Silver jubilee for classic Amnesty gigs

BBC4 is to screen an hour-long tribute to the Secret Policeman's Ball comedy benefits.

The programme will mark the 25th anniversary of the first gigs, staged over four nights at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.

It featured performances from Monty Python, Rowan Atkinson, Billy Connolly and Peter Cook and raised funds, and awareness, for human rights group Amnesty.

The success of the originals spawned follow-ups in 1981, 1987 and 1989.

Independent production company Films Of Record, which recorded the original as a 90-minute movie, have been commissioned by BBC4 to make the new documentary to be screened later this year.

It will feature interviews with the likes of John Cleese and Stephen Fry, trade magazine Broadcast reports.

All the Secret Policeman's Balls, plus two earlier and one later Amnesty fundraiser are available in a ten-hour DVD collection, priced £15.99 at Amazon. Click here to buy.

Published: 17 Jan 2004