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Shaun Evans has been cast as Endeavour Morse in ITV's prequel to the popular detective series. Endeavour, which is written by Russell Lewis (Lewis, Cadfael), will explore the origins of the character, famed for his love of crosswords, classical music and real ale. Evans, whose TV credits include The Take and Come Rain Come Shine, will play the younger version of the Oxford detective originally made famous to TV audiences by John Thaw. "Morse as a young man is a wonderful character that I'm very excited to be playing. My hope is that we can compliment what's come before, by telling a great story, and telling it well," said Evans. Endeavour will be part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the first episode of Morse, which aired on ITV in 1987. Thaw went on to film 33 more stories over the next 13 years. (more)...

Alison Steadman has said that reality TV is a "waste of time". The Abigail's Party actress told Metro that she is not a fan of the format. Steadman said: "The more channels we get the more hours there are to fill so you get more reality shows. I hate things like Big Brother. They're out of date and a waste of time on the part of people in the show and of the viewers. "Life's too short to be watching that. If you see me on one of those shows you'll know I've lost the plot. I'd like to see more one-off dramas, which is what attracted me to Come Rain Come Shine." Asked about the timeliness (more)...

BBC Two's Miranda ended its second series on a sizeable 4.3m last night, according to overnight data. 'The Perfect Christmas' amused 4.28m (15.7%) at 8.30pm - representing an all-time high for the show - sparking speculation that it may be promoted to BBC One for the third series. Ruth Jones's Christmas Cracker, the Gavin and Stacey star's chatshow hosting debut, followed with 2.45m (9.1%), and a Have I Got News For You catchup fetched 1.65m (6.4%) at 10pm. Elsewhere on BBC Two, Yellow Stone nabbed 2m (7.6%) in the 7pm hour, and University Challenge interested 3.27m (11.8%) at 8pm. Over on ITV1, Countrywise Kitchen mustered 3.23m (11.7%), after which David Jason drama Come Rain Come Shine took 5.78m (22%) between 8.30pm and 10.30pm. BBC One's The Nativity debuted to an impressive (more)...

.Tis the season to moralise, and in charge of the compass this Monday (at 8.30pm) is ITV1 and cow-eyed, portly old bloke David Jason. He plays Don in Come Rain Come Shine--a Cockney, ex-cabbie and devoted father who puts his family first and has a huge soft spot for his wealthy, property developer son, David (Shaun Evans). Don.s wife Dora (Alison Steadman), however, sees her flashy, foolish man-child a bit more clearly.

We open as Don and Dora arrive at David.s Footballers. Wives style...  More >>...