BBC

A new Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy radio series has returned to the BBC, 40 years after the original aired in 1978.

The new series, "Hexagonal Phase", is based on "And Another Thing…", the sixth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide "trilogy".

The series is written and directed by Dirk Maggs, with additional unpublished material by Douglas Adams.

Simon Jones stars as Arthur Dent, with Geoff McGivern as Ford Prefect, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sandra Dickinson and Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Jim Broadbent as Marvin the Paranoid Android, Jane Horrocks as Fenchurch and Stephen Hawking as The Book Mark II.

There are six episodes in total, with the first currently available on the BBC's website. The next five episodes will be released on a weekly basis.