I have watched them and they still stand up as funny today

Paul Fiander BBC archives

Paul Fiander, the BBC's head of information and archives, said of the Dad's Army episodes: "People have been looking for those missing episodes for years - there's even a book about them.

"I have watched them and they still stand up as funny today. There are still three more missing episodes."

Operation Kilt features the Home Guard and a pantomime cow on military manoeuvres in the Scottish Highlands, and The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage concerns a false belief that the German invasion had begun.

Both episodes had been dumped in a skip at the BBC's Elstree studios after being screened in 1969.

A worker retrieved them, took them home and gave them to a friend, who spotted the BBC's Treasure Hunt appeal six months ago.

Click here to watch and listen to clips of the shows

Using digital technology, the corporation copied the programmes for its archives.

The recovered programmes are made up of 100 radio shows and a dozen television shows.

Paul Fiander, said the appeal had "brought a gratifying number of programmes back to the BBC".

People who submitted copies came from all walks of life but included collectors, former producers and overseas broadcasters.

Among the other most exciting finds is an audio tape from The Beatles' appearance on Jukebox Jury.

An audio recording of The Beatles was among the finds

Other classics unearthed by the Treasure Hunt appeal include an episode of Benny Hill - Portrait Of A Bridegroom.

Also recovered is a 1931 radio adaptation of A Christmas Carol and the first edition of the long running panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue from 1972.

 Click here to watch a clip of The Battle for Godfrey's Cottage from Dad's Army

 Click here to watch a clip from Operation Kilt from Dad's Army

 Click here to listen to a clip of the recovered episode of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue

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