Hitchhikers returns to radio

The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy could be returning to Radio 4, a quarter of a century after it first aired.

Independent radio production company Above The Title is reportedly making new episodes, after years of negotiation secured them the rights to Douglas Adams' novels.

MediaGuardian says that the new shows are expected to air next year.

But a Radio 4 spokesman told Chortle nothing had yet been settled, saying: "Above The Title do not have an agreement with the BBC at the moment to produce it."

Only the first two books in Adams' five-volume 'trilogy' were based on the original series, aired in 1978 and 1980, leaving plenty of material for a belated follow-up.

The news comes as work on the long-awaited film version gets under way - two years after Adams died at the age of 49.

Published: 1 Sep 2003