Far be it from me to spoil things for real fans – you won’t find the plot twist mentioned above unless you click through the cut – but I don’t mind reading it for myself. I was glued to the first series of ’24′, watched the second series expecting it to be as good and soon found myself getting totally bored with the format.

Now, whenever I even catch a few seconds of a trailer and hear that piercing clock ticking down, I start twitching. It’s beyond me how anyone can remain true to this series, especially as I’ve read some of the middle ones were somewhat less than riveting. Each to his/her own I guess, and the fact is that the franchise is continuing, which brings us to that plot twist coming your way in series seven…

Tony Almeida is back! Yes! Please…sit down. Would you like a glass of water? Shall I fan you with a copy of the Radio Times? Did you think he was dead? No-one stays dead in American TV drama, you know that. Remember Bobby Ewing.

The seventh season – which is due to start both here and in the US in January – is set in Washington DC, picking up on Jack Bauer’s (Kiefer Sutherland) trial for his actions (in series six, presumably). He is shocked by the sudden arrival of Almeida (Carlos Bernard), presumed dead after an assassination attempt in season five.

Exec producer Howard Gordon tries to gloss over the non-sequitur: “Tony’s uncertain fate near the end of Day 5 left the door open for his return,” he said.

For those of you who know about these things, perhaps you spotted a subtle clue. The 24 “tribute” to the death of a major character is to have a silent clock at the conclusion of his last appearance, so the fact that he wasn’t dead was “always … a possibility.” That would have been wayyyyyyy too subtle for me, I’m afraid. [via DS]