Return of an old favourite as 'Tomorrow's World' is reborn

Its wacky gadgets and light-hearted take on innovation won it a place in the nation's heart, if not a lasting role in its broadcaster's schedules.

Like a child growing bored with a once-loved chemistry set, the BBC axed its science programme Tomorrow's World in 2003.

But now the BBC - with a renewed passion for science - is set to dust off the show and bring it back to television screens.

Michael Mosley, director of development at the BBC's science wing, has pitched the concept of resurrecting the format to commissioners. "I think it would be enormous fun to bring it back," he said. "There's a lot of nostalgia out there for it."

At a time when issues such as climate change and foot-and-mouth are the forefront of public consciousness, scientific commentators have welcomed the idea.

The former Tomorrow's World presenter Judith Hann said: "It's appalling that there is no weekly programme about science because so much is happening in the world at the moment. I now work with the Royal Society alongside emerging scientists and what they all say is, 'one of the reasons why I got inspired was by watching a programme like Tomorrow's World'."

In its heyday the programme won affection for its boffin-like eccentricities. A car jack once disintegrated on air, and strawberry jam was smeared on to a CD to show the resilience of the disc. The programme was also in the vanguard of showcasing more serious technological discoveries. It introduced its viewers to breathalysers in 1967, cash-dispensing machines in 1969 and the personal stereo in 1980.

The programme was first broadcast in 1965, presented by Raymond Baxter, a former Spitfire pilot. Others to have fronted the show include Anna Ford, Maggie Philbin, Howard Stableford and Carol Vorderman. Its instrumental theme tune, composed by the jazz composer John Dankworth, soon became a classic.

In the 1970s, the programme pulled in audiences of more than 10 million. When Peter Snow and Philippa Forrester took over presenting duties in 1999, the show still had a respectable five million viewers. But by the end of its life in 2002, it was only attracting about three million.

It was axed after several attempts to modernise its format. Ms Hann said she believed the programme's demise was hastened by BBC management shunting its position around schedules. But Mr Mosley has expressed renewed warmth towards the show. He said: "It's like Doctor Who really. When the thing is so creaky that you just have to kill it - and then you have to wait until someone comes along to reinvent it."

Philbin, who has been presenting small ad hoc science items for the BBC under the Tomorrow's World banner since earlier this year, said: "When I started doing these little science pieces for the BBC's Breakfast we got hundreds of emails and blogs from people saying, 'We want the programme back.'

"I get people coming up to me and saying 'The reason why I'm now a doctor is because of Tomorrow's World.' Now, ironically, kids are obsessed with technology but there are a falling number who are interested in studying science at school or university."

The programme is listed in Guinness World Records for being the first programme to be presented by a computer-generated character. When it was taken off air, Sarah Hargreaves, the show's creative director at the time, said: "There is clearly an audience for popular science shows but Tomorrow's World needed to evolve. Its heyday when 10 million people were tuning in is in the past.

"The 7pm slot is a very difficult one these days and shows have trouble getting a good audience at that time in the evening."

Scientific highlights

* 1967: Heart transplant

Raymond Baxter interviewed Dr Christian Barnard live by telephone from South Africa - an hour after the medic completed the world's first heart transplant.

* 1971: Pocket calculator

Devised by über-boffin Sir Clive Sinclair, it soon became the craze for schoolchildren across the land. Sir Clive's later invention, the Sinclair C5 electric car, was less of a playground staple.

* 1981: Camcorder

Introduced the hand-held video camera, a replacement for cine film, and impetus for a many dads to orchestrate pratfalls for You've Been Framed.

* 1983: Bar Code

Maggie Philbin showed off the bar-code reader, the contraption that would revolutionise and provide a repetitive soundtrack for supermarket shopping.

* 1993: Clockwork radio

Inventor Trevor Baylis spent years trying to raise finance for his wind-up radio, took a turn on the show and was approached by a benefactor. Now 120,000 are sold every year.

* 1995: Mouse with human ear

A significant coup showed the seemingly freakish work of US scientists who had grown an ear from human cartilage and grafted it on to the back of a mouse. It suggested doctors could grow human organs for transplant.