SuperTed Returning to TV

Following the announcement of Danger Mouse's return to TV screens, another retro childhood favourite is coming back too: SuperTed.

In an interview with the Radio Times, creator Mike Young revealed that the BBC children's department is making a brand new 26 episode series of the Welsh bear's adventures - the first new TV material for nearly 30 years.

Young said that he hoped that actors Melvyn Hayes, who voiced Skelton, and Derek Griffiths, the voice of SuperTed, would be available to reprise their roles. Sheila Steafel, who played Spotty's sister Blotch was not mentioned, but, unfortunately the other three voice actors - Jon Pertwee, who played SuperTed's friend Spotty, Victor Spinetti, the voice of SuperTed's nemesis Texas Pete and Roy Kinnear, who played Pete's sidekick Bulk - have died since the original series finished. It is unknown who will take on their roles.

SuperTed was originally created by Young as a series of stories to help his son overcome his fear of the dark. They were eventually published as books, then a stuffed toy SuperTed was made, which brought the attention of film and TV companies. However, Young resisted their advances, and insisted that the character remain Welsh, entering into a sponsored_longform with Welsh TV channel S4C to produce the animations himself. An English-dubbed version was then made, with three hugely successful 12 episode series following, with SuperTed and Spotty fighting evil after he whispers his "secret magic word".

Young admitted that the series would need to be updated from its original incarnation, saying, "In SuperTed, we had a gun-slinging cowboy, a flamboyantly gay skeleton and a fat guy who had jokes made about his weight and all these things you just wouldn’t do today. But you can still write the show in a funny, entertaining way."

Watch the original title and end credits below - we hope they keep the original, incredible, outro music at the very least.

[via Radio Times]