Play Away S8E9 (1979) - near-full episode

What's Cooking? (I'm not asking - that's the title of the episode.) Robert Lindsay, Anita Dobson, Julie Stevens and Tony Robinson join Brian Cant for plenty of gags, food puns, skits, music, and the usual fun. This is yet another Play Away - from Saturday, 20th January, 1979, to be precise - that no longer exists in the archives thanks to the master tapes recklessly being wiped by the Beeb. The bumbling bunglers. There's no doubt that Robert Lindsay is the main draw here, but don't go thinking that this is a 'before they were famous' situation: Citizen Smith had actually already made a star of him, debuting two years earlier in 1977. I've got a feeling that this could be the last surviving footage of Robert appearing on Play Away, because I can only find him listed as being in two episodes ever, and the other earlier one is still missing. That makes it an extra pity that the first couple of minutes weren't on the tape, but at least we got his fantastic song about eggs. I'm not sure about the punchline to the opening sketch, or what those French onion-sellers were all about, but the delivery of the old Irish stew pun and the National Sugar Lips Championships make it all worth it. In fact, I found that latter segment far funnier than it had any right to be. Note the writing credit, by the way, for one Cherry Britton - sister of Fern and wife of Brian Cant. Her IMDB entry doesn't mention Play Away at all, even though she was a frequent contributor. Oodles and oodles of gratitude to a number of people who I can't name here (you know who you are) for helping bring this back to the masses, and also to Lee for not 'doing a Beeb' and actually keeping his recording. Oh, and hang around at the end for a post-credits mini-sketch, and the continuity as we head into One Man and His Dog. (If you're a copyright holder and have any objections, please feel free to contact me. Alternatively, I haven't monetised the video, so you're welcome to do so, and that way everybody wins.)