The Inspector Morse prequel is ending with this ninth run – but which characters are returning?
The end of Endeavour is nigh and while fans of the long-running ITV crime drama may be saddened to see it leave our screens, we can expect the finale to leave us “emotionally satisfied“, according to series star Shaun Evans.
The final three episodes of the Inspector Morse prequel series are set to tie things up in a definitive way and will see Evans reprise the title role of DS Endeavour Morse for the very last time. He also directs the first of the new films titled Prelude.
Roger Allam returns as DCI Fred Thursday and this time round, the series sets off in the early ’70s. Our two detectives find themselves entering a new era of change both professionally and personally with the return of some familiar faces along the way including Fred’s son Sam, who arrives back from Northern Ireland following his service in the British Army.
But who else is set to return for the final three episodes of Endeavour? Read on to find out everything about the cast of Endeavour season 9.
Endeavour season 9 cast
Shaun Evans plays Detective Sergeant Endeavour Morse
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Who is Endeavour Morse? Our enigmatic lead, Endeavour is the younger version of John Thaw’s character in the iconic Inspector Morse series. We’ve followed him through ups and downs throughout his personal and professional life, but last season saw a new side to Endeavour, as he increasingly turned to alcohol.
Speaking about where we left Endeavour in season 8, Evans states: “Things were getting on top of Morse at the end of the last series. Burning the candle at both ends and not managing his relationship with alcohol. So he has taken some time off and been away for a number of months in what is said to be the West Country to get his act together.
“At the start of this series he is back with a more balanced perspective. It’s dealt with in a very subtle and interesting way. And he will now only take a drink during moments of emotional turmoil. It’s not for boredom or for habit. It’s harking back to what we’ve done over the past couple of years. Whenever things are getting difficult this, in a way, is his refuge. Likewise with the crossword puzzles and the opera. It’s a safe space for him.”
In this season, though, as things start to draw to a close, Evans has also said that his character’s “aloneness and isolation is cemented in this series”, which likely hints at the surrogate father-son relationship between Endeavour and Thursday.
Where have I seen Shaun Evans before? Evans has starred as Endeavour since the beginning of the prequel in 2012, but has also had roles in Teachers, Silk, Ashes to Ashes and Vigil. He has also directed episodes of Casualty and Endeavour, and has directed the first episode of Endeavour season 9.
Roger Allam plays Detective Inspector Fred Thursday
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Who is Fred Thursday? Fred is Endeavour’s long-standing boss and mentor, who has been under financial and personal pressures in recent seasons. He’s been a kind of surrogate father for Endeavour but their relationship is set to be under immense pressure in this forthcoming ninth season.
Thursday’s future will also be set to change this season, with Allam stating: “Thursday applies for a promotion to nearby Carshall, where Endeavour started his police career. The promotion means that because of the money Fred lost to his brother Charlie he can serve for maybe three more years in Carshall, increase his pension, and then call it a day. But that means more desk work which he has never been keen on.”
Chatting to RadioTimes.com and other press about the new season, Allam also revealed how there will be “a bit of a crisis” in the Thursday family, especially in regards to his own son Sam.
“I mean, it is very, very, rocky,” he says. “And there is something – something goes wrong in it that results in a kind of parting of the ways for Morse and Thursday. So it’s big, it’s massive.”
Where have I seen Roger Allam before? The well-known stage and screen actor has been in a variety of different things such as playing Illyrio Mopatis in Game of Thrones, Brigadier Adrian Stone in The Missing and Antoine Verlaque in Murder in Provence. He also stars in BBC Radio 4 comedy drama series Conversations from a Long Marriage opposite Dame Joanna Lumley, to name a few of his appearances.
Anton Lesser plays Chief Superintendent Reginald Bright
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Who is Reginald Bright? Bright is on the verge of retirement in this season, no longer able to recognise the world of 1972. Evans describes it as “actually what has happened is time has moved on and perhaps you have not moved along with it. That’s when Bright knows it’s time to retire.”
Where have I seen Anton Lesser before? Another acclaimed and well-known actor, Lesser is perhaps best known to many audiences for his role as Qyburn, Queen Cersei’s villainous advisor, in HBO’s Game of Thrones. He’s also starred in The Crown, Disobedience, Wolf Hall, Ripper Street and most recently, Andor and Better.
