As a plaque goes up to mark 35 years of the sitcom

The surviving cast of Allo Allo are to reunite to unveil a blue plaque at the country house which stood in for Cafe René.

Exterior scenes for the BBC sitcom were filmed at Lynford Hall in Norfolk, with its courtyard used as a stand-in for Nouvion town square.

The British Comedy Society will unveil a plaque there on September 7 ahead of the 35th anniversary of the pilot episode, which aired on December 30, 1982.

Created by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, the show would go on to run for a decade, with a total of 85 instalments. 

Expected to attend the plaque unveiling are Vicki Michelle, who played Yvette; Kim Hartman (Helga); Guy Siner (Gruber); Kirsten Cooke (Michelle); Richard Gibson (Herr Flick); Francesca Gonshaw (Maria); John D. Collins (Fairfax); Arthur Bostrom (Crabtree) and Sue Hodge (Mimi)

Other members of the cast have since died, including Gorden Kaye, who passed away in 2017 and Carmen Silvera, who died in 2002.

Built in the 1850s, Lynford Hall also featured Croft and Perry’s other comedies You Rang My Lord and Dad’s Army, most of which was filmed just ten miles away in the village of Thetford

Tickets are available for the unveiling of the plaque, including a celebratory meal and chance to meet the cast, with proceeds going to  the Actors' Benevolent Fund.

• The Allo Allo cast: Where are they now? (from 2017)

Published: 5 Jun 2019