Huge collection of puppets and models from Gerry Anderson's Terrahawks set for auction

A huge haul of puppets, props and models from Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson's shows are to go up at auction.

The models, from 80s ITV show Terrahawks, were thought lost for more than 35 years.

They'd been saved from the scrapheap by Julian Bell, who worked at Bray Studios during the production of Terrahawks.

After Mr Bell's death in 2019, the collection was rediscovered. It includes models like the Battlehawk, the flagship craft of the Terrahawks organisation.

It's now going under the hammer at Ewbank's, an auctioneers in Surrey, where it's expected to attract interest from buyers worldwide.

Set in the then-futuristic year of 2020, Terrahawks saw an elite defence organisation protect the Earth from the terrifying Zelda, who declared war on the planet after invading Mars.

A partnership with businessman Christopher Burr, Terrahawks marked Gerry Anderson's return to puppets after successful shows in the 1960s, such as Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, created with his ex-wife Sylvia.

Gerry's son Jamie, who's recently revived Terrahawks on audio, told me how he grew up with the show.

This time, there were no strings for the puppets.

Gerry decided to use a sophisticated glove puppet technique for the new characters, with the aim of making them more expressive than their Supermarionation predecessors of the 1960s.

The team dubbed the process 'Supermacromation'.

Creating fantastic new worlds and high tech craft was also a priority.

The show was a big break for Steve Begg, now renowned for his work on the recent Batman and James Bond films.

He met Gerry in the early 80s, and impressed him with his amateur film projects.

He was recruited to the new production as a designer and storyboard artist, but was prompted early on to special effects director.

Film maker and Anderson historian Stephen La Rivière says the rediscovery and sale of the Terrahawks collection is a significant moment.

"A lot of the models and props and puppets that were made for his shows across the years were destroyed" he explains."And also in this collection, it's not just Terrahawks. There are some items from some of the 1960s shows, including a head of Captain Ochre from Captain Scarlet."