Unseen scripts to be published

Swathes of unseen Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie scripts are set to be published in a new book.

The comedians have handed over several hours' worth of sketches that they wrote – but never filmed – for A Bit Of Fry And Laurie to comedy historian Jem Roberts.

Now he is compiling a definitive history of their comic partnership to mark the 30th anniversary of the pilot episode, which aired on BBC One on Boxing Day 1987, which will include much of the material.

Roberts said that Fry had emailed him 'an astonishing treasury of comedy material that was never even used for A Bit Of Fry And Laurie at all. The whole lot adds up to at least three or four hours of unseen material – and absolutely ludicrous amount considering that every word was written by the two colleagues themselves.'

The pair wrote a total of 36 episodes, from that plot to the final episode in 1995.

Roberts added that it was a 'bizarre oversight that one of the most beloved, successful and silly dups of all time' have not previously been celebrated in print. And he said that although Fry has published autobiographies, 'it seldom touches on the actual work'.

The author has now launched a campaign via Unbound to crowdfund the publication of the book, entitled Soupy Twists after the comedians' nonsensical sign-off from the third and fourth series.

It is being written with the 'blessing and co-operation' of Fry and Laurie, and will cover their time from 'insecure Cambridge Footlighters to international comedy heroes… taking in the excitement of being the first Perrier Award winners, the terrors of performing in Saturday Live, the collaborative warfare of Blackadder, the creation of four series of cult sketch comedy and the ultimate depiction of Woodhouse's Jeeves and Wooster'. It will also plot the pair's subsequent solo careers, from QI to House.

Roberts said that the 'huge databanks of the A Bit of Fry & Laurie unseen material archive… reveal a host of tantalising titbits for fans – including what happened next for Tony & Control, which other shops Mr Dalliard's friend ran, and the lost Laurie number The Ballad of Neddy Muldoon'.

Roberts has previously penned definitive guides to Blackadder, Douglas Adams and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. And Fry said of his earlier books: 'Jem manages to write about popular cultural institutions with knowledge and affection, while avoiding the dismal traps of nerdy fanboyism on the one hand or grandiose cultural pseudo-intellectualism on the other. His research is flawless and the results are readable, illuminating and delightful.'

Here's a video about Soupy Twists's crowdfunding campaign, for which £100 will get you even more unseen scripts not included in the book:

Published: 17 May 2016