THE master tapes may have been stolen, but the BBC’s £8 million Robin Hood has survived to go into the Saturday night ratings battles next month. The series, unveiled last night, is the latest “iconic family brand” to be modernised after life was breathed into Doctor Who.

The cast were forced to reshoot key scenes missing from episodes five to thirteen after the theft of high-definition master tapes from the Hungary set. A £40,000 reward was offered for their return.

Jonas Armstrong, 25, a relatively unknown Irish actor, plays Robin and another newcomer, Lucy Griffiths, 19, is his Maid Marian. Keith Allen’s dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham is inspired by the Chancellor.

“I’ve based him on Gordon Brown,” Allen admitted. “I see a calculating, devilish person at work. The sheriff is a sociopath, utterly asexual, devilishly charming and very politically ambitious.”

The sheriff abuses his position, appropriating land, levying intolerable taxes and persecuting the poor. Allen said: “The feeling is he is waiting in the wings for Prince John to step aside. I think he sees himself as a future dictator of England, which is where the Gordon Brown thing comes in.”

The BBC denied on-set reports that scenes had to be reshot because the action and romance elements had not gelled sufficiently.

Robin Hood was produced by the independent company Tiger Aspect with funding from BBC America. The series will be sold to international audiences as a modern take on a globally known brand.

The BBC promised “outrageous scams, disguises, tricks and ingenuity, breathtaking archery and incredible swordplay”. However, one element missing is Friar Tuck, who was left out of the initial episodes because the producers believed that the character, mocked for his rotund figure, would not appeal to modern viewers.

It is believed that Tuck has since had a reprieve and will appear in future episodes.