Sean Rigby plays Detective Sergeant Jim Strange
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Who is Jim Strange? Morse’s friend, colleague and former roommate, Strange is a younger version of Morse’s boss from the original Inspector Morse series. According to Allam, “Jim Strange is set to move away with Joan,” which only further adds to Endeavour’s sense of loneliness and isolation in this final season.
Where have I seen Sean Rigby before? Rigby has starred in BBC historical drama Gunpowder, in addition to short films Isabella, The Baby Shower and Crossing Seas.
Sara Vickers plays Joan Thursday
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Who is Joan Thursday? Fred and Win’s daughter, Joan is engaged to marry Jim this season but after the lingering ‘will they/won’t they’ romantic storyline between Endeavour and Joan, how will her feelings play out in this final season?
Allam also teased that “Thursday, Morse and others are in real danger” this season, so will Joan’s wedding go off without a hitch? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Where have I seen Sara Vickers before? Vickers starred in HBO’s Watchmen as Ms. Crookshanks and has also had roles in Lovesick, The Crown, Shetland, Man Down, Privates, Taggart and Scottish crime drama, Guilt.
Caroline O’Neill plays Win Thursday
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Who is Win Thursday? Win is Fred’s wife and previously, the two have gone through their fair share of trials and tribulations within their marriage on account of their financial situation.
Where have I seen Caroline O’Neill before? The actress has starred in numerous shows including Last Tango in Halifax, Lewis, EastEnders, Coronation Street, Grange Hill, Doc Martin, Queer as Folk, and Happy Valley.
Jack Bannon plays Sam Thursday
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Who is Sam Thursday? Sam is Fred and Win’s son, who has arrived back from Northern Ireland following his service in the British Army. Speaking about Sam’s arrival this series, Allam has revealed: “Sam is a huge worry for Thursday in this series. Sam is out of control and doesn’t know what to do. He didn’t really want to come home to Oxford in the first place. So there is an awful lot to deal with there both practically and emotionally about how to get Sam on his feet again.
“Sam feels humiliated about what happened when he was with the Army in Northern Ireland. His experience there is a different kind of thing to what Thursday went through in the Second World War. That was so vast with Fred fighting in North Africa and the Italian campaign which was pretty awful. Especially the Battle of Monte Cassino.”
Where have I seen Jack Bannon before? Bannon has previously appeared in Endeavour as Sam and reprises his role this season. He has also starred in Medici, Pennyworth, The Loch and Clique.
Abigail Thaw plays Dorothea Frazil
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Who is Dorothea Frazil? Dorothea has become a friend of Morse’s throughout the seasons and is the editor of the real-life Oxford Mail newspaper, and staunch supporter of women’s rights.
Where have I seen Abigail Thaw before? Abigail is the real-life daughter of former Inspector Morse star John Thaw. She has starred in Black Mirror, Love Soup, I Want My Wife Back, Doctors, Casualty and The Bill, among many other TV, stage and film roles.
James Bradshaw plays Dr Max DeBryn
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Who is Dr Max DeBryn? Max is the Home Office pathologist, and is a younger version of the same character who appeared in early episodes of the original Inspector Morse series (who is played by Peter Woodthorpe).
Where have I seen James Bradshaw before? Bradshaw has starred in Hollyoaks, Primeval, Doctors, EastEnders, Coronation Street, Heartbeat, Close to the Enemy and Mile High.
Additional cast for Endeavour season 9
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Like with previous seasons, each film focuses on an entirely different case with a cast of guest characters and actors. Episode 1, entitled Prelude, is the first of the three films in season 9.
It opens in the spring of 1972 with two unexplained deaths leading Endeavour and Thursday to the Oxford Concert Orchestra. But a body discovered in a derelict warehouse stokes fears that “London business” involving the criminal underworld has again found its way to Oxford.
Thursday and Endeavour’s investigation unearths some unsettling connections to cases the duo believed were well and truly behind them. Additional cast members for Prelude include:
- Jane Lapotaire as Madame
- Rob Ostlere as Donald Fischer
- Nicholas Farrell as Sir Alexander
- Kirstin Louie as Christina
- Tamsin Newlands as Margeaux
- Imogen Daines as Mabs
- James Anderson as Fergus
- Nicholas Boulton as Jack Graham-Scott
- Leaphia Darko as Lindsay Trench
- Jenny Galloway as Mrs Pat Treadle
- James Doherty as Lee
- Simon Harrison as Ronnie Box
Endeavour returns to ITV1 on Sunday 26th February at 8pm. Seasons 1-8 are available to stream on ITVX now. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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