Advent Calendar 2011: Day Three

Today's episode of Merlin was a present in itself- BBC's fantasy drama seems to have entered a golden age right now, with its fourth season undoubtedly the best so far, boasting a totally consistent run of great episodes. The question is, though, just how long can the good times last? Executive producers Johnny Caps and Julian Murphy seem to have been thinking about this, elaborating on the future of the show to Cult Box and Digital Spy...

• CB: How far along are you with planning for Series 5? "We've been planning for quite a while as we got the green light a long time ago [Series Five was announced to enter production in Spring 2012 at this year's Summer Comic Con]. We're fairly into the storyline process, certainly the first half of the series."
• CB: As you knew about Series 5 during writing Series 4, does this series end on a cliffhanger? "We do have a cliffhanger! And it probably is more of a cliffhanger than we've had in the past."
• CB: Do you know what the ending of the last ever Merlin episode will be? "Yeah, we don't know which series that'll be in, but we've always had an idea of how we would end it, absolutely. Obviously to an extent the legend has already been written for us. The story of Arthur's death is a very well told one, but our version of it isn't quite the same as everyone else's, we'll give it our own twist. But yeah, strangely enough we've had an idea of how we would end it since the beginning."
• CB: Would you consider making a Christmas Special? "There is the possibility of that, but we always run quite close to Christmas."
• CB: Are there any plans for Merlin novels not based on the TV episodes? "Yeah, there are very advanced plans. They're great! To be honest, the early material we've seen is incredible, it's very exciting."
• CB: Will Doctor Who's Series 7 Part 1 Autumn scheduling affect the Merlin Series 5 scheduling? "The thing about Merlin is that it performs extremely well up against The X Factor and the BBC are thrilled with that, so I think we'll always be at that point in the year."
• DS: Is there any more information on the proposed Merlin movie? "It's in early development, we're discussing talent right now- writers, directors etc."
• DS: Will there be a sixth season? "We've always planned five series, but it depends on how popular the show is. There's every possibility it could continue..."
• DS: Will Merlin reunite with Freya? "She's important to the legend, so there's a good chance they could reunite, yes!"
• DS: Will Uther return? "We've got plenty of ideas as to how Uther could return! But when, we're not sure..."
• DS: Will Gwen confront Morgana this series? "Yes, there's a very exciting confrontation between Gwen and Morgana this series!"
• DS: Is there any hope for redemption in Morgana's future on the show? "The end of this series is very surprising for Morgana! Stay tuned..."

Merlin continues every Saturday on BBC One until Christmas Eve, then the show is set to return for its fifth season alongside the first run of Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary celebration episodes in Autumn 2012.