Thunderbirds are going once again

EVER wanted to time travel? Give this a try.

- by MEG JORSH

Close your eyes and imagine you're playing with a Corgi die-cast Thunderbird 2 - the weight in your hands, the satisfying snap of the retractable legs.

You might not have seen one for decades, but you still know exactly how that feels. And if you ask Jamie Anderson, son of series creator Gerry, it just goes to show how Thunderbirds is part of our collective consciousness.

The sci-fi kids' show turns 60 this year and to celebrate, it's back in cinemas today as a two-episode double bill. But for film and TV producer Jamie, the surprising thing is how well it stands up to big-screen scrutiny.

"The way that they made it, they were incredibly precise and detail-oriented," he says. "They were making this show in the 1960s, to be watched on a tiny screen in black and white, but they went past what was needed every time.

"There was no conception that anybody would ever be watching it at the cinema in 4K." But they will be and the restored footage reveals just how much work went into the ITV original.

The sets, puppets and those famous machines are all made with "ridiculous bits of unnecessary detail," says Jamie.