SIR SEAN CONNERY in a TV production of Colombe and Jane Asher in Romeo and Juliet are among the discoveries of old BBC TV tapes unearthed by a researcher in the US.
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Dating back to the late 1950s and 60s, the shows were believed to have been lost for good, like much of the rest of the broadcaster’s material from an era in which master tapes were routinely wiped.
“This is by far the largest and most significant collection of programmes we have found,” said Steve Bryant of the British Film Institute, which runs a campaign to find old British TV recordings.
The tapes were found in the vaults of the Library of Congress in Washington DC and are believed to have been those used by US TV back in the 60s.
As well as Asher and Connery, material found in DC includes Sir Derek Jacobi, Dame Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens in Much Ado About Nothing and John Le Mesurier and Leonard Rossiter in Dr Knock.
On 7 November, the BFI is to screen a selection of the tapes as part of its Missing, Believed Wiped festival.
