Thousands paid for Allo Allo prop

Taxi firm boss Colin Jennings paid an undisclosed sum thought to be more than £4,000 for the prop at a charity auction.

He said: ‘I’ve saved it for the nation. I’m more of a TV sitcom fan than a fine art collector. But I know what I like — and I love this.

‘’Allo ‘Allo! always had me in stitches and the chance to own a memento was too big a temptation to resist.’

But his wife Shirley added: ‘Nudes aren’t my favourite style of art. But I’ll have to grin and bear it as it makes Colin happy.’

The painting - by fictional old master Van Clomp - had been given to ’Allo ’Allo! set designer Shaun Moore when the series ended 15 years ago, but he decided to sell it for an education charity in Oxford.

Moore said: ‘t was given to me as a leaving present when the show ended, and it's been hanging in my study ever since. I think that it's a really nice piece. She's been of great sentimental value.

‘But what's more important, a nice painting on my wall or the ability of a child to access schooling?’

Apart from the original, a copy has previously been made for The Marquess of Bath, a fan of the show, who hung it at his family home in Longleat.

Published: 24 May 2007