Thunderbirds: Brains, Lady Penelope and Parker get a makeover

ITV have released more images from the forthcoming TV series Thunderbirds Are Go, and announced details of a role for a star of the original show.

The pictures show International Rescue’s bespectacled boffin Brains, Lady Penelope and her driver Parker, as well as Lady P’s iconic pink Rolls Royce.

Parker still looks reassuringly like he might be Noel Gallagher’s dad (though his switch from chauffeur's uniform to casual dress is a surprise), but the other two characters are more modernised. There’s something faintly Paris Hilton about Lady P, particularly given her pet pug. And judging by Brains’s complexion, there's now a tanning salon on Tracy Island.

ITV have also announced that Sylvia Anderson, who was Lady Penelope in the original series, will be voicing a character in “Designated Driver”, an episode penned by David Baddiel. She’ll be playing Lady P’s Great Aunt Sylvia.

You'll be able to read more about Thunderbirds Are Go in issue 260 of SFX, on sale 31 March. Why not make sure you didn't miss the issue by subscribing?

Deputy Editor, SFX

Ian Berriman has been working for SFX – the world's leading sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine – since March 2002. He also writes for Total Film, Electronic Sound and Retro Pop; other publications he's contributed to include Horrorville, When Saturday Comes and What DVD. A life-long Doctor Who fan, he's also a supporter of Hull City, and live-tweets along to BBC Four's Top Of The Pops repeats from his @TOTPFacts account.