British Comedy Guide

Tommy Cooper: The Lost Tapes to share unseen footage on Channel 5

Sunday 8th December 2024, 1:34pm by Jay Richardson

Tommy Cooper. Tommy Cooper. Copyright: London Weekend Television

Unseen footage of Tommy Cooper is to air on British television for the first time this Christmas.

Tommy Cooper: The Lost Tapes goes out on Channel 5 on 30th December and features his guest appearance on The David Frost Show in New York in 1969 and a tour-de-force performance on an American television special in 1967.

The 85-minute documentary, which is followed by Cooper's 1973 and 1974 Christmas specials on the 30th, also includes performances unseen since their original single transmission decades ago, in their full, original length.

The programme also features testimony and memories from those who worked with or knew Cooper, including actor Sheila Hancock, music producer Trevor Horn, broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, entertainer Jimmy Tarbuck and writer Colin Edmonds, as well as famous fans Trevor McDonald, comedian Zoe Lyons and comedy magician Pete Firman.

Cooper died on stage during a televised performance at Her Majesty's Theatre in London in 1984, at the age of 63.

Tommy Cooper: The Lost Tapes is produced and directed by Mark Wells (Billy Connolly: In His Own Words) for Double Yellow Entertainment (Morecambe & Wise in America).

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