The perennial favorite TBS variety program Takeshi's Castle is celebrating its 10th year on the air in the UK with a new 6-part series partly filmed in Japan during a visit by the UK program producer to Tokyo.

Broadcast in Japan from 1986 to 1990, the original Takeshi's Castle was a highly popular viewer-participation entertainment show. On each show, a volunteer army of viewers would storm the castle defended by Count Takeshi (Beat Takeshi) under the leadership of General Tani (Hayato Tani), known as General Lee in the UK, who drove them into a series of wacky obstacles, with some hilarious mishaps along the way. Even after going off the air, Takeshi's Castle has remained popular in Japan and around the world and has been sold into 159 countries and territories. In the late 1990's the UK version began airing semi-regularly as part of another show "Tarrant on TV," then in November 2002 became a regular program on the Challenge channel of the leading cable network BSkyB. It's been on the air ever since, becoming a cult favorite known nationwide. Despite the fact that no new episodes have been produced since 1989 in Japan or the UK, Takeshi's Castle has won such a loyal fan following as to be selected the most popular program on Challenge. Responding to popular demand, and in celebration of a decade of regular broadcasts, Challenge has decided to create a new 6-part series.

A special part of the filming for the new series recently took place in Tokyo. The UK series producer visited Japan to capture a special appearance by the popular Hayato Tani. Resplendent in his original costume, General Tani delivered his trademark cry of "Ike!" ("Charge!" or "Get it on!") and many other stirring lines based on the original show. He also shared his thoughts on Takeshi's Castle in an extended interview. Producer of the original Japanese program Kunihiko Katsura attended the highly successful shoot. The new special 6-part series is scheduled to go on the air in the UK starting March 8, 2013.

Following upon the success of actor Craig Charles as voiceover commentator, the show is being reintroduced as Takeshi's Castle Rebooted with the award-winning comic duo Rich and Dom (Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood) taking over as the voices of the show.

The popularity of Takeshi's Castle worldwide seems to know no limits. Particularly popular in Europe, it has been recreated in English, German, Italian and many other languages, and stars Beat Takeshi and Hayato Tani have attracted broad international fan followings. In Spain a mobile phone game has been created, and in England large-scale events have featured Takeshi's Castle attractions. Even on the date of the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation on June 3, 2012, the Takeshi's Castle marathon airing on Challenge TV that weekend triggered a surge in tweets from the UK, attesting to the program's enduring popularity. The program name ranked near the top as a global trending word on Twitter, a rare event for any cable program airing in any one country, and especially for Japan-originated content. Then, during the London Olympics, fans of the show were joined by Olympic athletes in tweeting in support for the cause of making Takeshi's Castle competition an Olympic event. Home to Challenge TV and the Takeshi's Castle brand in the UK, the BSkyB network has also launched a highly successful set-top box Takeshi's Castle online game.

After 10 years on the air in the UK, Takeshi's Castle remains a fan favorite worldwide. What new challenges will the show take on next?