Ripper Street stars Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg and MyAnna Buring have revealed how they felt when they heard the show was returning to its BBC roots.

The Victorian drama, set in the aftermath of Jack The Ripper’s spate of killings in London’s East End, was cancelled by BBC One in December 2013, before Amazon threw it a lifeline.

The third series is now set to return to BBC One on July 31, after originally airing on Amazon’s Instant Video service.

MyAnna, who plays Long Susan, said: “It’s great, really great. Kudos to the BBC for coming back and standing behind the show once again.

“It started with the BBC and it’s always great when everyone can celebrate and be part of a show, so it feels really lovely that it’s being aired in this way.”

MyAnna Buring as Ripper Street's Long Susan
MyAnna Buring as Long Susan (Bernard Walsh/Tiger Aspect/BBC)

The Swedish actress continued: “I felt like there was a slight misconception in a way, because the third season wasn’t originally re-commissioned, which is the BBC’s choice to make.

“We were all upset and it was great that a deal with Amazon could be made. Amazon came on board and wanted to take it on as one of their staple shows, but the BBC was always involved in that.”

Jerome Flynn as Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake
Jerome Flynn as Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake (Tiger Aspect/BBC)

Jerome, who reprises his role as Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake, admitted he was “shocked” when he heard the show was being axed.

“I couldn’t believe they weren’t going to bring it back. I didn’t feel like it had been completed,” he said.

Matthew Macfadyen as Detective Inspector Edmund Reid
Matthew Macfadyen as Detective Inspector Edmund Reid (Bernard Walsh/Tiger Aspect/BBC)

His co-star Matthew agrees, saying: “I think you know when a show is running out of steam, and that’s fine, because they do, but I didn’t think ours was.”

Adam Rothenberg as Captain Homer Jackson
Adam Rothenberg as Captain Homer Jackson (Bernard Walsh/Tiger Aspect/BBC)

American actor Adam, who is back as Captain Homer Jackson, joked he held out at auditions once he heard rumours of the show being reprised.

“I had to look for work but f**k up all my auditions just in case,” the 40-year-old star said.

“I couldn’t tell my agent that I wasn’t going out for anything, but I could suck [at auditions]. That, I’m good at.”

Ripper Street stars Adam Rothenberg, Matthew Macfadyen and  Jerome Flynn
Ripper Street stars Adam Rothenberg, Matthew Macfadyen and Jerome Flynn (Bernard Walsh/Tiger Aspect/BBC)

The eight-part third series sees the trio – including Jerome’s character Bennet returning to H Division as a newly promoted Detective Inspector – reunite after a train crash kills 55 civilians in Whitechapel.

Ripper Street will be shown at 9pm on Fridays on BBC One from July 31, with the third series available on DVD and Blu-ray on September 28.