W

ith a newfound moustache, a countryside outpost and a shot at directing - it’s all change for Shaun Evans in the latest series of Endeavour.

But the Walton-born actor, who will reprise the title role of a young DS Endeavour Morse for a sixth time, wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Uniform, tache, I’m up for it!” quips Evans, 38, who has led the ITV crime drama - written by creator Russell Lewis - since 2012. “Anything that’s new, where you don’t feel like you’re staying in stasis,is good.”

Following the dissolution of Oxford City Police and the merging with Thames Valley Constabulary in season five, the latest instalment, set in 1969, picks up with the team as they find their feet in their various new roles.

“Endeavour is back in uniform and on his own out in the sticks,” Evans elaborates. “He’s been stationed in a one-horse town in the countryside and he’s fairly isolated as he’s the only policeman there. But he’s quite happy.

“In terms of the rest of the team, everyone has been cast to the four winds,” he adds. “Thursday (Roger Allam) is at the new Castle Gate station, Bright (Anton Lesser) in the traffic department and Strange (Sean Rigby) is in a new role as well.

“There’s a lot of change and we see the reaction to this change,” explains Evans, who reveals the force is still mourning the loss of DC George Fancy, who was murdered at the end of the last series.

“Their relationships with one another are completely fractured though and the first film is about seeing where everyone has landed in the interim, and the team find-