BY JOVES: Weta Workshop and New Zealand based Pukeko Picture are re-inventing cult series Thunderbirds Are Go.

Weta Workshop plans to tackle another well-loved tale - re-inventing the Thunderbirds television series.

One of the UK's biggest production companies, ITV Studios, is pairing with Weta and New Zealand-based Pukeko Pictures to make Thunderbirds are Go!.

The show is set to air in 2015, 50 years after the original series launched.

The 26-part re-incarnation of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's iconic puppetry series featuring the Tracy family and Lady Penelope will use both CGI animation and live-action model sets, Weta Workshop announced.

Weta Workshop and Pukeko Pictures founder Sir Richard Taylor said the original series was "hugely influential" on him as a child, and therefore he was thrilled to have the opportunity to work on the children's show.

"I...look forward to designing and creating an inspirational world that will engage the imagination of a whole new generation as it did for us nearly half a century ago."

Pukeko Pictures was founded in 2008 by Sir Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger and Martin Baynton, and produced animated children's shows Jane and the Dragon and the Wotwots.