Channel 5 bosses axe The Wives starring Tamzin Outhwaite as fans hit out

Channel 5 has axed its Mediterranean drama The Wives starring Tamzin Outhwaite, Jo Joyner and Angela Griffin - despite good ratings and a final episode which did not tie up loose ends.

Many viewers were left frustrated by the unfinished plot lines - and now will never get the answers. Cast were all told the shock decision in phone calls last week.

One insider revealed: “It came as a shock because the ratings were around a million and scripts had already been written for more episodes, in confident anticipation of series two.”

The source says that - in a strange move - an ending had already been filmed that did bring the storylines to a neat close but instead Channel 5 opted to show a different version that left some major plotline questions unanswered. It was presumed that this was because the drama was going to return and this would keep the audience hooked.

“One of the endings the regular cast shot explained exactly what had happened to the missing sister-in-law Annabelle and the part played in her disappearance by the other sisters-in-law, played by Jo Joyner, Angela Griffin and Tamzin Outhwaite,” the insider said. “It also explained the involvement of Annabelle’s brother-in-law Frankie, played by Ghosts star Ben Willbond.

“But the ending that was actually shown didn’t explain why Frankie wanted Annabelle dead or the identity of the mystery figure hiding in the van in the final scene, something that was crucial to an understanding of the entire plot.”

Viewers reacted with bafflement when the last of the six episodes of The Wives, which was set and filmed on Malta, was shown in September. Writing on social media, one demanded: “Who was in the black van? When/how did they get the gambling chips back? Why did he want her dead? And why oh why can't a series actually end?”

Another agreed: “Can somebody please explain what the hell that ending was all about? I'm totally confused.” Others decided that the “frustrating” ending must have been “because they are doing another series” and moaned that it had left “so many loose ends”.

The six-part series was ordered by C5’s deputy chief content officer Sebastican Cardwell, who said last November: “The Wives is set to bring layers of mystery and intrigue which is guaranteed to keep the Channel 5 audience guessing."

The drama featured three sisters-in-law - all with their own problems - who were reeling from the death of a fourth family member, Annabelle (Christine Bottomley).

In the end it emerged that Annabelle had not actually died but had faked her own death and the plot contained several twists when it came to who had actually paid to have Annabelle bumped off.

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