Unseen Frankie Howerd footage to be aired

Previously unseen footage of Frankie Howerd is to be aired in a new Channel 4 documentary.

Archive material including pilots, home movie footage and unseen material from his live stand up shows will all feature in The Unseen Frankie Howerd.

The 90-minute film will also include extracts from his vast collection of personal letters, as he corresponded with everyone from Sir Laurence Olivier to ordinary fans.

Executive producer Mat Steiner said: ‘Frankie was a pioneer who cleared a path for some of today's biggest comedians. His career was a roller-coaster over four decades and yet he never managed to go out of fashion.’

The Unseen Frankie Howerd is being produced and directed by Andy Humphries, who has a long track record of archive comedy shows.

His film The Untold Tommy Cooper – which also featured a lot of obscure archive recordings – won acclaim for Channel 4 in December, and he also made The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse, Being Ronnie Corbett and Not Again: Not The Nine O'clock News

Howerd died 20 years ago last month, and the documentary – made by Gogglebox Entertainment and commissioned by Channel 4 head of comedy Shane Allen – will air late this year.

Published: 10 May 2012