BBC1 spy drama Spooks is being axed after almost a decade on air.

The show will end at the conclusion of its next run which begins next month.

Programme-makers said it was the right time to make way for “new spy dramas which reflect the changing world around us”.

The show has become renowned for killing off many of its main characters since its launch in 2002, including the death of Lisa Faulkner’s character during the first series. She died after her head was plunged in boiling fat, prompting complaints to the BBC.

Show bosses say the series will come to a “natural end” with a plot which continues to revolve around the relationship between central characters Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) and Ruth Evershed (Nicola Walker).

Executive producer Jane Featherstone, of independent production company Kudos, said: “The heart of the show has become those two characters and I feel they own it. We’ve followed the arc of their personal story and I think they’ve brought us to a natural end.”

Stars of the series have included Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, Rupert Penry-Jones and Hermione Norris, with guests over the years including Hugh Laurie, Lindsey Duncan and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The final, 10th series sees Alice Krige and Jonathan Hyde joining the cast, with Simon Russell Beale returning as home secretary.