There won’t be a second series of ITV’s Sanditon…

Jane Austen drama series Sanditon has been cancelled.

An ITV spokesperson told RadioTimes “We loved Sanditon and we were very proud to have it on ITV. We would have loved it to return, but unfortunately we just didn’t get the audience that would make that possible for us, which is heartbreaking for everybody involved in this wonderful adaptation. Sanditon is yet to air in the US and we hope they may find a way of continuing with this series.”

It seemed that the series’ cancellation was inevitable, with writer Andrew Davies previously saying ITV didn’t seem to be keen on giving it a renewal. “ITV are still dragging their heels over this [Viewer numbers] dipped below three million. They had taken a bit of a hit over Vanity Fair – they’ve sort of gone off doing period drama.”

Davies added that the show’s American co-producers “are very keen to do a second series – we’re still living in hope” and that he was aware that Sanditon had ended on a cliffhanger. “I don’t know if you could tell from watching it, but we were rather counting on getting a second series. We thought if wrap up Charlotte and Sidney at the end of the first series, we’d have to have a new heroine take over or something like that in series two. I do sympathise with everyone who felt upset about Charlotte and Sidney not getting their happy ending. Although, happy endings don’t always happen.”