being given just two years to live - to make amazing scientific discoveries and become a symbol of triumph over adversity. Born exactly 300 - years after the death of Galileo, Hawking grew up in a family some regarded as eccentric. Always asking questions, he was nicknamed 'Einstein' at school. Hawking blossomed at Oxford, although he only spent an hour a day studying. He noticed that he was becoming clumsy and fell over for no apparent reason. He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, but nevertheless started a family and embarked on his academic career, finding himself at the heart of a searing scientific debate about the origins of the universe. And as he lost the use of his body, Hawking had to find new ways to think. He went on to write the huge bestseller A Brief History of Time, and the film reveals the high and lows of his resulting fame and fortune.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Charlie Hillian is killed on the night of his retirement party. Hillian was at one time a senior officer in Oxford and was in fact Morse's boss. He was also writing a book about his most memorable cases, including one about the unsolved death of an 8-year-old girl some 18 years ago. The suspect in that case, Frederick Redpath, was at Hillian's house the day he died and that chapter from the manuscript is missing. There are other suspects however, including Hillian's ghost writer who will now receive all of the book's royalties; a handyman who was working on the property; and Redpath's daughter, who knew the little girl who was killed all those years before. Morse comes into conflict with with a colleague DCI Dawson, who was one of Hillian's protégés, as they again look into the little girl's death.

The disappearance of Sir Julius Hanbury - and the theft of several of his erotic paintings - provide a new puzzle for Morse to solve. Assisted by DS Lewis, Morse interviews everyone at Hanbury House and it is in the course of searching the grounds that he finds Sir Julius' body, appropriately enough, in the family mausoleum. The pathologist notes that he was the victim of a frenzied attack but the lack of blood at scene leaves the police to conclude that he murdered elsewhere. Sir Julius was a candidate to become the Master of an Oxford college and was known to have a have had a bitter rivalry with another candidate for the position. When Roger Meadows, a friend of the Hanbury's au pair, is killed in a car accident, Morse concludes that that he too was murdered. Jealousy, revenge and greed all play part in the deaths.

Morse and Lewis investigate the death of Laura Poindexter, an American tourist who is part of an exclusive tour group visiting Oxford. Missing from her personal effects is her jewelry, including the Wolvercote Tongue which she was going to donate to the Ashmolean Museum. The pathologist determines that she died of natural causes, but Morse feels there's something not quite right. The mystery deepens when Theodore Kemp, the Ashmolean's expert on the Wolvercote Tongue, is found dead and Mrs. Poindexter's husband goes missing.

ITVhasconfirmedthathitdetectivedramaEndeavourhasbeenrecommissionedforaseventhseries.Theannouncementfollowscriticalacclaimandconsistentlystrongviewingfiguresforthemostrecentseries.ProducedbyleadingindieMammothScreeninpartnershipwithPBSMasterpiece,thesuccessfulserieschartstheearlycareeroftheyoungEndeavourMorse,playedbyacclaimedactor,ShaunEvans.ThenewsetoffilmswillseeEvansreprisehisrolealongsidecelebratedstarofstageandscreen,RogerAllamasmentorDIFredThursday.WrittenonceagainbyRussellLewis,whohaspennedallofthe27Endeavourscreenplaystodate,thenewserieswillbesetin1970andproductionwillbeginlaterthisyearfortransmissionin2020.FilmingwilltakeplaceinOxfordandthesurroundingarea.CreatorRussellLewissays:We’rethrilledITVhasasked#TeamEndeavourtocontinuetoaddtotheCasebookofColinDexter’simmortalcreation,andtakeE.MorseandOxford’sFinestintoanewdecadeofdecimalisation,packageholidays,theOilCrisis,Blackouts,ThreeDayWeeks,andEuropaEndlos.MammothScreen’sManagingDirector,DamienTimmeradded:We’vebeenthrilledwiththeresponsetoSeries6–itstestamenttoRussellLewis’continuingclevernessandalsothebrilliantpartnershipbetweenShaunEvansandRogerAllamasEndeavourMorseandFredThursday.The1970sarecallingus,andwecan’twait!HeadofDramaatITV,PollyHillcommented:We’reincrediblyproudofEndeavouranddelightedtohaverecommissionedthedramaforaseventhseries.WriterandcreatorRussellLewiscontinuestoengageviewerswithcarefullycraftedstoriesforEndeavourandThursdayaswemoveintothe1970s.We’regratefultotheproductionteamatMammothScreenforcontinuingtodeliversuchahighqualitydrama.RecentlyvotedthefourthgreatestBritishcrimedramaofalltimeinapollconductedbyRadioTimes,thedramahasgonefromstrengthtostrengthsinceitsfirstoutingasaone-offfilmin2012.Thelatestserieslaunchedwithaconsolidatedaudienceof6.9manda27\%share,markingEndeavour’sbiggestaudiencesince2014.MammothScreen’sDamienTimmerandHelenZieglerwillactasexecutiveproducersfortheseventhseries,alongsidewriterandcreatorRussellLewisandWGBH’sRebeccaEaton.ThenewsetoffilmswilldistributedbyITVStudiosGlobalEntertainmentinternationally.