[Scarlett.]

'Robin Hood' axed by BBC'

The BBC has announced that it has axed Saturday night drama Robin Hood.

The series, produced by Tiger Aspect, has been plagued with cast departures in recent months. Jonas Armstrong, who plays the titular character, and Richard Armitage were both killed off in the series finale, while Keith Allen had also announced that he would not return if a fourth series was commissioned.

A BBC spokesperson confirmed: "Viewers have enjoyed three fantastic series of Robin Hood but with the death of Robin in last week's finale, we feel that the show has reached its natural conclusion."

Greg Brenman, head of drama at Tiger Aspect, said: "We have been immensely proud to be the most recent custodians of the Robin Hood legend. From the outset it was our ambition to find an exciting and modern way of interpreting our version of the hero and his legendary life.

"We have had a fantastic time creating and producing Robin Hood, working with some of the most talented actors, writers and directors in our industry. We are sad to be saying goodbye to this much-loved project."

Despite beating ITV1's Primeval in the ratings when it returned in March, audience figures slipped to 2.19m for Saturday's finale - the show's lowest ever audience.

Digital Spy