Lee and Dean WON'T be coming back

Channel 4 passes on any more episodes of builders' comedy

Channel 4 sitcom Lee And Dean will not be coming back for a third series, its creators have revealed.

Mark O'Sullivan and Miles Chapman said they were ‘sorry not to have an opportunity to finish the story’ – but admitted ‘we never quite got the number of viewers to guarantee another run’.

The show ran for two series in 2018 and 2019, following a 2015 online pilot.

In a statement posted online, the pair – along with co-writer Sam Underwood and producer Martyn Jolly – said: ‘We're really sorry to tell you that there won't be a third series of Lee And Dean.

It's a tough time in a tough industry (as with so many industries) and unfortunately we never quite got the number of viewers to guarantee another run. We're certainly not complaining - we can't thank Channel 4 enough for supporting us, encouraging us, having faith in us. And we're very excited about the other projects we're working on together, and elsewhere.

We had the best time making the two series. We became a family - everybody on and off camera - and we are lucky to have been brought together by something so special. We're made many friends for life from making our little show. Too many people to mention by name, but we love you all.

We'd also like to thank the wonderful fans who watched, shared, talked about, and recommended Lee And Dean, many of whom we now consider our friends as well. Thank you for following our story, for caring about our characters, for laughing and crying with us. We get asked daily about the show, and it's a source of joy that people care about it as much as we do, and are still discovering it. Please keep telling people about it.

We're sorry not to have an opportunity to finish the story - perhaps one day we will. Fingers crossed. And we're very pleased the characters themselves will live on in other formats. Thank you a million times.’

The cast hosted a live stream watch-a-long on YouTube on Friday night, while Chapman and O’Sullivan have also started a podcast in character, Self-Isolating with Lee and Dean, which is available here.

Here's a clip from last year's Channel 4 series: