Physicist to appear in the new radio series

Stephen Hawking is joining the cast of the new series of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

The cult classic is returning to Radio 4 in March with its Hexagonal Phase, to mark the 40th anniversary of Douglas Adams’s groundbreaking radio series. 

In episode one, Professor Hawking will play The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy Mk.II, a hugely intelligent and powerful being.

Producer David Morley said: ‘When we were thinking of cameos for the new series I suddenly thought of Professor Stephen Hawking. Douglas Adams’ work is admired by many of the world’s top scientists because of its innovative and hilarious twisting of the real universe, so I took a punt and asked the Professor if he’d like to actually play a role in the new series.

‘It turned out that he was a huge fan of Hitchhiker’s and was keen to see the script. He very quickly came back with a resounding ‘yes’, and [fellow producer] Dirk Maggs and I were jumping up and down with joy. His part blends perfectly with the actors. The results are fantastic.’

Maggs added: ‘Not only were we thrilled that Professor Hawking joined our wonderful cast, his appearance in Episode One of the new series suggests that the Vogons had some expert help in creating The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy Mk.II.’

Chortle first revealed that the Hitchhikers Guide was returning to radio as long ago as May 2016, disclosing that John Lloyd, the former flatmate of Hitchhikers creator Douglas Adams, would be the Voice of The Book.

Simon Jones will reprise his role as  Dent,  starring  with other members of the previous radio, television and stage casts, including Geoff McGivern as Ford Prefect, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox and Sandra Dickinson as Trillian, as well as guest stars including Jane Horrocks as Fenchurch.J im Broadbent  will be playing Marvin The Paranoid Android.

As also previously announced, comic Ed Byrne will play Hillman Hunter, an Irish property developer and ‘a stereotype Paddy from a bygone era’ who was tricked by Zaphod Beeblebrox into moving to a new planet. And Lenny Henry is playing a character called The Consultant.  

This series will be adapted from Eoin Colfer’s  novel And Another Thing... which was commissioned by the Douglas Adams Estate in 2009 to mark the 30th anniversary of the first book. It will also include unpublished Hitchhiker's material by Douglas Adams, sourced from notebooks and writings preserved in the library at St. John's College in Cambridge.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase will air over six episodes on Radio 4 from March8  at 6.30pm. 

Image Credit: André Pattenden

Published: 16 Feb 2018