Masterpiece Says ‘Miss Scarlet And The Duke’ Will Continue Without The Duke

Big change on Masterpiece’s popular drama Miss Scarlet and the Duke.

Stuart Martin, who played William “The Duke” Wellington in the previous four seasons, will not return for season 5. Kate Phillips (Wolf Hall, The Crown) will return as Miss Eliza Scarlet for a fifth season of investigations, and the series will be retitled Miss Scarlet.

“It has been such an incredible joy to bring Duke to life through Rachael’s beautiful, brilliant writing, and to get to play him for the past four years,” said Martin in a statement. “But it felt like the time was right for Scarlet to explore new stories and challenges for now, as the show continues to grow and evolve. I will miss working with my amazing partner in crime Kate and the rest of our brilliant family and team, but I’m excited to continue following Eliza and her escapades as a huge fan and newly enrolled Scarleteer!”

“I will miss working with my pal Stu every day, and know Eliza will miss her Duke, but I think the best is yet to come for her,” added Phillips. “I can’t wait for fans to see what we have in store for Season 5.”

Season four of the drama premiered Jan. 7 on PBS. In the new season, Phillips and Martin returned as the titular will-they-won’t-they crime solvers while her character took over the business of Nash & Sons. Outside of work, Scarlet’s relationship with the Duke builds towards a looming decision that will shape both their lives.

Filming on season 5 has begun in Belgrade, Serbia. Additional casting will be announced later.

“This new chapter in Eliza’s story is going to bring our audience more of what they’ve come to love about this series – mystery, humor, potential romance and most of all, Kate Phillips’ terrific performance as Miss Scarlet,” said Masterpiece Executive Producer Susanne Simpson.

Masterpiece is presented on PBS by GBH Boston.

Miss Scarlet is a Miss Scarlet Limited production co-produced with Masterpiece in association with Other Mans Shoes and Work in Progress with pre-investment from UKTV. The Executive Producers are Harvey Myman, Susanne Simpson, Jin Ishimoto, Patrick Irwin, Patty Lenahan Ishimoto, and Rachael New. The Irish co-producer is Jim Duggan, Serbian co-producer Anđelija Vlaisavljević and the Senior Series Producer for Masterpiece is Erin Delaney. The directors for season five are Ivan Zivkovic and Milos Kodemo.