Primeval co-creator Adrian Hodges' new project is a reimagining of the cult 1970s series, Survivors. He talks exclusively to Paul Simpson about the genesis of the project...

Most revivals of series are based, at least initially, on the original broadcast shows: the 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries reworked the episodes that launched the original 1978 show. However the new version of Survivors has a more unlikely root.

"What I am doing is a reimagining based on Terry Nation's novel," Adrian Hodges explains. "It is not based on the original TV series because the rights situation is so hellishly complicated, and we just can't go there."

Although Nation's book starts off as a novelisation of elements of the first season, it makes major changes to the characters, adding some, deleting others entirely – and killing off the character of Abby at the hands of her son at the end of the story. Although Hodges states that "I have no plans to do that at the moment," his reimagining is firmly based on this revised template. "The novel is not a great novel," he says, "but it is a great concept. We've used the novel as a starting point. Certain character names have survived, but not necessarily with the same characters.”

Inevitably, the new Survivors will overlap thematically with its predecessor. "They explored so many different avenues in the original three series," Hodges notes. "Obviously a lot of those ideas will come up because when you're talking about the situation you've got, there are certain ideas that have to appear: law and order, surviving…In the first season, there will be certain things that are very familiar to people who saw the original series or read the book. There will be certain things that will be totally unfamiliar."

One of the changes he's making is altering the balance between town and countryside. "If it gets too rural it becomes a bit too English,” he explains. “The marketplace has changed in the years between the original and now, and we need to be aware that international audiences will expect to see a slightly more urban environment. However, the great bulk of the action will probably be outside of the towns – they're probably going to be hell holes!"

Hodges has high praise for the 1970s version. "It's an absolutely admirable piece of work," he says. "The first episode of Survivors remains a model of how to launch a new series. I'm very respectful of it, but at this point I have to let it go and do my own thing."

Filming on the 90-minute pilot and the five succeeding episodes is expected to begin in May.