The show won't be returning for a third season.
ITV has quietly axed police procedural drama Ridley.
The show, which stars Line of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar, has been ended by the channel after two seasons, which aired in 2022 and 2025.
The north of England-set drama follows Alex Ridley (Dunbar), a detective coaxed out of retirement to consult on a murder case for his former protégée, DI Carol Farman. When we first meet Ridley in season 1, his life is in turmoil following an arson attack 18 months ago that killed his wife and daughter.
An ITV spokesperson told Radio Times: "There are currently no plans to return to Ridley. We'd like to extend our thanks to creator and writer Paul Matthew Thompson, executive producer Jonathan Fisher and the team at West Road Pictures for producing two successful series."
Speaking about what drew him to the role of Alex Ridley, Dunbar previously said: "He’s complicated in many ways, quite a distance away from anything I’ve played before, even though it’s me, it looks like me, and there’s obviously echoes of Ted Hastings, because he’s a cop.
"But there are so many interesting layers to his personality, so many things in his background, his history, especially with all the different places that he goes to and the different things he has to deal with. The complications of the guy, I think, was the main thing that attracted me to it."
Although Dunbar won’t be revisiting Ridley, he will be back on our screens as Ted Hastings in Line of Duty season 7, production on which is set to begin in Belfast this month.
Vicky McClure and Martin Compston are also set to reprise their roles in the hit show.
The six-part season will open with AC-12 having been disbanded and rebranded as the Inspectorate of Police Standards. The trio are assigned “their most sensitive case so far” when a fellow officer is accused of misconduct.
Ridley seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on ITVX.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
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