...and blames licence fee freeze

The BBC has axed Dirk Gently, its star Stephen Mangan has revealed.

He broke the news that the comedy-drama, based on the Douglas Adams novels, will not be returning to BBC Four on Twitter.

He wrote: ‘It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to report that the BBC have decided not to make any more Dirk Gently.’

A pilot episode attracted 1.1million viewers in 2010, which was followed by three hour-long episodes earlier this year. By the last episode, audiences had fallen to 592,000 – but still strong for BBC Four.

A BBC spokesman said that the show will not be recommissioned because of a freeze on the licence fee had led to budget cuts across BBC Four. 'We'll focus on the best dramas from around the globe, like The Killing and Borgen,' they said.

Last year, Mangan admitted that he would be ‘heartbroken’ if the BBC ever cancelled the show, joking: ‘I'll go round there and smash the place up with my bare hands.’

Howard Overman, whose credits include Misfits, adapted two of Adams' books - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, for the BBC series.

Published: 29 May 2012