Luther fans, your prayers have been answered – the husky-voiced detective is returning for a fifth series.

Idris Elba will once again don his tweed coat for the four-part season, which has been described as “utterly heart-stopping and unmissable”.

The crime drama was last on screens in December 2015, although Elba reprised the role for a Sport Relief sketch last March. Filming will begin on the new series early next year.

After the fourth series there had been hopes it would live on as a big screen version, but a film never materialised.

Elba revisited the role for a Sport Relief sketch which also featured the likes of Lenny Henry, Ian Wright, Rio Ferdinand, David Haye, Denise Lewis and Louis Smith Co-creator and writer Neil Cross said:

“It’s a question Idris and I get asked a lot. What happened to John Luther after we last saw him striding unbowed through the streets of his city, his blood red London?

“It can’t be over, can it? There’s so much we don’t know. So much unfinished business. The thing is, we’ve been asking ourselves the same question.

“In the end, we picked up the phone to some old friends and asked if they’d like to find out what happens next. It turns out, they would. So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to find out what happens next.”

Elba added: “Neil, the BBC and I have been talking about a further season and I am thrilled that we have been able to bring it all together.
“I look forward to putting the coat back on.”