Anthony Head

Merlin has been renewed for a fifth series by the BBC, the show’s executive producers have confirmed.

Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy made the announcement at the 2011 Comic-Con in San Diego, as part of the event’s Merlin panel.

Capps suggested that the commission will allow the show’s writing team more "creative space" and promised that future episodes will feature a greater focus on "slow-burn" character arcs.

The fourth series of Merlin is currently filming in Wales and France. Nathaniel Parker will join the regular cast as Agravaine, the uncle of Arthur (Bradley James), while Whitechapel’s Phil Davis and former Spooks star Gemma Jones have also signed up for guest roles.

Johnny Capps previously revealed that that the fourth series will open with a two-part adventure telling "the story of Morgana’s revenge".

"We left Morgana (Katie McGrath) in a terrible state at the end of the last series," he said. "She does quite an extreme thing [in series four], and it’s the question of whether Arthur and Merlin (Colin Morgan) and the knights will be able to defeat her."