Play Away S11E3 (1981) - FULL EPISODE

The sixth Play Away on my channel, and the mention at the beginning of War and Peace part three being next (what a piece of scheduling that was!) leads me to conclude that this one was first broadcast on Saturday, 28th November, 1981 - making it another missing episode. And by that I mean there's a very real chance this is the last surviving copy as, according to www.lostshows.com, the Beeb only went and wiped the master tapes in a wrong-headed cost-cutting exercise, didn't they? The feckless botchers.

In this particular episode, Brian Cant is joined by Alex Norton, Heather Williams, and Pam Ellis. Alex is one of Scotland's finest, probably best known as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart, but also with credits in Waterloo Road, Two Doors Down, and Braveheart to his name, amongst others. Heather's trickier to trace, besides her Play School connections, but something I read suggested she may be a theatre director these days. Don't quote me on that, though. As for Pam, there's an agent with the same name, but I've no idea if it's the same person. Can anyone help? Are you out there, Pam and Heather?

Anyway, one thing that never fails to entertain is poor old Brian struggling to keep afloat during the trademark tongue-twister sketches - and here he's a barber bungling and bumbling his way through his B-words. Besides that, there are animal puns aplenty aboard the ark, underwater fun with a pair of mermaids, and an unexpectedly great contemporary reference at the and of the 'words ending with -ant' mini-quiz. Excellent stuff, as always.

I'm afraid the ending is cut short just as the closing song is getting underway, and is probably now lost forever. Sorry about that - but please remember that we're fortunate just to have this much.

Many thanks to Lee for providing this recording.

(This is a transfer from an old videotape, so please don't expect full HD quality. To the best of my knowledge, this material is not available commercially anywhere in the world, and has been uploaded for its historic interest. That said, if you are a copyright holder and object, please don't hesitate to contact me.)