Endeavour actor Shaun Evans has revealed how Oxford has a 'special place in his heart'.

The Inspector Morse prequel ran for nine seasons until the final episode in March last year.

Mr Evans played a young Inspector Morse alongside Roger Allam who played DI Fred Thursday.

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Millions of fans watched the final episode on March 12, which brought to an end the franchise which started with the Oxford-based Inspector Morse series in the 1980s, based on the novels of Colin Dexter.

Shaun Evans has since moved onto other acting projects, including true-life crime drama Until I Kill You, which is expected to be shown on ITV later this year.

Oxford Mail: In an interview with satellite TV channel PBS Masterpiece, Mr Evans revealed he had been back to Oxford on numerous occasions since the conclusion of the series.

Explaining that Oxford was still "enormously special", he said: "Yeah, I have been back a fair bit. It’s got a real special place in my heart, now, Oxford and the whole experience.

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"I was doing a job not long after we finished, and I was feeling a bit the usual sort of insecurities and anxiety about it, and on the way to move down to relocate for this other job, I thought, 'I know, I’ll just pop into Oxford and pick up a few things.' 

"And then I thought to myself, 'How funny, how interesting that I’ve just done that.' I clearly needed to go and touch base with something."

Oxford Mail: Filming for Endeavour in Oxford Mr Evans said he felt gratitude that he had been able to spend a decade playing Inspector Morse - after the pilot episode aired in 2012.

He added: " An offer came out of the blue to come and play this part for what we thought would be one one-off 90-minute film for TV, and then turned into something else entirely.

"And also gratitude to be allowed to be in people’s homes, not just in the UK, but all over the world. For people to welcome you back season on season and go with you and the story that you’re telling with open arms is just an extraordinary thing."

Mr Evans said the Endeavour series ended at the right time.

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He said: "And now as I go into other jobs, both acting and directing, I feel the experience of what that has taught me. And that’s an amazing thing.

Oxford Mail: Shaun Evans with a fan at Exeter College"The confidence that that gives you is extraordinary. I just feel really grateful, to be honest about it. And it’s funny because I feel no melancholy, no sadness.

"It ended at the exact right time. I don’t look back at it like halcyon days. It was a time that came and was incredible."

The final episode of Endeavour was partly filmed in Exeter College and he visited the college chapel in March, where he read the Passion of Christ in the college chapel and chatted to people in the congregation.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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