ITV comedies Count Abdulla and Ruby Speaking axed after just one series

ITV comedies Count Abdulla and Ruby Speaking have been axed after just one series. The comedy Count Abdulla was one of ITV’s new comedy launches of 2023, but will not be returning for a second series.

The comedy Count Abdulla was about a mid-twenties British Pakistani Muslim doctor Abdulla Khan (Adrian Nik), who is stuck in an identity crisis. He is torn between his secular, hedonistic friends and hedonistic friends. Abudlla then finds himself bitten by a vampire (played by actress Jaime Winstone) and soon becomes the outsider’s outsider. 

An ITV spokesperson revealed to TV Zone that “Count Abdulla sadly won’t be returning for a second series, we’d like to thank the cast and crew for all their hard work in bringing (Count Abdulla) to our screens.”

Count Abdulla is not the only comedy show that ITV is axing after one series. The other show that is being axed is Ruby Speaking. The show was about Ruby (played by Jayde Adams) and her colleagues at the Hellocom call centre. It also featured former Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly.

ITV’s synopsis for Ruby Speaking was “Follow the misadventures of a popular but unreliable call centre agent. Who cares about sales when people have problems to tend to?

Although Count Abdulla and Ruby Speaking have been axed by ITV, fans of Midsomer Murders and Professor T can look forward to new series. Hot Stuff and Cancel Culture have also been commissioned.

Professor T, starring Ben Miller will be back in due course for season 4 and Ben Miller said of the news that “There’s nothing out there quite like Professor T, with its unique mix of complex crimes and captivating characters, all set against the beautiful backdrop of Cambridge; the central enigma being the professor himself... a mystery I hope to investigate for many seasons to come.”