THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT - MAGIC ROUNDABOUT MAKES TV RETURN

MAGIC ROUNDABOUT MAKES TV RETURN

Children's TV show the Magic Roundabout is making a computer-generated comeback with 52 new episodes.

The estate of Serge Danot, the French author who originally created the series in the mid 1960s, has given permission to make a new series.

As in the 2005 movie which featured voice overs from Kylie Minogue and Sir Ian McKellen, the characters will be computer-generated, although the stars will not be lending their voices this time.

Unlike the original series, which was narrated by Eric Thompson, the new Magic Roundabout will not have a storyteller. But the show's director, Graham Ralph, has said it will show the spirit of the 60s shows.

He told the BBC: "We're trying to bring it back to Dougal being the anti-hero, instead of the rather bland character he was in the film.

"He's the Blackadder of children's TV with a bit of Victor Meldrew thrown in. He's really grumpy all the time.

"And Zebedee has sort of been based on Ken Dodd. He's more like an impish little pixie."

Channel 4 revived the series for a short time in the 1990s, but the new 52-episode stretch will be shown on Nickelodeon's channel Nick Jr.