Rare archives to be aired

Rare recordings Peter Sellers made of his own early work will be aired in a new radio series celebrating his comic genius.

Best Sellers, to be hosted by Phill Jupitus, launches on July 24, exactly 21 years after Sellers died of a heart attack.

Thanks to the former Goon's love of technology, much of his early work has been preserved.

As his career began to take off, Sellers and his mother made great efforts to record his television and radio appearances onto acetate and, later, film and video.

Material from this vault, which is now in the US and owned by the mother of his last wife, the late Lynn Fredericks, will be broadcast as part of the Radio 4 series.

The show will also feature interviews with the late Sir Harry Secombe, Shirley MacLaine and Michael Palin, among others.

To buy Peter Sellers EMI comedy CD on Amazon

Published: 10 Jul 2001