A long-lost episode of 'Morecambe and Wise' will air on the BBC over Christmas.
A Morecambe and Wise tape will air over Christmas
The episode of the classic comedy show has aired only once before, in October 1970, and has now been restored by the broadcaster in time for the festive season.
A TV source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We were so excited to hear that this episode, long considered lost, still exists. This should be a real Christmas treat for comedy fans. It’s an absolute delight."
The tape was actually found in an attic by Gary Morecambe, Eric Morecambe's son, who stumbled across a film cannister marked only with a BBC stamp.
Experts have managed to change the episode from black and white into colour, and the episode is now set to be screened under the title 'Morecambe and Wise - The Lost Tape'.
The long-lost episode is in fact the sixth instalment of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise's fourth series for the BBC.
The 45-minute programme features some iconic sketches, as well as music from the likes of Paul Anka and Patricia Lambert.
Gary, 65, has admitted to discovering the tape by accident at his home in Hertfordshire.
He recalled: "I was looking through other stuff. As the decades went by we hadn’t really sorted enough out and my mother said why don’t you have a look in the attic.
"I got in there and came across five large canisters with spools in them.
"Four of them were blank or damaged, but the other one had a BBC stamp on it."
A DVD of the fourth series was released in 2008, but it did not include the sixth episode of the series, as the tape couldn't be found.
Gary added: "It’s a huge discovery because it was presumed missing and lost for good."