Challenge Anneka fans told to 'dig out the Lycra' as show gears up for return

Anneka Rice is to dust off her jumpsuit and relaunch Challenge Anneka, a reality television hit from nearly 30 years ago involving her flying into an area to complete a good cause while up against the clock.

- Matthew Weaver

Announcing a reboot of the programme on Channel 5, Rice urged her fans to "dig out your Lycra from the 1990s... there will be more instructions soon".

Channel 5 confirmed that the relaunched show would focus on "everyday heroes and deserving communities at a time when they've never needed help more".

Rice said: "The last few years have shown us all the power of community and how it's good to be part of something bigger than ourselves." Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she added: "There will always be a room for challenge on television, because it's about kindness, it's about community, it's about the power of the collective.

As humans we are totally hardwired to be altruistic." The original show, which aired on the BBC from 1989 to 1995, with audiences of up to 12 million people, involved Rice arriving into an area of which she had no prior knowledge. It was based on Treasure Hunt, an earlier show on Channel 4 when Rice would arrive by helicopter.