Iconic BBC kids show is being rebooted nearly 30 years after last episode

Earlier this year, he made a return as down-trodden Baldrick for a Blackadder Comic Relief special.

Tony Robinson is working on a reboot of his 80's kids comedy Maid Marian And Her Merry Men.

But next up will be his children’s show that first hit our screens in the eighties.

It retold the legend of Robin Hood, placing Maid Marian as leader of the medieval gang and demoting the famous outlaw to the role of an incompetent tailor.

Writer Tony, who also played the Sheriff of Nottingham, said: “A company I have worked with before has bought the rights to Maid Marian And Her Merry Men from me.

“We are in the process of creating a version of the original for television.”

The programme began in 1989 on BBC1 and ran for four series until 1994.

It won a Bafta, RTS gong and the Prix Jeunesse Variety Award at the International Children’s Programme Festival in Munich.

The original starred Kate Lonergan as the brave leader and Adam Morris as Robin.

The cast also included Danny John-Jules from Red Dwarf and Death In Paradise.

A TV source said: “In the Eighties, retelling a fable with a female lead felt progressive, but these days it is bang on trend. There are no concerns over how a reboot would land with modern audiences.

“That sparked the idea of a group of Merry Men led by a woman, with Robin Hood relegated to the role of the group’s tailor.”

“It’s early days, but everyone is confident there will be a number of channels keen to buy the show.”

Tony first came up with the idea for Maid Marian And Her Merry Men when he saw his ten-year-old daughter playing football in the playground at her school.

He said: “She was tiny but bossing the boys around and criticising them if they played a poor pass.

“I instantly wondered what would have happened if she had been one of Robin Hood’s Merry Men. I suspect she would have been running the enterprise, rather than being just one of the gang."