BBC Four to revive Steptoe & Son, Hancock and Alf Garnett
- BBC Four is producing a new studio show The Lost Sitcoms
- It'll re-create episodes of Steptoe And Son, Hancock's Half Hour and Till Death Us Do Part
- The Lost Sitcoms forms part of the BBC's Landmark Sitcom Season
BBC Four is working on a new series called The Lost Sitcoms.
The format, which will be filmed in front of a live studio audience, will see episodes of classic sitcoms that no longer exist in the BBC's archive re-created by new casts.
1960s rag and bone men sitcom Steptoe And Son, the classic Tony Hancock comedy Hancock's Half Hour and Alf Garnett-based show Till Death Us Do Part are the programmes that have been selected.
The BBC confirms: "The Lost Sitcoms for BBC Four is a studio show revisiting scripts of Steptoe And Son, Hancock's Half Hour and Till Death Us Do Part, which have been lost from the archives. Each sitcom will be recreated with a brand new cast and filmed in a theatrical-style presentation in front of a studio audience."
The episodes are...
Hancock's Half Hour - The New Neighbour: Written by Galton & Simpson, and featuring Kevin McNally as Tony Hancock and Robin Sebastian as Kenneth Williams.
Steptoe And Son - A Winter's Tale: Also written by Galton & Simpson.
Till Death Us Do Part - A Woman's Place Is In The Home: Written by Johnny Speight.
The episodes will be produced by Owen Bell. Further casting details will be announced in due course.
Almost half - 26 of 63 episodes - of Hancock's Half Hour are missing believed wiped, and 22 of the 59 episodes (including specials) of Till Death Us Do Part are missing, either in part or whole. Many episodes of Steptoe And Son were also wiped by the BBC, but all recovered by the Steptoe and Son Appreciation Society in conjunction with the BBC. However, a short sketch from 1962's Christmas Night With The Stars, believed to be around 5 minutes in length, is still lost; and the entire fifth series, plus most of Series 6 - originally all produced in colour - now only exist in black and white.
The Lost Sitcoms will form part of the BBC's Landmark Sitcom Season, broadcasting in July. Marking 60 years since Hancock's Half Hour transferred from radio to television, the season will also include a new episode of Mrs. Brown's Boys broadcast live, and a number of sitcom re-makes. A new version of Are You Being Served? was recently confirmed, with Porridge, Keeping Up Appearances and Up Pompeii! also set for new episodes.
This won't be the first time that a Hancock's Half Hour episode has been re-created. A 2009 Radio 2 series saw Paul Merton play Hancock in the famous 'Blood Donor' episode, whilst Radio 4 is recreating the 20 lost scripts from the original radio series under the title The Missing Hancocks. The series features Kevin McNally as Hancock, with Kevin Eldon as Bill Kerr, Simon Greenall as Sid James and Robin Sebastian as Kenneth Williams. Previously thought to have been axed, the show now looks set to continue over the following years and conclude its task of recreating all 20 episodes.
The Lost Sitcoms will be recorded in Glasgow from the end of this month. To apply to be in the audience visit BBC Tickets The producers add: "We're celebrating these great old shows with a brand new cast, so please come and join us for plenty of laughs and a bit of nostalgia!"