The revamped show has been commissioned for an initial four-episode run, although a launch date has yet to be set. Speaking about the move, Mel and Sue said:

"It's a cuddly toy, it's a toaster, it's a circular power saw, no it's Mel and Sue doing the Generation Game! We can't believe it, we are so excited!" 

The new show will combine aspects of the original series with new games. Perkins had hinted earlier this month on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs that the presenting duo might reunite for another TV project soon, after quitting The Great British Bake Off last year when the BBC lost the rights to Channel 4.

"I'm very hopeful Mel and I will do some pratting about, but I couldn't tell you exactly what yet. Possibly some prime-time pratting," she told Kirsty Young.

BBC Studios said audiences had identified the Generation Game as the show that viewers most wanted to see back on their screens.

The game sees pairs of family members, across generations, take part in performance and task-based games, with the ultimate goal of facing the Conveyor Belt.

This is a memory test whereby the winning pair watches prizes pass on the belt before attempting to remember each one to win it, from household appliances to the infamous cuddly toy.

All the family pairs will start the show in the studio audience and only find out which game they are playing when Mel and Sue announce them. A panel of star judges will score the pairs after each game and decide which will get to face the Conveyor Belt. Charlotte Moore, the director of BBC content, said:

"The Generation Game is an iconic BBC One show, so to be able to bring it back for today's audience - with Mel and Sue overseeing things - is a wonderful moment for the channel."

The Generation Game began on BBC One in 1971, hosted by Bruce Forsyth until he left the show in 1977 and Larry Grayson took over. In 1982, Grayson left the show which was struggling against others - including Game For A Laugh - in the ratings.

The BBC revived the show during the 90s, in a period when Saturday night TV was booming, and Sir Bruce returned to take the helm until 1994 when Jim Davidson took over. The show was axed in 2002.