FIFTEEN years after saying Auf Wiedersehen Pet, the cast of the hit TV show are filming a new series in the North-East. Creator Franc Roddam tells STEVE PRATT why Dennis, Neville, Oz and the others are trying to sell the Transporter Bridge to America.

There was a crisis on the set of the new series of Auf Wiedersehen Pet in Middlesbrough. Whitley Bay-born writer Ian La Frenais found himself with a suitcase of women's clothes and needed to go shopping for more suitable attire.

After the flight from the US, he'd ended up with the case of a friend's wife, while his luggage had gone to France.

He and co-writer Dick Clement have flown over from their Los Angeles homes to watch filming of the six-part series, which reunites the stars of the popular 1980s series about a gang of Geordie builders.

There was no sign of the actors as rain lashed down on the desolate industrial site at the foot of the Transporter Bridge. Outside filming had been abandoned due to the bad weather.

The cast were shooting scenes inside a hut, away from the eyes of visitors. The only sign of them was a trailer with doors bearing labels reading BOMBER and ALBERT MOXEY.

That Dennis, Neville, Oz, Barry and the others are back is thanks to Norton-born executive producer Franc Roddam, who created the original series. "When the rights came back to me I thought it would be a good idea to do another series. Once I had a theme, I had to go and convince everyone else - the BBC, writers and actors," he explained.

"My first call was the actors because without them it would have been impossible. Jimmy Nail and I share an agent who said I'd never get Jimmy to do it. By coincidence, I met him in the street in London the next day and he said, 'I'll do it'."

The rest of the original cast - Tim Healy, Kevin Whately, Timothy Spall, Christ Fairbank and Pat Roach - were all eager to sign up. So too were original writers, US-based Clement and Frenais, whose other TV hits include The Likely Lads and Porridge.

ITV, which screened the original show, passed on the idea of a follow-up series in the 1980s. The new series will be seen on BBC1 in the New Year.

The North-East locations include the Transporter Bridge, which plays a key role in the plot as the gang try to sell it to America. The fact that cast and crew off to Arizona for three weeks filming indicates they might succeed.

For the time being, Roddam was pleased to have enticed Geordie actors to film in Middlesbrough. "They call us smog monsters, you know," he said. He was keen to feature the Transporter Bridge as he has fond memories of it from growing up in Stockton.

"I worked on this river for two years as a marine engineer apprentice. It's a cold, tough environment and I thought I would share it with the actors," he smiled, surveying the wet and windy landscape.