Starsky and Hutch flick fans back to 1970s

The UK premiere of the new Starsky and Hutch movie will whisk fans back to the 1970s tonight.

Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller will be joined on the red carpet by the stars of the original TV series, David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser.

Antonio Fargas, aka Huggy Bear, will also be at the screening in London’s Leicester Square.

Wilson, 35, and Stiller, 38, are arriving in a replica of the detective duo’s red and white Ford Gran Torino.

The red carpet will also have a white stripe down the middle in homage to the famous car.

The after-show party is being held at a West End club which has been given a 70s makeover for the occasion, with loud patterned wallpaper and red vinyl seats.

Guests will listen to 70s disco tunes and snack on doughnuts, American cops’ favourite food.

The cult TV series ran from 1975 to 1979 and turned Soul and Glaser into international superstars.

The actors, both aged 60, have both been through difficult times since the show ended.

Glaser, who played Detective Dave Starsky, suffered heartbreak when his wife Elizabeth contracted HIV from a blood transfusion as she gave birth to their daughter Ariel in 1981.

Elizabeth unwittingly passed the virus on to Ariel and the couple’s son Jake. Ariel died aged seven and Elizabeth died in 1994. Jake is HIV positive but remains healthy.

Glaser, a TV director, has since married again and is a campaigner for HIV and AIDS research.

Soul, who played Detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson, became an alcoholic and was arrested for attacking his pregnant third wife.

Four times divorced, he moved to England in 1995 and has appeared in various theatre productions.

He remains a heart-throb to a generation of women, saying: “Even now, I get female fans coming on to me. The women are older but that doesn’t mean they’re more dignified – just desperate!

“I’m flattered, but there’s only limited life left in the old dog.”

Soul and Glaser lost out on the chance to make millions from the TV series.

They signed away their stake in the show for $100,000 (€81,900), - meaning they do not profit from repeat fees or the movie remake.