An Antiques Roadshow guest was shocked when he was told how valuable a Dad’s Army script was that he learned during his work experience at the BBC.
Pundit Clive Farrahar was amazed by the handwritten script for the sitcom which was brought to Roundhay Park in Leeds for Sunday’s episode.
Those within earshot were left speechless as Clive gave his estimated price for the ‘rare’ work of former screenwriter David Croft.
Clive said: ‘These pieces of paper are terribly rare. I can’t imagine there are any more around.”
The papers were personally delivered to the lucky recipient after he helped Croft at the BBC decades after the episode in question aired.
An Antiques Roadshow guest (left) was shocked when told how valuable a Dad’s Army script he picked up during his work experience at the BBC was
David Croft sent the original handwritten script of series four, episode four (Sgt – Save My Boy, 1970) to the lucky recipient after completing a work experience to help him at the BBC
“Well, I guess I have to appreciate it now,” said Clive, after a last look at the pile of papers, “which is the hardest part, because I don’t think I have anything to compare it to.
“I’d say you’ve got something between five and ten thousand pounds.”
The potential five-figure valuation drew gasps from the surrounding audience, along with hands on mouths and shocked laughter.
The former BBC trainee had no words other than ‘wow’ in response to the news, his eyes barely staying in their sockets.
Clive continued: “That sounds like a lot of money, but when you consider how rare these scripts can be, this – which I think is simply the most golden piece of Dad’s Army – is where the heart of Dad’s Army is, so congratulations.”
The episode in question was the fourth episode of the fourth series: Sgt – Save My Boy (1970).
The synopsis reads: “Pike gets tangled in barbed wire – just as his mother visits the pack.”
The guest explained that he had done work experience with the episode’s writer in the mid-1990s, and in response to a letter thanking the comedy mastermind, he received the script along with a letter from the man himself.
Dad’s Army, which ran for nine series from 1968 to 1977, was one of the BBC’s best-loved series
Expert Clive Farrahar was amazed and estimated that the script was worth as much as £10,000
“I can’t believe I’m actually working on the original script of one of the Dad’s Army programmes,” Clive exclaimed at the outset, adding in disbelief: “He sent you this?”
They skimmed part of the letter and read: “Thank you for your letter, I am enclosing a manuscript of a Dad’s Army program. Unfortunately the first page is missing.
‘The original is in my own bad handwriting. I can write better than this, but when I try to keep track of my thoughts, the readability is lost.”
The local expert noted that he couldn’t read it anyway.
Anyway, readable or not, the gift and the letter inspired the guest to start his own TV career, albeit not as a screenwriter like his correspondent.
Croft also created ‘Allo ‘Allo, Hi-de-Hi and Are You Being Served during his time at the BBC, before dying in 2011 aged 89.
The writing was barely legible, but inspired the former intern to pursue his own TV career, although not one in writing