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the z brothers

Good news for 80s kids (and their kids) ... Zig and Zag are returning to TV

The alien brothers are setting themselves up in a “half spaceship/half house in the ‘burbs’”.

doublezwynne / YouTube

IRELAND’S BEST-KNOWN alien puppet twins Zig and Zag are to make a return to kids television on RTÉ.

The broadcaster has confirmed that the pair – who made their name on (as it was known then) Dempsey’s Den before heading to Channel 4′s Big Breakfast – will be back, in animated form, for a 26-episode series.

The series is being produced by Double Z, the production company set up by Zig and Zag creators Mick O’Hara and Ciaran Morrison, in conjunction with  Dublin-based animation studios JAM Media and Flickerpix.

“RTÉjr viewers’ parents grew up with the original alien brothers and I know that Double Z, Flickerpix and Jam Media are going to replicate the fun and mayhem for children today in what’s shaping up to be a super series for 2016,” head of children’s content Sheila de Courcy said.

In their latest adventures, according to the press bumf,  the alien brothers have “set themselves up in a half spaceship/half house in the ‘burbs’”.

Zig & Zag will take young viewers along with them on their hilarious adventures as the crazy pair attempt to experience everything planet Earth has to offer.

The series is produced with support from the Irish Film Board, the BAI and NI Screen.

doublezwynne / YouTube

Debuting on Ian Dempsey’s afternoon kids show in 1987, Zig &Zag became UK breakfast-TV staples in the mid-1990s as part of the Chris Evans-helmed Big Breakfast, produced by Bob Geldof’s ‘Planet 24′.

They also had a spell on MTV, before returning to Irish TV screens for the Ray D’Arcy-presented 2Phat between 1999 and 2001 – which was aimed at the third-level student market.

They were back on Channel 4 in 2010 for Big Brother’s Little Brother and have also presented blooper shows on RTÉ in recent years.

O’Hara and Morrison are also, of course, the creators of Podge & Rodge.

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