'Jonathan Creek' bosses have been filming the show in the dark to save money.
Alan Davies - who has taken a pay cut to continue portraying the titular detective - revealed the product budget to make the BBC One drama's forthcoming three episodes, which will be broadcast this autumn, has been slashed so much compared to its debut in 1997 he fears for the series' future.
He said: "The budgets on Creek are really squeezed. One of the films we made recently was set in a country house and [show creator] David Renwick had to write into the script that the house had been mothballed while a family was away overseas.
"That meant the design department didn't have to decorate any rooms. We could put sheets on furniture.
"Or we do lots of scenes at night so it's in the dark and the viewer can't see we haven't had the money to dress it.
"The design department is amazing and they have to work with a smaller and smaller budget."
The series used to see Jonathan living alone in a windmill but the unusual abode has been axed from the programme because it is too expensive.
He added to The Sun newspaper: "People say, 'Where is the windmill? Why doesn't he live in the windmill?' The character's life has changed, he's married and lives in a house now.
"But the fact is that when we did the show in the 1990s, we hired a windmill for a week, put sets on three different floors and created an iconic home for this character.
"It's the iconic image of the show, Creek in his windmill, the lonely, strange man.
"People loved it and it was a brilliant idea and the design department executed it excellently.
"But it's out of the question now to do that. We can't afford to do that and it does make a difference."
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