Video - Explosive scenes in the capital as Jack is back for new series of 24

Although it featured no dialogue, its shots of a gun being loaded then carried in slow motion was enough to get online fans talking as it was posted up shortly after appearing during the Super Bowl pre-game show in the US.

The 12-episode 'event' series, revives action hero Jack Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, from the ground-breaking series that ran for eight seasons beginning in 2001. The trailer opens with a tight shot of the union flag and as the camera pans out, the audience sees that it is on the side of an overturned car. Chaos surrounds the car, which, it quickly becomes apparent, is on a London street.

As explosions go off, Jack Bauer (Sutherland) and his trusty IT genius Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) emerge from the rubble, limping with their arms around each other's waists, as Jack begins shooting and finally screaming.

In this new season, Jack comes out of hiding in London to head off a terrorist attack while being hunted down by American forces dispatched by President James Heller (William Devane).

The return of the series is described by the network as 'restarting the clock' on the Emmy-winning drama. The 12 new episodes will represent 24 hours in the life of the iconic counter-terrorist agent. It follows the exploits of the Counter Terrorism Unit led by Bauer. The show was nominated for 73 Emmys, winning Outstanding Drama in 2006. Sutherland also won once for Outstanding Lead Actor.

In each season, Jack and his staff fought a different terrorist threat, including a presidential assassination attempt; a nuclear bomb; a Mexican drug cartel, a kidnap and a Russian plot to kill an Islamic leader. The show often shocked the audience by killing off series regulars, creating a sense that nobody was safe in the world of CTU.

A feature film adaptation of 24 was planned for the hiatus between the sixth and seventh seasons, but was eventually scrapped.