To mark what would have been Eric's 100th birthday

The newly unearthed lost episode of The Morecambe & Wise Show is to be screened next month to mark what would have been Eric’s 100th birthday. 

Chortle last week reported how the show was found by enthusiasts from the Film Is Fabulous! group. It was thought to have been lost forever, having aired just once on September 16, 1968.

 It was found in the estate of a former television industry professional and has now been returned to the BBC, which will air it on BBC Four and iPlayer on Thursday May 14.

Eric’s son, Gary, said: "I’m so thrilled and surprised by the discovery of a Morecambe and Wise show that hasn’t been seen since 1968. I honestly didn’t think there was anything out there left to find, and when something like this comes out of nowhere, it’s really quite wonderful. I’m very excited about seeing it for the first time since I was twelve years of age.’

The programme was the third episode from the duo’s first series back at the BBC after a more lucrative  stint with the commercial channel ATV. Part of their reason for switching channels was the chance to film in colour– although the recovered footage is in black and white. 

The series was the last to be written by Sid Green and Dick Hills before Eddie Braben came on board to perfect the relationship that made Eric and Ernie Britain’s biggest comedy stars.

In the recovered episode, actress Ann Hamilton appears in a sketch set in a nudist colony, while Jenny Lee-Wright plays Eric’s niece, a balloon dancer. It also includes a musical performance from all-girl trio The Paper Dolls.

Eric’s daughter, Gail, said: ‘What a lovely surprise this is, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it on a screen once again after so many years.

‘It’s excellent to hear that skilled people are actively going through the archives and discovering "lost" programmes. Not just Morecambe and Wise, of course. I am especially thrilled that it coincides with my father’s centenary year. Really wonderful.’

The BBC will also air a new compilation programme The Perfect Morecambe and Wise on May 14.

Gary Morecambe praised volunteers at Film is Fabulous! – whose chair is Justin Smith, professor of cinema and television history at De Montfort University – for their ‘dedication and hard work [that] brought this gem back to us.’

This month, the BBC broadcast two previously lost episodes of Doctor Who from the Sixties after they were also unearthed by the group.

Eric Morecambe died in May 1984 at the age of 58, while Ernie Wise died in March 1999, aged 73.

Published: 29 Apr 2026