STV, ITV, UKTV partner for new 'Taggart'

ITV has reached a deal with STV and UKTV to co-produce a new series of Taggart.

Under the agreement, STV will premiere six new episodes of the crime drama in Scotland this autumn. ITV will then air the series nationwide next year, before UKTV broadcasts it on crime channel Alibi from 2013.

"With the cost of drama under pressure, the highly competitive deal that STV have put together makes Taggart an attractive and highly cost effective proposition," said Laura Mackie, director of drama commissioning at ITV. "The creative team have some exciting ideas to take the new series further and we look forward to working on this with them."

The recommission of Taggart follows a similar co-pro deal between ITV and UKTV that secured the renewal of cult drama Primeval for two further series.