This was the first Film Is Fabulous! festival celebrating missing episodes of television recovered by the Film is Fabulous! team.

It was held on Saturday, 1st June 2024, at The Courtyard Cinema in Hereford and Art Centre and it featured four black and white episodes of British television that have been recovered. It was followed by a discussion with three prominent film collectors so the audience could learn more about what it is that has driven some people to collect films throughout the years and thereby has resulted in some film collectors ending up holding the single surviving copies of some items. Go to the Film Is Fabulous! web site for full details of the whole Film Is Fabulous! project here: https://filmisfabulous.org.uk/ Film Is Fabulous! is not only saving vulnerable films from ending up in the landfill but also finding previously 'missing' treasures such as the four items screened at this event and thereby bringing much media attention to the whole film collecting hobby.

Above: John Franklin introduces the first item to be screened at the Hereford Courtyard, 'Sykes & A Marriage' from February 1961.

TELEVISION EPISODES SCREENED AT THE HEREFORD COURTYARD FESTIVAL:

SYKES AND A MARRIAGE (Broadcast: 1st February 1961) This classic BBC comedy episode from the early 1960s was discovered amongst the films of a deceased private collector. The programme starred Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, and featured stalwart British actor, Richard Wattis.

MOGUL – IS THAT TIGER MAN? (Broadcast: 30th April 1966) This high-stakes BBC drama series was later renamed ‘The Troubleshooters’. It recounted events at the international oil company: MOGUL. This episode featured Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Keen, Ray Barrett, and Justine Lord.

TOM JONES! – WORK (Broadcast: 3rd April 1967) ATV (and ITC Entertainment) produced a host of music programmes, many of which are missing from the ITV Archive. The series starred Tom Jones, together with guest performers. This episode featured soul singer, Maxine Brown.

THE BASIL BRUSH SHOW (Broadcast: 25th September 1970) Glove puppet fox, Basil Brush, was immensely popular with adults and children. This episode was presented by Derek Fowlds (Mr. Derek), with special guest Peter Cowap, a Manchester musician who later joined Herman’s Hermits.

Below: Patrick Moules (left) and Steve Rowley (right) were two of the prominent film collectors featured in the panel discussion hosted by Sue Malden.