Being Human Fourth Series Confirmed

Barry Island's finest set to return to BBC Three ( beware - spoilers dwell within if you've yet to see Sunday's finale )

The Beeb has confirmed that Being Human will return for a fourth series in 2012. An eight episode series has been commissioned, with "new faces" promised in light of Sunday's shocking dénouement.

Series three kicked off with a mighty 1.8million viewers and sustained an average of 1.4million a week, making Toby Whithouse's phenomenal tele-fantasy an indispensable part of BBC Three's line up.

The question for fans still in shock at Mitchell and Herrick's demise will be about the shape of the show in the next series; with two central (and massively popular) characters brutally bumped off and a whole new big bad on the horizon in the form of Wyndham, where can Whithouse go from here?

In the aftermath of Mitchell's death, there will no doubt be much wailing and gnashing of extended canines when series four arrives, but who will fill the vampire-shaped hole in George, Nina and Annie's life? That's of course presuming they can bring themselves to trust any vampire again. What about Craig Roberts as eternally horny teen vamp Adam? He'd make a great contrast to Mitchell, and we already know George and Nina have a soft spot for him. Becoming Human has been well worth watching - it's getting a full TV airing itself on BBC Three this Sunday if you've missed it - and Adam could make an excellent addition to the Honolulu Heights household.

Aside from the vampire part of the equation, what else have we got to look forward to? Well, if George, Nina and Annie's defiant superhero pose at the end of "The Wolf Shaped Bullet" is anything to go by, Wyndham and the Old Ones are going to have a fight on their hands. A secret vampire-werewolf war fought under the noses of the general public is a delicious prospect, and presumably Tom will be more than happy to sharpen a few stakes in the wake of McNair's departure. Then there's George and Nina's were-cub, not to mention the constant hints that Annie is much more powerful than she knows.

Whatever happens, it's clear that the show is entering a whole new phase; no Mitchell, no Herrick, the original gang broken up and group dynamic shifting from male to female oriented, there's plenty for Whithouse to mull over in the next few months. The direction he takes Being Human 4.0 will no doubt have us all hooked again, but in the meantime why not share your thoughts on series three and wild speculations on series four with us here .