A TELEVISION show inspired by the building of the Ribblehead Viaduct that was branded 'Britain's First Western' has been axed after just one series.

ITV chiefs have announced that Jericho, an eight-part series set in the Yorkshire Dales of the 1870s, will not be be getting a second series.

Before it started in January, channel bosses were hoping the show – starring Jessica Raine, Hans Matheson and American actor Clarke Peters – could replicate the success of major historical hit Downton Abbey and continue for several series.

Jericho's first episode is reported to have attracted 3.3 million viewers, but it had lost about 700,000 by the end of its run, averaging about three million viewers per episode, according to industry figures.

An entire 'shanty town' set was built to make the series, which was created by Steve Thompson, a writer of several episodes of Dr Who and Sherlock.

An ITV spokeswoman confirmed there will be no second series, saying: “ITV regularly refreshes its drama portfolio and, consequently, Jericho isn’t returning to the channel."

But hopes are still high that Dales businesses will continue to get a boost from visitors wanting to see Jericho's real-life locations.

The Station Inn at Ribblehead, in the shadow of the viaduct and near the original shanty town, has seen a steady stream of customers asking about the area.

Jo Shutt, licensee of the pub with husband, Alan, said: "It's very sad Jericho is not returning – quite a lot of customers mention it when they come in and it's a good talking point. Our staff said they really enjoyed watching it.

"The series at least seems to have got people interested in the history of the area."

Jericho was based on the community that came together to build the Ribblehead rail viaduct, which would have been a mammoth undertaking at any time, but, 150 years ago, was a hugely labour-intensive project.

Having hundreds of otherwise disparate people drawn together in one place gave the writers plenty of scope for some juicy plotting.

Creator Steve Thompson was inspired by the classic 1950s western Shane, starring Alan Ladd, which depicted the struggles of a former gunfighter trying to settle down but becoming caught up in a bitter dispute about land.

There wasn't much gun-slinging action in Jericho, but it did chart the gritty and sometimes brutal realities of life in a shanty town, sprung up to service the needs of itinerant workers.