Will there be another series of ITV drama Beecham House?
After the dramatic events of the series finale, here's what we know about the future of Beecham House
It's all going suspiciously well in the final episode of Beecham House. John Beecham (Tom Bateman) has cleared his good name; Mrs Beecham (Lesley Nicol) is off the opium; Daniel (Leo Suter) has joined the family business; Samuel Parker (Marc Warren) has been exposed as a rat and Violet (Bessie Carter) is getting over her disappointment.
But by the time John declares his love and gets engaged to Margaret Osborne (Dakota Blue Richards) with the Taj Mahal in the background, it is clear that things are going FAR too well. Something bad is about to happen.
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That hunch is correct. In the final minutes of the series, John and Margaret return to Beecham House to find the guards dead, the servants stabbed – and John's son missing! Baby August, the maharaja-to-be, has been taken from his crib.
That's clearly a set-up for a second series. But will the ITV drama be back for more?
Will there be a second series of Beecham House?
Ahead of the finale, ITV was unable to confirm whether there will be a second series of the drama.
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But if the broadcaster does decide to re-commission Beecham House, Gurinder Chadha – the show's creator, writer and director – is keen to go ahead.
Speaking at the series premiere, Chadha said Beecham House's future "really depends on the audience, the audience is going to tell me really. Obviously I can sit here and say, I'd like 25 seasons please..."
She added: "But we need the audience obviously to turn up. If the audience turns up, then we can go on."
Unfortunately, viewing figures have been disappointing for ITV's Sunday 9pm slot. The drama launched to an overnight audience of 2.3 million, dropping to 1.52 million for the penultimate episode.
So despite the cliffhanger ending to series one, the show's future seems uncertain...
What would happen in a second series of Beecham House?
Tom Bateman, who stars as John Beecham, told press ahead of the series premiere: "In season two, it would be nice to see him open up a bit more... because the series ends still with a lot of questions. Some are answered, but as soon as you answer one you open up a can of worms for another."
The big question at the end of series one is: who has kidnapped baby August – and is he safe?
The drama also leaves us wondering about Captain Samuel Parker (Marc Warren). What was his role in the raid on Beecham House, which left many guards and servants dead? Who was he working with? And what is the kidnappers' motive?
Dakota Blue Richards, who plays Margaret Osborne, said she would also be keen to return: "I think the first season of anything, of course you want to wait and see how it's received, and it'll be interesting I think as well to see which parts of the story audiences most connect with.
"There's a lot going on, so I think that will very much determine what happens with our characters going forwards, if it does go forwards. So yeah, I mean, I had a wonderful time. I would go back again and do it again. But it's not my decision, ultimately."
Beecham House is available on ITV Hub now
