Primeval Renewed

Broadcast reports ITV's SF time-spanning drama Primeval has been renewed, with the current (second) season continuing to score good ratings in its Saturday slot.

Production on the third season will begin in March, for broadcast in January 2009. The first episode of the next series will feature a monster designed by a member of the public, with viewers invited to submit their designs in an online competition before 7 Apil 2008.

"By giving people the opportunity to design a monster for the third series, we are creating a chance for them to be more involved," explained Tim Haines, executive producer for Impossible Pictures, "and feel closer to the programme."

The first three episodes have pulled an average audience of 5.7m in its 7.30pm slot and won a 26% share of viewers for last Saturday's installment.

When the first season screened last year on ITV, it picked up a strong 6.7m (28.5%) in a slightly later slot of 7.45pm. The entire six-part series averaged 6m (26.6%).

Season One DVD box sets of the show are already on sale and Titan Books are to release a series of novels, the first titled Primeval: Shadow of the Jaguar (released on 21 March 2008), plunging Cutter and the team into the Peruvian rain forest for a thrilling prehistoric ride. A Primeval comic is also in the works, drawn by Neil Edwards, and this may now get a green light with the new commission.

A range of Primeval action figures from Character Options is also now widely available, who also make the Doctor Who and Scooby Doo figures

• ITV's Primeval web site: www.itv.com/Drama/cult/Primeval