'Merlin' ending after fifth season

Merlin will be casting spells no more.

The fantasy series Merlin, which airs on BBC One, will wrap up its run this Christmas with a grand finale that features the fight for Camelot. 

The co-creators of the series - Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy - say that the show has reached its natural ending point but have not closed the door on the possibility of spin-offs. Capps and Murphy are leaving Shine TV, which produced the series, to set up their own TV label. 

Shine is interested in creating spin-offs set in the Merlin universe. Does that mean that Colin Morgan, Bradley James and Katie McGrath, the stars of this series, could play their beloved roles once more?

Merlin has been a solid part of the BBC's premiere channels Saturday night. It also airs in the United States on Syfy. It airs in Germany on Super RTL, in France on Canal Plus and on Australia's Network Ten.

"We always felt the story of the legend was best told across five series, leading to a spectacular finale that draws on the best known elements of this much-loved story and brings to a conclusion the battle for Camelot," said the creators. 

"I admire the creators’ decision to end Merlin on a high, but also know that we will miss it in the BBC One schedule," said BBC One controller Danny Cohen.

Will you miss Merlin?