Max Headroom, the animated host with an irremediable stutter, has been rebooted to lead Britain into a digital television future.

The first computer-generated host, introduced by Channel 4 in 1985, became a global star, with his surreal rants far more entertaining than the pop videos he was supposed to link. But the screen went dark 20 years ago after an ambitious US series was cancelled, and as our pictures reveal, the subsequent years have not been altogether kind.

Channel 4 has made Headroom the voice of a new campaign to warn the remaining three million households that have yet to upgrade to digital that analogue signals are switching off.

Not that Headroom was grateful for his return to the big time. “Those sharks at Channel 4 dropped me before you could say Rick Astley,” he told The Times. “Now it’s time for pay-back. Digital switchover is coming.

“I was big once back in the 1980s. I was bigger than big, bigger than Cher’s implants. Now look at me, half adrift with all the other relics.”

He claimed that he was the original digital pioneer. “Suddenly 20 years into the future Channel 4 is making a big deal about digital TV,” he said. “I told them one day the public will enjoy multi-channel, multi-platform viewing with a range of channels to suit the most diverse tastes, but did they listen? Did they hell! Don’t they realise that it all started with me?”

The campaign will run next month and Channel 4 has hinted that it may offer a new series to Headroom. Rufus Radcliffe, head of Channel 4 marketing, said: “We wanted to produce a campaign that not only drives awareness of switchover but also stays true to our values of doing things differently.” He added: “Visiting hours at the retirement home are quite restrictive but we’d love to work with Max in the future.”

Switchover to digital began last month in Whitehaven, Cumbria, and it will continue on a region-by-region basis. According to government plans, it is due to finish before the 2012 Olympic Games.

Asked where he has been for 20 years, Headroom admitted it has been a downward spiral. He claims to have applied to appear on each series of I’m A Celebrity . . . , even offering to waive his fee. “You’ll be digital like me some day you know,” he promises. “Have I ever told you about the Eighties?”

Voice of the past

— Max Headroom was created by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel and voiced by the Canadian actor Matt Frewer

— To achieve Max’s unique look, Frewer wore prosthetic make-up and a fibreglass suit

— A Max Headroom game was made for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum

Source: Channel 4; Times database

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