When discussing the shortsighted tragedy that was the Thames Television policy to record over original tapes of programmes during the 1960s, it is usually Doctor Who that takes centre stage. However, it is important to remember that many other programmes were debilitatingly affected by this horrible act of cinematic homicide. Shows like ITV's At Last the 1948 Show, the comedy sketch show that first united John Cleese and Graham Chapman, as well as introduced Marty Feldman to the world.
Of 13 episodes produced of At Last, only seven existed at the start of the week, and as of today that number rises to nine. The first and last episodes were discovered by the British Film Institute's Dick Fiddy in the private collection of Sir David Frost, who was the executive producer of At Last. The episodes will be presented by Cleese at the BFI's annual Missing Believed Wiped event this December, where discoveries of previously thought missing episodes from this transformative era are celebrated and screened.
Via the BBC.