End 'near' for Sex and the City

Sex in the City offers a risqué take on New York life

US TV hit Sex and the City will draw to a close after its sixth series, according reports.

The decision to end the comedy drama is said to be down to the creative team behind it, including producer Darren Star.

The Emmy-winning show centres around the dysfunctional romantic life of fictional columnist Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, and her three 30-something friends.

Sarah Jessica Parker won a Globe for her part in the show

Based on a series of newspaper columns by author Candace Bushnell, the New York-based show has attracted fans around the world for its no-holds-barred attitude to sex.

The final series will go into production in March, with the final show being broadcast in early 2004, according to respected trade paper Variety.

US network HBO has commissioned 20 episodes of Sex and the City, offering fans seven extra episodes than usual.

It is expected that 12 episodes will be broadcast this year, with the remaining eight being saved until next year.

The fifth series, which is showing on E4 and Channel 4 in the UK, was cut down to just an eight episode run after Parker and co-star Cynthia Nixon both fell pregnant.

Forever Friends

Despite the end being signalled, HBO said it would welcome its creators changing their mind and continuing.

There is the precedent set by the cast and producers of the hit comedy Friends as an example of the end not really meaning the end.

Virtually every year since the comedy began there have been rumours and hints that the each new series would be the last.

Friends is constantly dogged by stories of its demise

It was thought that the ninth series, which is about to be shown on Channel 4 in the UK, would definitely wrap up the show with both cast and producers saying it had reached a natural conclusion.

When the announcement came that the cast had signed up for a ninth series, the NBC network said everyone wanted Friends to finish on a high.

But the six central cast members confirmed in December that they would reunite for a 10th series, with an estimated pay packet of $1m (£700,000) each.