There's been a murder.

ITV has killed off Taggart, the long-running Scottish crime drama made by STV.

The Glaswegian series, the world's longest lasting police drama, will no longer be commissioned for the channel's main UK national network, and the future of the popular show is now uncertain.

However, STV has committed itself to continuing with the series, dropped by ITV as a "creative decision".

An ITV source said the last series of Taggart shown on the network had only attracted an average of 3.8 million viewers, fewer than the five million or six million it expects for a major drama. ITV has already discontinued long-running shows such as The Bill and Heartbeat.

Taggart has run for 27 series and 107 episodes, and STV, which recently settled a long- running legal dispute with ITV, is now looking for production partners to fund the crime series in the future.

ITV insiders said the cancellation of Taggart had nothing to do with the recent £18 million legal settlement.

Rob Woodward, chief executive of STV, has said he is "pretty confident" adding: "The latest series sold extremely well internationally, including in new territories like France and Germany. We're talking to other broadcasters and reviewing what the options are."