The Crystal Maze is to return to television for a full series with comedian and writer Richard Ayoade taking on the maze master role made famous by Richard O’Brien.

Channel 4 said it had commissioned 20 hour-long episodes to air later this year after the success of last year’s one-off celebrity special, adding that it was looking for members of the public to apply to compete in five-person teams. Filming will begin within the next few months, with broadcast likely to be towards the later part of the year.

The revived programme will follow the same format as the original, with contestants testing themselves against a range of mental and physical challenges in pursuit of the crystals that will buy them time in the crystal dome.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Richard Ayoade is to be the maze master in the new series. Photograph: NorthOne/Channel 4

Channel 4’s head of live and events, Tom Beck, who commissioned the new series with the head of entertainment, Ed Havard, said the success of the celebrity special made the decision to order a full series “almost a no-brainer”.

He said: “I couldn’t be more pleased and excited that Richard has agreed to become the new Maze Master – he’s an inspired choice.”

“The great thing about the original was it felt like a world you were buying into. I think you need someone who feels like they could own, inhabit and create it and believe it. You don’t get that when you use a traditional presenter. Richard [O’Brien] and Stephen were both writers and actors and performers rather than presenters, as is Richard [Ayoade].”

James Dillon, the designer of the original show, is creating a 30,000 sq ft maze in Bristol featuring new versions of the show’s Aztec, industrial, future and medieval zones.

The Crystal Maze aired between 1990 and 1995, with O’Brien presenting the first four series before handing over to Edward Tudor-Pole for the final two. At one point, it was the most watched show on Channel 4, pulling in up to six million viewers.

Beck said the series had to keep the spirit of the original while also bringing in new elements to keep it fresh and avoid simply mining the past. “You have to think incredibly carefully before you bring these shows back. It’s important when you do these shows they need to be present tense. It will feel fresh.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Stephen Merchant, centre, left, presented last year’s celebrity special, which raised money for a cancer charity. Photograph: Channel 4

Last October’s one-off special was presented by Stephen Merchant, with Maureen Lipman as Mumsie. Former footballer Rio Ferdinand, radio presenter Sara Cox and comedian Josh Widdicombe were among the celebrities who took part.

The show raised money for Stand Up For Cancer and was watched by 4.3 million viewers, many of them in younger age brackets, which Beck said had helped encourage Channel 4 to go for a full series.

Last year, the Crystal Maze format was turned into a “live immersive experience” in London, which was used to film the charity special, and Beck said that the show would be looking for the kind of people who had “embraced that idea of going into another world for a few hours”.

He said: “The contestants are such an important part of the story they have to be people who you enjoy watching because they become characters in a way they don’t on other shows.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The original maze master Richard O’Brien. Photograph: Rex Shutterstock

The new series is being made by Fizz, the production company behind the ITV gameshow Tipping Point.

Neale Simpson, Fizz’s creative director, said: “We’re thrilled at the prospect of building a maze to the scale and cinematic spectacle of the original and our hope is to bring a new vision to the legendary time travelling adventure that will excite the next generation of viewers.”