Shivani Chaudhari - BBC News, Essex and Mark Hardie - BBC News, Essex

The writer of a Bergerac reboot has spoken about the challenge of trying to please fans of the original programme while appealing to new audiences.

The detective series ran on BBC1 from 1981 to 1991 and starred John Nettles as Jersey-based detective Jim Bergerac.

Toby Whithouse, born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, said: "If you don't come from a point of view of respect for the original piece then you shouldn't be doing it."

Set to premiere on 27 February, the new series stars Damien Molony, alongside Zoë Wanamaker and Philip Glenister.

The show followed a maverick detective and recovering alcoholic adept at solving complex crimes.

Nettles became a household name due to the success of the show and said he was offered a cameo role but turned it down.

Mr Whithouse, whose previous work includes Doctor Who, wanted "to stay true" to the programme's roots.

"So fans of the original will go away feeling like the show has been respected, and new people, who have come with no baggage or expectations, still really enjoy it," he said.

He told BBC Essex the writing process was far from easy as it was unlike anything he had written before.

"I don't really tend to do police procedure shows, I do more high-concept genres.

"I started to have an idea for the main character and how I would write him and reinvent him.

"In the original show, Jim Bergerac was a recovering alcoholic, which is something that I really wanted to use but we've taken it in a slightly different, more realistic direction.

One of the key changes in the modern version is there will be one story per series instead of one story per week.

He continued: "I absolutely wanted to do something that was more complex and more labyrinth and also allowed us to then to develop Jim as a character and to test and challenge him."

The original show was created by Robert Banks Stewart and ran for nine series.