The Wombles 'returning with modern twist'

'The Wombles' is set to return with a "modern" remake.

'The Wombles' is returning with a modern remake.

The iconic BBC series - which was first voiced by Bernard Cribbins when it aired in the mid-1970s before a 1990s remake on ITV - was remastered earlier this year for its 50th birthday, and now further plans are in place.

As reported by Deadline, Altitude Television is working on a fresh update of the beloved family series about a group of furry creatures who live under Wimbledon Common and recycle litter left behind by locals.

Altitude - who recently produced ITV's big budget remake of Sir Michael Caine's 'Ipcress File' - are teaming up with The Wombles production house on the project.

Meanwhile, 'How To Train Your Dragon' writer Will Davies has written the script.

The original stop-motion show was based on Elisabeth Beresford's series of children's books, while the studio hasn't discussed how it plans to modernise the show.

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The inspiration for the show came when Elisabeth enjoyed a Boxing Day walk with her children Kate and Marcus, with Kate frequently mispronouncing the area as Wombledon.

Earlier this year, Marcus told the Daily Mirror: "She’d written many children’s books and TV series and her publishers had said, ‘Come up with the answer to Paddington Bear!’

"When my sister said, ‘Isn’t it lovely to be on Wombledon Common?’, she said, ‘That’s it! The Wombles of Wimbledon’.

"Mum invented this burrow full of Wombles and based them on everyone who’d been at Christmas lunch that year.”

And at the time, he suggested his late mum would be delighted to see her creations "still appeal" to people around the world.

He added: "Mum would be very happy they still appeal to many people of different generations around the world. The Wombles work is never finished and more relevant than ever."