Douglas Adams’ cult classic The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is returning to BBC Radio 4 with a sixth instalment titled The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase.
The original Hitchhiker’s aired in 1978 followed by four further series between 1980 and 2005 and now, to celebrate the original’s 40th anniversary, original cast members Simon Jones and Geoff McGivern and Mark Wing-Davey are back.
They’re joined by Sandra Dickinson as Trillian, Horrocks as Fenchurch and John Lloyd, who follows in the footsteps of the late Peter Jones and William Franklyn as the voice of The Book.
Produced by Dirk Maggs, chosen by Douglas Adams to bring Hitchhiker’s back to Radio 4 with the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases, this series will be adapted from Eoin Colfer’s And Another Thing…, which was commissioned by the Douglas Adams Estate in 2009 to mark the 30th anniversary of the first novel.
It will also include unpublished Hitchhiker’s material by Douglas Adams, sourced from notebooks and writings preserved in the library at St. John’s College in Cambridge.
Across six episodes, Jones will reprise his role as the main protagonist, the quintessentially English Arthur Dent, as he continues to travel through space and time following the destruction of Earth.
The actor said: “It seems extraordinary that it’s been forty years since we recorded the first pilot episode for BBC Radio; how modest were our expectations then, and how amazing a world-wide phenomenon it became, and continues to be.
“I never expected to still be searching for a decent cup of tea and some kind of answer to Life, the Universe and Everything almost a lifetime later.
“Still, the dressing-gown and towel may be a little threadbare, like my hair, but my voice, much to my surprise, hasn’t changed a decibel, and despite years in America, I can still talk Arthur’s ‘indignant-posh’.
“This may be the wittiest and most epic adventure yet, and I’m especially pleased we’re in the talented hands of Dirk Maggs who is better qualified than anyone to script and produce us.
“It’s always a joy to be reunited with Geoff McGivern, as my partner in space and time, Ford Prefect.
“Over the years, we’ve lost some great friends, and we still miss them, but we’ve also gained other valued colleagues, and for this trip across the Galaxy we have a tip-top team all ready to do justice to Douglas’ unique and quixotic vision.”