Army sitcom dropped after three series

BBC Three has dropped its Army sitcom Bluestone 42 after three series.

The move coincides with British ground troops withdrawing from Afghanistan, where the series is set.

It ran for 21 episodes since launching in March 2013 and was repeated on BBC One and BBC Two.

Writers James Cary and Richard Hurst broke the news on the former’s blog, Sitcom Geek.

They said: ‘We’re sad to announce that Bluestone 42 will not be returning for a fourth series. Overall, it was felt that the show had run its course, with the return of the troops from Afghanistan, and the move of BBC Three to an online platform.’

‘Its most recent series achieved higher audience figures than the first two, with a total of over two million viewers tuning in on average each week.’

‘We would like to thank BBC Three for backing the show in the first place, and giving us the creative freedom to pursue our vision for the first comedy set during a war that was still being fought.

‘We are also very grateful for a superb cast and crew both in UK and South Africa who worked with professionalism, resilience and good humour throughout the process, especially on some very demanding filming days in very hot weather with some very tight budgets. And around some very loud bangs. Everyone can be proud of what we achieved together.’

Corporal Daniel Whittingham, a British Army bomb disposal expert, said the series' black humour was ‘spot-on’ and its action scenes ‘pretty accurate’.

• Chortle today published an extract from Cary’s book, Writing That Sitcom. Read it here.

Published: 15 Jul 2015