Psychoville's co-creator, writer and star, Reece Shearsmith, has confirmed that the series will not be returning, but that he and co-creator Steve Pemberton are working on "something else".

There had been speculation amongst fans regarding the show's future since Series 2 ended in June, and Steve Pemberton, who also starred in the series, had clearly signalled that it would continue.

Talking to website Digital Spy earlier this year, Pemberton answered a query about the possibility of a third series: "Yes. ... If we believe the characters are strong enough, which we do, and the storylines are there and people want to spend more time working out these puzzles, we'd definitely like to do more."

That response will lead many to suspect that the show has been ended by the BBC due to low ratings: the first series, which was broadcast in 2009, drew critical acclaim and an average of 1.4 million viewers. Similarly, the 2010 Christmas special drew 1.45 million to BBC Two. However, whilst Series 2 opened with a healthy 1.15 million, viewers were steadily shed over the course of the 6 episodes to just 630,000 at the end of the run, averaging less than 829,000.

Tellingly, when asked on Twitter about fan response to the series, Shearsmith replied: "Sadly, no one watched it, so I don't know what people think anymore."

As reported last week, Shearsmith, Pemberton, and fellow League Of Gentlemen star Mark Gatiss will be reuniting on-screen for the fourth series of CBBC sketch show Horrible Histories, which is due to broadcast from May 2012.