Science fiction fans can celebrate the return of a famous cult hit, after plans to remake the BBC series Blake’s 7 were announced.

The space saga, which ran from 1978 to 1981, was praised for its dark storylines and gained an international following. After years of lobbying, a revival has been prompted by the success of Doctor Who and complex sci-fi series such as Battlestar Galactica.

The new Blake’s 7 will fly on Sky One, after the satellite broadcaster asked the holders of the rights to Terry Nation’s creation to develop a fresh series.

The BBC show followed the exploits of Roj Blake as he led a band of reluctant rebels against the totalitarian Federation, which ruled the galaxy.

Launched after the success of Star Wars, Blake’s 7 challenged viewer expectations with its cynical characters, who were eventually massacred in a shoot-out. Blake is a political dissident who escapes deportation to a remote planet by forming a gang of reluctant rebels who include a smuggler and a thief. The show has already been revived as a series of web audio short stories.

Blake 7 Productions will now have the technology to create the epic space battles that were constrained by the BBC’s budgetary demands in the late 1970s.

The producers have mapped out a six-part series that revives Blake, his self-serving lieutenant Avon, and Servalan, the ruthless Supreme Commander, as well as the show’s other fondly remembered characters. The new series is expected to tell the story of how the rebel group was formed.

Although the British audience will be limited to Sky subscribers, the series will be sold to international broadcasters — the original was shown in 40 territories. The Blake’s 7 brand also has significant potential for programme downloads and DVD sales. Elaine Pyke, Sky One commissioning editor, told Broadcast: “At a time when science fiction shows often discard good storytelling for overblown visual effects and following the lead of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica, the time is ripe for a revival of a show that represents the best traditions of the genre.”

Russell T. Davies’s reinvention of Doctor Who convinced broadcasters that sci-fi was no longer the province of geeks. Life on Mars, with its time-travel scenario, continued the trend.

Sky, which is partly owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times, is seeking a show to replace Galactica. The US import, praised as metaphorical critique of American foreign policy, has begun its final run.

The BBC will challenge the latest revival with a new sci-fi show that echoes Blake’s 7. Outcasts follows the race to find an alternative home to Earth in the Universe. In return for their liberty, a group of social misfits and criminals become the pioneers of a large new settlement on a near planet.

— The stars of the Bafta-winning sitcom Gavin & Stacey are tipped to become the next Morecambe and Wise after being given their own BBC sketch show. James Corden and Mathew Horne will perform as themselves and in the guise of some new characters in front of a live studio audience in the BBC Three series.

Corden co-wrote Gavin & Stacey and starred as Smithy, best friend to Gavin, the Essex boy played by Horne. The BBC said that the new series was “designed as a traditional comedy entertainment show in the style of Morecambe and Wise”. The series has the working title Horne and Corden Have Come.

Original appeal

— Blake’s 7 attracted a peak audience of 10.9 million for the episode Seek Locate Destroy broadcast on February 6, 1978

— Paul Darrow (Avon) bought the rights to make a sequel a decade ago but abandoned the project

— Winspit Quarry in Dorset was the location for the planet Mecron II

— Gareth Thomas (Blake) appeared as a guest star in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood

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