Shane Richie unveils brand new Minder

Classic cockney comedy drama Minder is back on the telly with loveable rogue Shane Richie reprising the Arthur Daley role. The new series follows a similar route to the schemes and scams format of the classic 80s show which starred George Cole and Denis Waterman but Richie said the 2009 version is faster paced and better suited to a modern audience. "When I decided to take on the project I was very careful that we were never going to try to recreate the old Minder," he said. "All we wanted to do was re-invent it the same way they did with Dr Who, the same way as they have done with James Bond - you try to recreate for a new generation." Richie said he was approached by by Channel 5 and Talkback Thames a year ago. "I honestly thought it was going to be me and George Cole and I was going to be the minder," said Richie. "Sadly they didn't see it the way I saw it and they decided that I was going to be Arthur Daley's nephew - a character called Archie Daley who has sort of taken on his uncle's business." Minder is on Wednesday nights on Five.

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ITN | February 5, 2009

Tags:. .cockney. .loveable. .minder. .waterman. .talkback