Bolam quits New Tricks

Likely Lad leaves BBC show after eight years...

09:10 21 September 2011

Actor James Bolam has quit BBC One's biggest crime drama New Tricks after eight series.

Bolam, who plays Jack Halford in the hit show which regularly attracts nearly 10million viewers, revealed the news to producers during filming of the last series.

His agent confirmed the news, saying that James "is not doing another series of New Tricks".

The Daily Telegraph reports the reason as being that the Likely Lads star believes the format of the programme is "tired".

The BBC One show features three ex-police officers who have been brought out of retirement to investigate unsolved crimes in the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad.

New Tricks' executive producer, Richard Burrell said of Bolam's departure:

"We are very sorry to see him go, but fully understand that the time and commitment involved in filming are quite considerable.

"We are in talks with James about him returning for one episode next year. We are very excited about the return of the rest of the cast."

The announcement comes just days after the BBC renewed the show for a further two series.

It is not known if Bolam's departure will affect the programme's return next year.