Missing Till Death Us Do Part episode discovered
- An episode of Till Death Us Do Part long-thought wiped has been rediscovered
- Series 1, Episode 4 - Intolerance - was first broadcast in June 1966
A "missing believed wiped" episode of Till Death Us Do Part has been rediscovered, it has been revealed.
The episode - Series 1, Episode 4 - Intolerance - was identified and returned to the BBC earlier this month.
Written by Johnny Speight, the series starred the late Warren Mitchell as the short-tempered, bigoted working-class Londoner Alf Garnett, with Dandy Nichols playing his long-suffering wife, Else. Una Stubbs and Anthony Booth completed the regular cast as daughter Rita and son-in-law Mike.
The find means that of 56 episodes originally broadcast, now fewer than 20 remain unaccounted for, including two short sketch specials originally broadcast during Christmas Night With The Stars festive programming.
Thousands of hours of programming across all genres were recorded over during the 1960s and 1970s as they were not deemed to have any value. Comedies ranging from Not Only... But Also... to Dad's Army, and Steptoe And Son to The Gnomes Of Dulwich all suffered from the practice, enacted due to the high cost of video tape on which to record new programmes, and no knowledge of the home entertainment revolution that would begin in the 1980s. Whilst many ITV programmes also suffered, the BBC was the hardest hit.
Since the early 1990s, broadcasters have been working in conjunction with the BFI and various television organisations to raise awareness of the missing episodes and initiate searches to recover as much material as possible. Some programmes were recorded by enthusiasts on early and highly expensive home equipment, whilst directors, actors and writers have also proved to have held copies of other productions. Further programmes still have been discovered internationally, after being sold to overseas television channels.
News of the discovery was revealed by the BFI's television curator, Dick Fiddy. It is understood that the BFI hope to screen the programme as part of their annual Missing Believed Wiped event in early December. Meanwhile, Network are planning a DVD of every surviving episode of the series, possibly for release later this Autumn or Winter.
Another missing episode of Till Death Us Do Part has recently been remade by the BBC with an all-new cast. The new version of Series 2, Episode 6 - A Woman's Place Is In The Home stars Simon Day as Alf, with Lizzie Roper as Else and Sydney Rae White and Carl Au as Rita and Mike. It will be broadcast as one of three episodes of The Lost Sitcoms in September, alongside remade episodes of Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe And Son, as part of the corporation's Sitcom Season.
Sequel series Till Death.... (ITV, 1981) exists in its entirety, whilst the later BBC sequel In Sickness & In Health is already available to buy on DVD in its entirety.