Classic US comedy The Dick Van Dyke Show could be returning after almost 40 years.

Creator Carl Reiner is working on a new script that would catch up with the characters in the present day.

Van Dyke, now 77, and co-star Mary Tyler Moore, 66, are both said to be interested in returning to the roles that made their names.

American network CBS is considering an hour-long special, the half-hour new episode followed by a retrospective look at the sitcom's history.

The show ran in the States from 1961 to 1966, and all but one of the 158 episodes were shown in Britain by the BBC.