3 October 2018
Award-winning multichannel-broadcaster UKTV has commissioned Mercury Productions, working very closely with the Estates of the original writers, Jimmy Perry and David Croft, to exclusively recreate three episodes of Dad's Army that haven't been seen on television since they were first broadcast in 1969.
UKTV plans to air the The Lost Episodes from the second series of Dad's Army in 2019, fifty years since they were first broadcast.
The BBC routinely reused tapes after broadcast from 1967 - 1978 and three episodes from series two of the wartime comedy, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker, A Stripe for Frazer and Under Fire, were all seemingly destroyed or reused as they have never been found.
UKTV Original series The Lost Episodes has been ordered by Richard Watsham, director of commissioning and Steve North, genre general manager of entertainment and comedy.
Pete Thornton, head of scripted at UKTV, said:
The Lost Episodes are currently being cast, with an extensive hunt on to find the perfect candidates to take on the daunting task of bringing these much-loved comedy characters to life once more. We've been working on this project for several years and will be respecting the genius of the original series. If ever there was a time to 'stick to the script' then this is it. We are hugely excited and not a little intimidated by this opportunity but being plucky (and hopefully not too incompetent) Brits we aim to see the task through.
Gerald Casey, Gold's channel director, added:
As a Dad's Army devotee, I'm utterly thrilled that we're exclusively bringing these legendary lost masterpieces from Jimmy Perry and David Croft to life again after fifty years.
UKTV will host a special screening for viewers who remember watching The Lost Episodes on TV when it originally aired. The episodes were originally broadcast 15 March, 29 March and 5 April 1969, more details on the screening to follow.
__
Notes to Editors:
Casting news to follow.
About Gold
Sky 110, Virgin 124, BT and TalkTalk 310 On demand on Sky, Virgin and Now TV
Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nation's favourite comedy channel. Much-loved comedy series such as Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and The Royle Family sit alongside an array of successful UKTV Originals including David Jason: My Life on Screen, The Rebel, The Story of Only Fools and Horses, and Murder on the Blackpool Express, which stars a stunning cast including Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson. The feature length UKTV Original attracted 1.72 million viewers in its first week in 2017, making it Gold's highest ever rating show.
The perfect tonic to make you laugh whatever the time of day, Gold shows universally funny content that everyone can enjoy.
gold.uktv.co.uk | @goldchannel
About UKTV
UKTV is a commercial broadcaster reaching almost 40m viewers every month.
The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for nearly 10% of the British commercial TV market.
The network delivers inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories. Now celebrating over 20 years at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Studios and Discovery, Inc. - is proud to be the first British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.