Thunderbirds could be go for new series

It has been 46 years since Thunderbird 1 first erupted in a cloud of smoke from under the swimming pool on Tracy Island and Parker drove Lady Penelope around in a pink Rolls-Royce, number plate FAB1.

But Thunderbirds could be about to go again after its creator, Gerry Anderson, said a deal had been done for a new series of the 1960s children's classic.

Thunderbirds might be coming back but the puppets won't, after Anderson said "everything will be changed" using "today's technology" and "all the mod cons".

But fear not – the Tracy brothers will return along with Parker and Lady Penelope and all five Thunderbirds.

"It will certainly be modernised. It will be a brand new show, keeping all the main characters, all the machines and all the locations. Everything will be changed, updated, with all the mod cons," Anderson told BBC Radio 5 Live's Drive programme.

"It will have all the elements that made Thunderbirds popular in the first place but will be made with today's technology and today's thinking and today's pace."

But like the puppets, there may be some strings attached. The rights to the series are owned by ITV Studios and the broadcaster stopped short of confirming a new series was in development.

Anderson said he had signed a non-disclosure agreement so was unable to discuss the project in any further detail.

An ITV source said: "Clearly it's an important property for us and we are looking at ways of taking it forward and a series is one of the things we are looking at."

Thunderbirds was turned into a live action film in 2004 but the Hollywood production was poorly received by fans and critics. Anderson described it as "the biggest load of crap I have ever seen in my life".

He said he was confident the new series would be rather better. "I don't want to sound conceited but I'm going to make it, as opposed to the movie which was made by other people, and I am confident it's going to be a smash hit," he told Radio 5 Live.

He said he "hated working with puppets ... they can't walk, they can't do anything".

The programme was this week celebrated by the Royal Mail with a special set of "motion stamps" featuring characters from the children's show.

An ITV spokesman said: "There is nothing we can discuss currently but obviously Thunderbirds is a hugely important property in our portfolio and we are delighted to be working with the Royal Mail to celebrate the phenomenal work of Gerry Anderson."

Anderson and ITV collaborated on a new CGI version of another of his 1960s "supermarionation" puppet shows, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, broadcast in 2005. Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet was filmed in "hypermarionation" – a combination of CGI and motion capture special effects.

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