Listeners unearth more BBC classics

The BBC is to broadcast classic radio comedies that it thought it had lost forever, thanks to listeners who handed in their home recordings.

The shows include an entire series of The Kenneth Williams Playhouse; Radio Five, which starred Eric Idle before he found fame with Monty Python; and the comedy show I'm Ken and He's Bill starring Peter Cleall, Derek Seaton and Patricia Hayes.

A live performance by the Beatles, which was broadcast only once in 1963, has also been recovered.

Tapes of the shows were originally destroyed or wiped by BBC archivists, and it was thought they would never see the light of day.

But a renewed appeal to listeners unearthed more than 50 hours of recordings, some dating as far back as 1960.

At the time, the BBC took a dim view of those who made such illegal recordings, with Lord Reith railing against the "airwave pirates".

But now their reel-to-reel tape machines have proved invaluable in restoring invaluable broadcast heritage.

The BBC told the Sunday Telegraph they now intend to rebroadcast many of the shows where the recording quality is acceptable on Radios 4 and 7, starting with a one-off show on Radio 4 on November 1.

A similar appeal in 2001 uncovered missing episodes of Hancock's Half Hour and Dad's Army.

Published: 12 Oct 2003