Despite not having had a television set for a dozen years now, I’ve just learned of a Xmas Day treat for those of you who have clear access to BBC1.
Gary Morecambe, son of the late and forever missed Eric Morecambe, was searching in the att ic for old scripts when he found seven cannisters of film. One was Morecambe and Wise’s first ever show for the BBC in 1970. The tape was long ago wiped for re-use. The film Gary found was salvageable. It has been cleaned, re-mastered and even colourised. It will be shown on Xmas Day. I strongly suggest that you do not miss this. Somehow or other I will have to get to warch it.
But that’s not all. The BBC will also be showing a Morecambe and Wise Xmas Show, from 1971. It’s guests include Andre Previn. A Morecambe and Wise show not seen for 51 years, and that sketch, all in the same day.
My word, it almost feels lilke Xmas!
You should be able to see it after broadcast on BBC Iplayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer. You’ll need to register, but it’s free, and as far as I know you only need a TV licence to watch live TV.
If that’s so, then they’ve changed the regulations back. I used to watch iPlayer regularly, mostly for the football and the BBC4 Skandis, but then they not only demanded registration, to which I’ve averse, but required you to have a licence to watch that too. I’ll check it out.