Producers will soon be looking for teams of five contestants who have what it takes to navigate the Aztec, Medieval, Industrial and Future zones of the maze. The series will be filmed at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol, where a purpose built maze spanning over 30,000 square feet is being created by original designer James Dillon. He will follow in the footsteps of Richard O'Brien who hosted the show when it launched in 1990, and Ed Tudor-Pole who ran the programme between 19.

However, with Merchant busy furthering his career in America, Richard Ayoade has now been signed up as the new 'Maze Master'.

Twenty hour-long episodes have been ordered, including a new set of celebrity specials for this year's Stand Up To Cancer. Proving to be a big ratings hit with over 4 million viewers tuning in, the network has now commissioned a full series.

The classic 1990s challenge programme was revived last year for a one-off special as part of Channel 4's Stand Up To Cancer programming, with Stephen Merchant as the host. Richard Ayoade has been named as the new host of TV game show The Crystal Maze.

The crystal maze tv show