ITV's period drama The Larkins is reportedly facing cancellation after a significant drop in viewership and ongoing cast disagreements. The reboot of The Darling Buds of May, which aired its second series between October and November, lost two million viewers compared to its debut.
The second series opener attracted 2.9 million viewers, down from 4.8 million for the first series premiere. Despite a star-studded cast including Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan, the show's future appears uncertain.
A source told The Sun: 'The Larkins is going to be dropped in the new year — the writing is on the wall. The ratings for series two were disappointingly low and cast disagreements on set have been an ongoing problem for the production team.'
Tensions reportedly arose following lead actress Sabrina Bartlett's departure after she made a complaint about co-star Tok Stephen's behaviour. The Mail on Sunday revealed that ITV launched an investigation into the allegation, though the broadcaster has neither confirmed nor denied this.
Bartlett's character Mariette is now played by Joelle Ray. A show insider said the complaint involved Stephen using a selfie taken by Bartlett as his WhatsApp profile picture, which made her 'uncomfortable.' Stephen claimed it was a joke, but the incident created tension between the two.
