Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones bid farewell to Pawnee and Parks and Recreation

Rashida Jones, who has played Ann Perkins in the single-camera mockumentary since it first aired in 2009, will depart the show halfway through series six along with her on-screen on-off love interest Rob Lowe, who plays Chris Traeger.

Rob Lowe, who's also starred in Brothers & Sisters and The West Wing, has been in the show since the end of the second series.

In a statement confirming the stars' departure, Parks and Recreation's executive producer Mike Schur said: "[Rob and Rashida] will be leaving the show after the 13th episode of the upcoming season six. We've been working on their storyline (on and off) for four seasons now, and heading into this year, with the two of them contemplating parenthood, it felt like a natural time to move them into the next phase.

"Rashida was one of the very first people we knew we wanted in the cast, and as important as Ann is to Leslie (and vice-versa), she'll certainly never be far from Pawnee. Rob we initially thought we could only have for six or eight episodes, and we couldn't be happier that he will have stuck around for 75.

"They are wonderful, funny, committed actors, they've been a huge part of the Parks and Rec family, and we think we have a great Pawnee send-off in the works for them."

Set in the Parks and Recreation department of an Indiana town's local government, the show also stars Amy Poehler, Asis Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Christ Pratt and Adam Scott.

Parks and Recreation is aired on BBC4 in the UK. The channel will show series three of the comedy in 2014.