'Merlin' star on series five: 'There's a maturing of the whole show'

Colin Morgan has promised that the fifth series of Merlin will see "a maturing" of the show's characters and themes.

However, the Irish actor told SFX that fans will not miss out on the "banter" between his title character and King Arthur (Bradley James).



"Things are serious," he hinted. "There's a three-year gap [from the last series], so immediately you see Camelot in a different state, one that [Arthur's] wanting it to be, and Merlin finds his place in that as well.

"There's definitely a maturing in general of the whole series, but the banter's still there between the two characters because that's who they'll always be, even though their situations are a lot more serious."

Merlin co-creator Johnny Capps previously hinted that the BBC fantasy drama will deal with more mature themes this year.

"It's a bit more adult and it takes the characters to new places," he said. "[The show] needed to grow... up a little bit."

Merlin will return to BBC One next month.

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Watch the stars of Merlin discuss the series with Digital Spy below: