There have been mixed reactions to the news released by Channel 5 in the UK that Gerry and Kate McCann are set to star in a remake of hit series Dempsey and Makepeace.

The show, which features a streetwise New York cop working alongside an upper class English detective, was hugely popular in the 1980s. With screenwriters seemingly unable to invent new stuff these days, relying solely on reworking existing films and shows, it was only a matter of time before the classic cop dramas got picked off.

Glynis Barber and that bloke in original series

Fans of the original show are unhappy though, with one saying “No offence to Gerry and Kate, they seem like very nice people, but it’s about time somebody said ‘Hey, enough is enough’. Let’s be honest about this, TV and film is the only artistic movement in which it is perfectly acceptable to just do the same thing over and over. I mean, what if today’s artists simply released their versions of the old masters? Damien Hirst’s Mona Lisa or Tracy Emin painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel using only the various coloured secretions that ooze from her every pore, the filthy skank.

We wouldn’t accept it. We’d say ‘Can’t you think of something else to do? The imagination is endless. Stop being so lazy and just come up with something new!’. And as a fan of the original series I can’t imagine myself having wet dreams over Kate McCann like I did over Glynis Barber. She wasn’t so much Makepeace as Makelove. Mostly to your own hand but still”.

But Channel 5 executive Aubrey Langhammer said “I fully understand people who have doubts but many remakes are far superior to the original. Look at Jude Law in Alfie, Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes or Sly Stallone’s Get Carter. I would be lying if I didn’t say those things weren’t an inspiration to us here at Channel 5 where high quality programming is paramount.

Plus Kate and Gerry have enormous on-screen presence and they have that little spark between them that all good double acts have. If I were to compare them to anyone it would be Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, but obviously Gerry isn’t quite as manly as Tyne Daly”.

And fans of timeless TV shows are set for more good news this winter as the new schedules have been announced. Paris Hilton is to star in a new BBC reworking of Juliet Bravo, the slutty heiress going method as she prepares for the role by living in Lancashire on a measly stipend of £50,000 per week. There are also rumours that sitcom Hi-de-Hi is to be remade by ITV with starring roles going to H from Steps, Jamie Redknapp and Meg Ryan who will star as Welsh slattern Gladys Pugh.