A preview image of the new Thunderbird 1 from the forthcoming series Thunderbirds Are Go! has been released by ITV Studios.

The major new children's series, which is a co-production between ITV Studios and Pukeko Pictures in association with Weta Workshop, is set to make its international debut early next year in the UK on ITV and CITV.

Set against the backdrop of the Hollywood sign, the rocket maintains its distinctive silver bullet style from the original show, which first aired on ITV from 1965 to 1966.

The reboot, comprising 26 half-hour episodes, will be produced using a mix of CGI animation and live-action model sets to deliver a new level of action-adventure animation while also paying tribute to the classic 1960s phenomenon.

As previously reported, the reinvention of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's iconic series will star Rosamund Pike as the voice of Lady Penelope and original cast member David Graham, who reprises his role as Parker.

Other star voices will include Kayvan Novak as inventor Brains and Thomas Brodie-Sangster voicing John Tracy.

Executive producer Giles Ridge said:

Original Thunderbirds cast member David Graham is to provide the voice of Parker once again in the new version of the TV series, it was announced today - on the 48th anniversary of the original show's first broadcast.

He will be joined by Rosamund Pike as Lady Penelope, to whom Parker is chauffeur, Kayvan Novak as Brains, Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Gordon and John Tracy, Rasmus Hardiker as Alan and Scott Tracy, and David Menkin as the fifth Tracy brother, Virgil, in Thunderbirds Are Go!, which has just started production.

Meanwhile, Tracy Island matriarch Grandma Tracy will be voiced by Sandra Dickinson (the former wife of Peter Davison) and Andres Williams is to play master villain The Hood, said ITV.

Debuting in 2015, this reinvention of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's much-loved series featuring the exploits of International Rescue will be produced using a mix of CGI animation and live-action miniature sets. Thunderbirds Are Go! will also feature new characters including Kayo, the Tracy brothers' friend and fellow island resident, who will be played by Angel Coulby, and Colonel Casey, voiced by Adjoa Andoh.

Graham said: Pike commented: And co-executive producer Giles Ridge, of ITV Studios Global Entertainment, said: Thunderbirds Are Go! is being produced by ITV Studios and New Zealand-based Pukeko Pictures, with Weta Workshop designing the series and producing the miniatures. The 26 30-minute episodes will debut on CITV in 2015.

Ridge's fellow executive producers are Estelle Hughes for ITV Studios and Richard Taylor and Andrew Smith for Pukeko Pictures. The head writer is Rob Hoegee and the series director is David Scott, with Theo Baynton as episodic director.

Thunderbirds originally aired on ITV from 1965 to 1966, with 32 episodes over two series. The first episode - Trapped In The Sky - was first broadcast 48 years ago today, with ATV Midlands, Westward, and Channel being the first TV regions in the UK to show it.

ITV is to reinvent the cult TV series Thunderbirds, it announced today.

The broadcaster will be working with the New Zealand-based Pukeko Pictures and Weta Workshop on 26 30-minute episodes, which will mix CGI animation and live-action model sets. They are scheduled to debut on CITV in 2015 - 50 years after the Gerry Anderson Supermarionation series first hit TV screens in the UK on the commercial channel ITV.

Currently in pre-production, it has been given the working title of Thunderbirds Are Go! and will once again see the five Tracy brothers piloting their vehicles into international rescues.

The series head writer is Rob Hoegee, and it has been commissioned by Jamila Metran, head of programming for CITV, who said:
Denise O'Donoghue, the managing director of ITV Studios UK, said:
Richard Taylor, the co-owner of Pukeko Pictures and Weta Workshop, said:
Andrew Smith, the chief executive of Pukeko Pictures, commented:
It is being executive-produced by Estelle Hughes for ITV Studios, Giles Ridge for ITV Studios Global Entertainment, and Taylor and Smith for Pukeko Pictures.