Douglas: 'Primeval will have to reinvent itself'

Primeval star Douglas Henshall has revealed why he's leaving the hit ITV1 sci-fi drama.

The 43-year-old actor, who plays Professor Nick Cutter, will bow out at some point during the new 10-part series, which again stars Hannah Spearritt, Ben Miller and Andrew-Lee Potts.

Talking about his decision to TV Times, Douglas said: "It was one of those things that happened and I thought, 'Oh God, I've done that, I've left."

The show might miss me for five minutes, but then I think it will move on and it will be fine.

"There's a little bit of me that kind of thinks, 'This is my show. What do you mean they're still doing it without me? That kind of thing.

"But, I think it will be good for Primeval in the long term as it will make it have to change and reinvent itself."

When Primeval started in 2007 it was unfavourably compared to Doctor Who, but it quickly established itself as a quality family drama in its own right.

"I'd never done anything like it before," explained Douglas, who'd previously been better known for starring in serious dramas like C4’s Psychos.

"I was quite proud of it because it’s really tricky to make a primetime TV show successful on a Saturday night because there's so much competition."

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