The original cast of surreal science fiction comedy classic The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy have reunited for a one-off show.

The original cast of surreal science fiction comedy classic The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy have reunited for a one-off show.

The actors returned to the BBC Radio Theatre in London more than three decades after they first recorded the show there.

Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent in both the radio and later TV version, even slipped on the classic dressing gown worn by his character during his outer-space adventures.

The show, which started as a radio comedy broadcast on Radio 4 in 1978, inspired a hit TV programme, a series of books, a computer game and a film with Sherlock star Martin Freeman as Dent.

Also in the studio were Mark Wing-Davey, who played two-headed alien Zaphod Beeblebrox, Geoff McGivern as Ford Prefect, Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid Android and Susan Sheridan as Trillian.

Thousands of fans applied for tickets for the reunion and subsequent live performance which is part of Radio 4's Character Invasion season.