The news of The League Of Gentlemen’s return to BBC Two has sparked excitement among its fans, who are glad to see the “awesome but terrifying” black comedy back on their screens.

The sketch show, based in the sinister fictional town of Royston Vasey, was a hit following its launch as a radio series in 1997 before running for three series on TV from 1999 until 2002.

Starring Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton – who also co-wrote the series along with Jeremy Dyson – The League Of Gentlemen won a TV Bafta award among other accolades.

The League Of Gentleman
The League Of Gentlemen’s Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss (Yui Mok/PA)

It was announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday that the series is returning for three special episodes to mark its 20th anniversary, and fans took to Twitter to share their glee.

One wrote: “I am ridiculously excited for the return of The League of Gentlemen! It always makes me feel less homesick somehow.”

Another said: “The League of Gentlemen is coming back. Yaaaaay! Awesome but terrifying. Can’t wait.”

“A niche comedy but one of my favourites nonetheless. Great to hear The League of Gentlemen is coming back,” one fan tweeted, before adding one of the show’s catchphrases “You’re my wife now…”.

One tweeted that they were jealous of the younger and as-yet uninitiated generation.

“Envy all the young’uns who’ve never heard of The League of Gentlemen who get to be apprehensive, confused but ultimately amused & addicted,” they wrote.

Another declared it the “best news of 2017”, while one devotee enthused that they were “beside myself”.

For some, it was not good news, as one tweeter wrote: “I don’t know how to feel about this. The League of Gentlemen was superb but time & time again these returns of classics are awful.”

“Unpopular opinion: The League of Gentlemen was never actually all that funny, and the best thing about it was the theme music,” another commented.