Damned, the sitcom about social workers, will not return to Channel 4.

Written by Morwenna Banks and Jo Brand with Will Smith, the comedy focuses on the harangued and stressed-out social workers employed in Children's Services at the fictional Elm Heath Council.

A Channel 4 spokesperson told British Comedy Guide: "Across two series of Damned, Jo Brand, Morwenna Banks and the What Larks! team created a warm, poignant, and pointed comedy of which we're incredibly proud. However, with a number of other brand new comedy series already commissioned for 2019, there are currently no plans for a third series."

Production company What Larks!, founded by Jo Brand and Claire Whalley, has since said: "The incredible response to [the news] is testimony to the extraordinary following [Damned on Channel 4] had. Don't worry, we are on the search for money & partners. We will bring Damned back."

The sitcom launched as a pilot on Sky Arts in 2014, but the production team decided to move the show to Channel 4 when it came to make a series. The first run was broadcast in 2016 with the second series screened in February and March of this year.

The key characters are played by Jo Brand, Alan Davies, Himesh Patel, Kevin Eldon, Georgie Glen, Isy Suttie, Morwenna Banks and Lolly Adefope.

The format garnered near universally positive reviews, with the press describing the sitcom as "tragi-comedy at its best" that made "unfunny subjects hilarious".

News of the show's cancellation by the broadcaster comes as Channel 4 has announced several new series commissions, including Victorian-set Year Of The Rabbit and Home, a sitcom about a Syrian refugee.

Both series of Damned can be watched for free on the network's on-demand platform, All 4.

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