When news broke earlier this week that a brand new immersive Crystal Maze is heading to London, the obvious question was asked – would Richard O'Brien be part of its revival? Now RadioTimes.com can reveal that the former host is “integrally involved” in the project. Quick, make space for a crystal on your mantlepiece, it’s like it’s the 90s all over again.

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The experience – set to operate on the same size and scale as the original TV show – will offer maze-goers the chance to try the traditional four challenge zones (albeit with some new games) and, of course, teams will face off in the legendary Crystal Dome at the end.

Clearly, the return of the Crystal Maze wouldn’t be the same without the show’s original host involved. Luckily it appears O'Brien feels the same way and has teamed up with immersive experience experts Tom Lionetti-Maguire, Dean Rodgers and Ben Hodges, as well as presiding rights company Zodiak Rights, to get the project off the ground.

“Richard is very much part of our project,” Tom, who sparked the idea, told RadioTimes.com. “He is with us, as is Malcolm Heyworth, who originally created the show.”

But not only is O'Brien involved in the concept, he’ll be incorporated into the maze’s design, too.

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“Richard will be appearing by video to welcome people as they come into the maze,” Dean explained.

“He’s integrally involved with us. He’ll be here all along, he’ll be popping up all over the place,” Tom added, coyly avoiding my questions as to whether we'll also hear his famous catchphrases ("Will you start the fans, please!") as we make our way around the attraction.

Although – and we'll forgive him for this – eager fans hoping to lay eyes on the man himself might be disappointed. “He feels at 73 he can’t be there every night, which is fair enough,” said Dean.

“We’d love him to be there obviously,” added Tom. “At the age of 73 he hasn’t lost it one jot. He’s as eccentric and as wonderful as you’d imagine him to be.”

The team intends the maze to be installed for at least two years in the capital (“Ideally we’d like it to be open forever”) and are launching a crowdfunding project to source the £500,000 needed to get the maze built. You can get involved here. “It’s really your time to be the star of the show," say the team. "Help us get this off the ground.”

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Inside the Crystal Maze: the creators tell us what we can expect from the new immersive experience

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