For more than a decade Laurence Fox and Rebecca Front were good friends, starring together in the Oxford-based detective series Lewis.

But now the friendship appears to be on shaky ground after a very public falling out on Twitter.

The Inspector Morse sequel Lewis won millions of fans when it ran on ITV  for 11 years, ending in 2015.

Laurence Fox, who has courted controversy since speaking out about race issues on the BBC show Question Time, played DS James Hathaway and Rebecca Front played Chief Supt Jean Innocent.

The actors got to know each other well on set when filming in Oxford and became good friends.

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But a recent disagreement over the presentation of the Black Lives matter debate has led to a very public disagreement.

Oxford Mail:

Mr Fox, who recently starred in an Ibiza-based series White Lines, apologised for sharing private messages exchanged with his Lewis co-star.

The actor has deleted a tweet that showed a text message he received from Ms Front, revealing that she had blocked him on Twitter over his #AllLivesMatter posts.

Mr Fox has since been criticised by fans for sharing the private messages on a public platform. 

After deleting the tweet in question, the White Lines actor apologised, stating: “Earlier I tweeted a private text message. It isn’t true to my values to make a private conversation public just to make a point.

"I regret it. I would like to apologise to Rebecca Front for doing so. I’m going to delete the tweet and try to build bridges rather than burn them."

In the messages, Mr Fox asked: "Why would you block me? Have I said anything that could upset you? What a shame. Anyway, you are never blocked from me.’

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Ms Front replied: "Oh Lol, I think it was the #AllLivesMatter stuff that finally tipped me over the edge It seems to me so glaringly obvious that All Lives Matter – you’d have to be a psychopath to disagree – that it should be equally obvious it doesn’t need a slogan. Black Lives are systematically undervalued."

Oxford Mail:

It was all very different on the relaxed set of Lewis, often filmed in the back streets of Oxford or in college quads.

Then the pair were close.

Mr Fox tweeted: "This is the most painful cancellation I have had yet. From someone I spent 10 happy years working with, many lovely family dinners and lots and lots of laughs. Someone I thought was a friend. #AllLivesMatter."

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Oxford Mail:

An Inspector Morse prequel starring Shaun Evans continues.

Oxford Mail:

Inspector Morse author Colin Dexter died in 2017.

Laurence Fox and Kevin Whately were among actors who attended the Oxford author's memorial service in 2018.