Thunderbirds are go again

Thunderbirds are back for a brand new series on ITV.

The cult series will return to our screens in 2015, 50 years after it first went on air.

Called Thunderbirds Are Go!, the new series will combine CGI animation and live-action model sets, and will "affectionately pay tribute" to the classic show.

It will be broadcast on ITV and CiTV in 26 half-hour episodes.

Thunderbirds Are Go! promises "a whole new level of action-adventure animation for today's audience" according to co-producers ITV Studios, with the five Tracy brothers piloting their "incredible vehicles into impossible rescues across the world."

The original show was created by Gerry Anderson and his wife Sylvia in the 1960s. Anderson was famous for the innovative use of puppetry or "supermarionation" and is best-known for creating TV shows Captain Scarlet and Stingray. He died last December at the age of 83.

Read More: Thunderbirds creator dies

Thunderbirds was first broadcast in 1965 and featured the exploits of the Tracy family, who ran an emergency rescue services, aided by London agent Lady Penelope and her butler, Parker.

In 1966, Thunderbirds was made into a major feature film, Thunderbirds Are Go, which was followed by a sequel two years later, Thunderbird 6.

The new series will be a co-production between ITV Studios and New Zealand-based Pukeko Pictures, in collaboration with the Weta Workshop, famous for Avatar, King Kong, and Lord Of The Rings.

Richard Taylor, co-owner of Pukeko Pictures and Weta Workshop said he was "thrilled" to work on a show that had such an impact on him as a child:

ITV Studios UK managing director Denise O'Donoghue said they were looking forward to taking the show to "another level."

Watch classic episodes of Thunderbirds on the ITV Player here.