Thunderbirds Are Go - again - in new ITV series

Virgil Tracy as he appears in the new series Thunderbirds Are Go Credit: ITV

Fifty years after Scott and Virgil Tracy and Lady Penelope first hit TV screens, sci-fi classic Thunderbirds returns in a new guise this weekend.

The jerky puppets of the past are gone, replaced by slick CGI animation in the ITV series Thunderbirds Are Go.

However, the characters will remain familiar to those who watched the popular 1960s programme.

ITV News Correspondent Paul Davies reports:

In the original Thunderbirds show, which was filmed between 1964 and 1966, eagle-eyed viewers could sometimes see the puppets' strings.

While the new generation of Thunderbirds look more lifelike than those created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson 50 years ago, the characters are essentially the same.

Anderson, now 88, voiced Lady Penelope as well as co-writing the series.

She believes the two shows are more similar than they might first appear:

The first episode of Thunderbirds Are Go is on ITV this Saturday at 5pm.