A family has made a unique discovery after stumbling upon never-before-seen footage of a classic British TV show in their garden shed.
Long-lost footage from the Thunderbirds series was unearthed in a shed in Buckinghamshire last year.
The rare find, made up of 22 cans of film, belonged to his recently deceased father, who had worked as an editor on the nostalgic 1960s series.
The show, which used a form of electronic puppetry and featured memorable characters such as Scott Tracy, Parker and Lady Penelope, became a cult classic after its first broadcast in 1965.
Despite its popularity, the show, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and starring Sylvia Anderson, Peter Dyneley and David Graham, was discontinued in December 1966 after 32 episodes.
Last year, a family unearthed long-lost footage of the Thunderbirds series in a Buckinghamshire shed.
The discovered footage was sent to Stephen La Rivière, director and producer of Thunderbirds: The Anniversary Episodes, which aired three special episodes in 2016.
La Rivière confirmed that the cans contained original material from the 1960s, as well as an alternate version of an episode that had never aired.
He described the discovery as exciting and challenging due to the state of the film, which had been exposed to the elements.
talking to bbc newsLa Rivière said it was difficult to identify the cans due to their condition, but “clearly the majority were Thunderbirds.”
The painstaking process of digitizing the footage took weeks, “bit by bit,” with La Rivière receiving nightly updates of the latest scans.
Much of the material was the same as had previously aired, but the producer revealed: “Eventually, listening one night… this was over and it wasn’t the same as what was aired.”
One of the most exciting finds was an alternate edit of an existing episode, which featured a never-before-seen scene.
However, due to damage to the film cans, some restoration work will need to be done before the images can be displayed.
Despite its popularity, the cult television classic was discontinued in December 1966 after 32 episodes.
Thunderbirds, which used a form of electronic puppetry and featured memorable characters such as Scott Tracy, Parker and Lady Penelope, became a cult classic after its first broadcast in 1965.
Producer and director Stephen La Rivière described the discovery as exciting and challenging due to the state of the film, which had been exposed to the elements.
La Rivière hopes the restored footage, filmed at Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire, can be shared with the public in 2025 to mark Thunderbirds’ 60th anniversary, after years of “lying around waiting to be discovered”.
It comes after David Graham revealed his inspiration behind Thunderbirds’ Aloysius Parker’s voice came from an unlikely place – the pub.
The actor, who sadly passed away on Friday at the age of 99, played the voice actor of Aloysius Parker, the butler on the beloved ’60s series.
Following his death, David’s 2019 appearance on Good Morning Britain resurfaced, where he explained to Susanna Reid, 53, Ben Shephard, 49, and Kate Garraway, 57, the amazing story behind the character’s voice.