US Network to Shoot More of The Sopranos

For a man who once said that he had "the midas touch in reverse - everything I touch turns to shit", Tony Soprano has done pretty well for himself.

And while the trials and tribulations of his New Jersey mob family may have landed him in the psychiatrist's chair, the network behind the award-winning series knows better than to let him go.

HBO has announced that the next series of The Sopranos will not be the last after all, and that an extra run of eight episodes will be filmed, giving the channel the option of running them as a final mini-series at a later date.

Chris Albrecht, the chairman of HBO, told the New York Times that the decision to extend the run had been taken after talks with David Chase, the programme's creator.

Previously, it had been thought that Chase believed he was running out of ideas and that the show, the most successful in cable television history, would not continue beyond the sixth series.

"But David was really reinvigorated by the reception the show got last year," Mr Albrecht said.

The extra eight episodes will be filmed during the next series.

HBO has had a succession of hits in recent years, including Sex and the City and Band of Brothers. But The Sopranos has outlasted them all.

The Sopranos, after five attempts, won an Emmy for best drama last year.

James Gandolfini, who plays Tony Soprano, said the show had lost out to the White House drama The West Wing on previous occasions because of its subject matter. "We're thieves and crooks and they show me in my underwear far too much," he said.