Lost 1968 Morecambe and Wise episode to be broadcast
BBCA lost TV episode from one of the UK's most famous comic duos is to be broadcast after being found in a private collection.
The programme formed part of Morecambe and Wise's return to the BBC after working in commercial television and was originally broadcast on 16 September 1968.
It was one of four missing episodes from the series but a copy was preserved by an industry professional who has since died. The BBC said it hoped to broadcast it at some point in the coming months.
Prof Justin Smith, who was part of the team which found the episode, said: "It is fast-paced, it is witty and it has many of their trademarks."
The programme was tracked down by Film is Fabulous! (FIF), a charitable trust run by film collectors, cinema lovers, and vintage television enthusiasts.
Smith, who is professor of cinema and television history at De Montfort University in Leicester, and chair of trustees at FIF, said many sketches including a balloon dancer and scene in a nudist camp, clearly reflected the era in which it was made.
"It was almost a stock comic way of dealing with or responding to the 'permissive society'," he said.
"So it is very much of its time and very tongue-in-cheek obviously."
He continued: "But what comes across is the spark that Eric and Ernie had, they were in their prime.
"It is fast-paced, it is witty and it has many of their trademarks that we associate with vintage Morecambe and Wise."
Smith said the duo had returned to the BBC after a stint with ATV, partly due to the opportunity to film in colour.
Despite this, the recovered recording is in black and white, though it should be possible to restore the original quality, FIF said.
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