Lost scripts for revival tour

Two lost episodes wiped by the BBC and one classic script are being dusted down for the tour, which will start in September.

The shows not seen since their original broadcast are The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker, in which the platoon try to ensure that Walker is not drafted into the Army by giving him flat feet, and A Stripe for Fraser in which the gloomy Scottish character becomes power-crazed after a promotion.

The final episode to be adapted is The Deadly Attachment, in which a German U-Boat captain is captured by the platoon, which features the classic line: ‘Don't tell him, Pike,’ when the enemy commander seeks Pike’s name.

Peter Martin, whose credits include The Royle Family and Emmerdale, will play Captain Mainwaring.

The sitcom, which first aired between 1968 and 1977, has been the subject of a number of amateur revivals but this will be the first professional tour since the Seventies

Producer Ed O'Driscoll told MediaGuardian: ‘These episodes have not been done by a professional company since they were filmed for the BBC in the Sixties and we are delighted to be able to showcase them.’

The scripts have been adapted by the show's creators, David Croft and Jimmy Perry.

Mr Perry said: ‘I am delighted that these missing episodes will be made available to such a wide audience and that the popularity of the show is still strong.’.

The stage show is being put together by Herefordshire-based theatre production company Calibre.

Confirmed dates for the tour include Northampton’s Derngate Theatre and a Christmas run at Manchester's Lowry Centre.Click here for tickets for the Manchester season.

Published: 18 Apr 2007