They peel them with their little knives! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Living rooms all over Britain echoed to the sound of metallic mirth throughout the Seventies whenever there was a commercial break.

The shiny Smash Martians became the stars of one of the most popular advertising campaigns ever seen on television in the UK as they mocked the primitive potato-peeling procedures of dimwitted Earthlings.

And now three of the original alien models which were used to promote the instant mashed potato brand are coming to Bradford.

A family of three - a mother, her baby and a cat - have arrived at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television to go on permanent display.

Paul Goodman, registrar at the museum, said: "This is a real coup for the museum. The Smash Martians provide a rare opportunity to acquire a piece of advertising history that has appealed to millions of people over two generations."

The Martians went missing several years ago before being discovered in a disused storeroom.

Smash, now part of the HL Foods stable, was launched by Cadbury's in 1968 and the Martians advertising campaign was launched six years later.

The brainchild of the advertising agency BMP DDB, it featured 4ft models which were made largely of moulded plastic, each needing three people using bicycle brake callipers to operate them.

Their infectious laughter and distinctive voices, reminiscent of Daleks in a good mood, saw the campaign run for 15 years.

And they have also enjoyed a recent revival. In 1999 a new model affectionately referred to as Trevor Machdonald was made at a cost of £35,000.

Actor Joss Ackland again provided the voiceovers for the big comeback in a Martian News At Ten bulletin.

The original Smash adverts were voted the second best of all time in Channel 4's Top 100 Adverts programme this year, beaten only by a Guinness commercial.

But the advertising industry magazine Campaign placed it at the very top of the pile when it compiled its own Top 100 to mark the start of the Millennium with the help of leading creative directors.

The judges said: "The ad broke every rule in the book by showing robots eating the product but its depiction of a rather cuddly future proved a huge hit with consumers.