Jason Manford 'disappointed' with Scarborough axe

Jason Manford is "disappointed" \'Scarborough\' has been axed.

The 38-year-old star believes the BBC sitcom - in which he starred alongside Catherine Tyldesley as Mike and Karen, a couple who had recently got back together after five years apart - played a huge role by serving a "core demographic audience that\'s often forgotten".

He said: "It was great fun to do and a lot of people enjoyed it

"It\'s disappointing because I think it served a core demographic audience that\'s often forgotten, which is middle-aged, working-class people who don\'t always get TV made for them."

And the comedian believes the comedy had a similar feeling to legendary British sitcom \'Last of the Summer Wine\', which aired from 1973 to 2010.

He added to the Radio Times magazine: "I thought it had a \'Last Of The Summer Wine\' feel to it."

\'Open All Hours\' star Maggie Ollerenshaw revealed in November that \'Scarborough\' - in which she played Geraldine - hadn\'t been given a second series by the BBC.

She tweeted: "Devastated to hear @Scarborough is not being recommissioned by the BBC. Best tv comedy I\'ve ever been part of & best public response I\'ve ever had to a character I\'ve played. (sic)"

Following her tweet, a message on the Scarborough Twitter account thanked the show\'s fans for their support during the first and only series.

It read: "Today we learned the BBC has decided not to recommission Scarborough for a 2nd series. Obviously we are all extremely disappointed but we\'d like to thank all our fans for their wonderful support. You can still enjoy Scarborough on @BBCiPlayer for another 10 months."

The BBC added in statement: "Sometimes we have to make difficult decisions to make room for new comedy on BBC One.

"We are very proud of \'Scarborough\' and would like to thank Derren and the team for all their hard work on the series."

Jason recently admitted it is a "travesty" that his co-star Steve Edge hasn\'t landed more TV work in the past.

He said: "Playing my best mate is my actual best mate Steve Edge, who I think is one of the best character actors in the country.

"He just has funny bones and it\'s a travesty that we\'ve not seen more of him before. I can\'t wait for everyone to see just how hilarious he is in this show."