Cult sci-fi series The Tomorrow People to be resurrected by Channel 4

The 1970s sci-fi hit The Tomorrow People is to return to UK TV after a revamp of the show was snapped up by Channel 4.

The US-made series is based on the popular children's show which ran for several series on ITV featuring a group of young people with special powers. It is to be screened by E4 next year.

The Tomorrow People was first screened in 1973 and continued to 1979, and was sometimes seen as the commercial network's answer to Doctor Who.

The stories revolved around a group of characters who had reached another stage of human evolution and had developed powers of telepathy and teleportation, with a cast which involved teen pop star Mike Holoway. The show was revived two decades ago for a further 25 episodes.

The new series is being overseen by TV executives who has been behind shows such as Dawson's Creek and The Vampire Diaries and sees the outcast group hunted by a paramilitary group of scientists known as Ultra who see them as a threat.

The show is one of a trio of new programmes which have been bought from Warner Bros International Television. Channel 4 will also screen Hostages - a thriller starring Toni Colette as a surgeon who must murder the US President or her family will be killed - and E4 will broadcast The 100, a post apocalyptic space drama.

Channel 4 chief creative officer Jay Hunt said: "Channel 4 has had real success with Warner Bros shows such as The Big Bang Theory and 2 Broke Girls so I'm thrilled to be bringing more of the best acquisitions to the Channel 4 network."

PA