First it was Bananaman that was being unpeeled for a new generation. Now, from a post box somewhere on Baker Street, cartoon superspy Danger Mouse is about to get the same treatment. Current rights-holders Fremantle have decided to bring him out of his 23-year retirement, thanks to some strong ratings during a CITV retro weekend, albeit on the small screen rather than the large.
An animated series from Cosgrove Hall in the early '80s, Danger Mouse was a secret agent, channelling James Bond and Danger Man, and getting involved in a lot of very silly nonsense on a weekly basis. He drove a flying car; his sidekick was the blundering hamster Penfold; his "M" was Colonel K. (a chinchilla); and his arch enemy was the wheezy toad Baron Greenback, who had a crow henchman called Stiletto, and was always up to dastardly schemes like trying to melt the North Pole. Occasional secondary villains included Count Duckula, who went on to his own solo spin-off. Terrible puns were the order of the day.
"When I helped to create Danger Mouse I had no idea the show would be such a huge success both in the UK and overseas," said Brian Cosgrove in response to the announcement. "I am delighted that a whole new generation will be introduced to his daring deeds and thrilled to be part of this new 21st century series."
There are no details so far about what direction the new version will take, except that DM's famous eyepatch will apparently now be an "i-patch". There's also no mention yet of whether David Jason will be returning to voice "the last word in debonair and delightfully eccentric heroics". Terry Scott, who voiced Penfold, sadly died in 1994.
The revival will take place at the BBC, with CBBC controller Cheryl Taylor confident that "the much-loved duo will win over a whole new generation of fans."