Endeavour creator says pandemic has 'thrown a spanner in the works'

\'Endeavour\' creator Russell Lewis has admitted the coronavirus pandemic could "throw a spanner in the works" of the new series.

The detective drama series - which stars Shaun Evans as the young Endeavour Morse - has been forced to pause filming due to government guidelines, and Russell has admitted it has disturbed the show\'s original timeline.

He explained: "The hiatus in production may throw a spanner in the works in terms of the rather happy timeline in which we\'ve found ourselves across the past four series - with our story year being exactly 50 years distant from the year of broadcast - but we shall cross that frayed rope bridge over crocodile-infested waters when we reach it."

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Russell also revealed plans are having to be amended in order to deliver a "grand slam" moment in the new series.

He told Radio Times magazine: "There are some clear waypoints in \'71, if that turns out to be the year we address. Everything is in the planning stage.

"We know the cards that remain in our hand, and it\'s very much a case of arranging the order in which they\'re played in order to bring about the desired grand slam."

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Russell previously revealed he\'s been preparing for a "much larger destination" to end the long-running show.

However, it remains to be seen how the pandemic will change the series.

Speaking in 2019, he shared: "In a way, I\'d always thought we\'d probably stop in the \'60s, but there\'s still more stories to tell.

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"We always shape them so that - heaven forfend, force majeure stops us from doing any more - that that would be an appropriate endpoint with each series.

"But yeah, there is a much larger destination in mind if we get there. So yeah, there is a plan. There\'s always been a plan from the start."