THE stars of Oxford-based detective series Endeavour yesterday spoke of their love for the city.

About 80 crew and 20 cast and extras have been in the city this week to shoot the second of four episodes in the inaugural series.

The detective drama is a prequel to the long-running television adaption of the Inspector Morse novels by Colin Dexter.

It is set to hit TV screens next spring.

The episodes, set in the 1960s, come following a successful pilot which attracted 6.5m viewers when it aired in January .

Producer Dan McCulloch said: “Oxford is a huge part of the show – it is a character in the piece.

“We love coming here. We love the fact we can turn the streets into the period very easily.

“Our first concern is that we don’t disrupt people’s day but the people of Oxford have been talking to us and wanted to know more about the show.

“We are always happy to have a chat with them. We really look forward to coming here and we soak up the atmosphere.”

Mr McCulloch added: “This time round it is the second film we are shooting. It has a scene on the roof of Trinity College – Shaun Evans (who plays Morse) clambered on the edge of a building and crawled along a ledge back on to a roof.

“And Roger Allam (who plays Detective Inspector Fred Thursday) has a dice with death with our bad guy on the edge of the chapel roof.

“Trinity College have been wonderful – they have been a big supporter and collaborator. Filming during term time is a busy time for the college but they gave us access to their beautiful quad.”

Mr Evans said: “It seems to me that the people of Oxford like what we are doing with it – they seem more accommodating than they would be in London or elsewhere.

“Lots of people who live here love living here because it is a beautiful city and they can see why we are here.

“It always attracts a lot of tourists and we have had Americans shouting at us that they have loved what we did in the pilot.”

Mr Allam said: “When we were in Oxford for the pilot for Endeavour we were only here for a day and one night.

“This year we have been here all week so it is really nice.”

Crews also filmed along Catte Street and yesterday were also filming a scene involving a black Jaguar in Merton Street.

Susi Golding, director of Visit Oxfordshire, said: “We know that Morse and Lewis generate interest for Oxford from domestic UK visitors – and Endeavour builds on that. People come to see the film locations. They watch the programmes and think ‘that looks like a nice place to go’.

“It could well be that where we have got the film sites tour and the Inspector Morse tour, now these locations could be added in. We are happy to welcome them to Oxford.”