Scott Bakula takes Star Trek helm

Star Trek Voyager is to be replaced by Enterprise

Actor Scott Bakula is the new captain at the helm of the latest Star Trek series.

Best known for his role in the sci-fi series Quantum Leap, Bakula, 46, will lead the cast of the fifth Star Trek series, Enterprise.

Scott Bakula: Has the "charm and intelligence"

Bakula will portray Captain Jonathan Archer, described as a "physical and intensely curious captain with a bold personality".

Enterprise is due to start production on 14 May and will replace Star Trek Voyager which has come to the end of its run.

'Renegade'

Bakula, who had a cameo role in Oscar-winning American Beauty, follows actors William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks and Kate Mulgrew, who have captained the four previous Star Trek series.

William Shatner: Captain of the USS Enterprise

Bakula's character is described as "a bit of a renegade and is not afraid to question orders or even disobey them if he feels in his gut that he is right".

Star Trek fans have likened him to a throwback to the original Enterprise captain, James T Kirk, played by William Shatner.

"Scott personifies the charm and intelligence that the role calls for," said Enterprise co-producer and creator Rick Berman.

The series will debut in the United States in the Autumn.

Extremely popular

Other Star Trek Enterprise cast members are little known actors, including Jolene Blalock, John Billingsley, Linda Park, Anthony Montgomery, Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer.

Patrick Stewart was a popular Enterprise captain

The Star Trek series have been extremely popular and have been sold across the world.

The Next Generation series started 18 years after the original Star Trek series was cancelled and was followed by Deep Space Nine in 1993 and Voyager in 1995, which ended this year.

A tenth Star Trek movie, provisionally entitled Star Trek X, is currently in production and is expected to be released next year.

Patrick Stewart and the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation are expected to return for their fourth film outing.