THE producers behind TV show Endeavour are staying tight-lipped over moves which could see them having to pay more money to film in the county.

The proposals set a dark backdrop as the latest filming of the top detective drama took place.

Wrapped skeletons and dark corridors provided a suitably gloomy setting as the cast and crew filmed in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on Monday and Tuesday.

They were there for the second episode in the new series called Nocturne.

Two out of four films have been shot so far and the crew is expected to return to Oxford to shoot the remaining episodes of the Inspector Morse prequel.

Morse creator Colin Dexter, from North Oxford, is acting as a consultant.

But as filming took place, it emerged that the county council’s income generation cabinet advisory group has decided to review charges for filming in the county.

The council can charge between £55 and £1,100 per day for scenes shot on the county’s roads.

But members of the group said the council could charge more, especially for large-scale productions.

Makers of Endeavour were unwilling to be drawn on the plans – or whether an increase in filming charges would prevent them from coming back to Oxford.

They said the current filming confirmed why the loved coming to the city.

Camille Gatin, producer of the series, said: “Oxford is such an integral part of the DNA of the series.

“We always feel so welcome and looked after by the fans, by the colleges, by the city.

“Having Colin Dexter with us on set is also a delight every time. It reminds us all where the show comes from.

“There are too many great locations there to single one out.”

She declined to reveal why the museum, which is closed to the public this year during renovation work on its 150-year-old roof, was chosen as a location for filming.

But she added: “The fans are so respectful – curious, excited but always understanding of our need to work.

“There’s always a special buzz for the cast and crew on the days we’re filming in Oxford.”

The second series is written by Russell Lewis.

Shaun Evans returns as the young Morse with Roger Allam as Detective Inspector Fred Thursday.

Museum education officer Rachel Parle said there were about 20 extras, including people dressed as 1960s policemen, at the museum and scenes were shot both inside and outside.

She said: “There was a real sense of excitement.”