New Channel 5 documentary, 'Allo 'Allo!: Forty Years of Laughter, will explore the life of one of Britain's most beloved comedy series. 'Allo 'Allo! was created by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft and told the story of café owner turned reluctant French Resistance fighter René Artois.
The popular series, which ran between 1982 and 1992 and treated viewers to 87 episodes, differed from most sitcoms of the time in that it had overarching plotlines rather than simple stand-alone stories. Actors Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner, Vicki Michelle and Sue Hodge became household favourites because of Allo' Allo! But perhaps the crowning jewel of the BBC series was its lead star, Gorden Kaye, who played René.
But a terrible accident in 1990 almost deprived Great Britain of one of its most beloved comedy stars, the new Channel 5 documentary reveals. On January 25, 1990, Gorden Kaye suffered serious head injuries in a car accident whilst driving his Honda CRX, during the Burns' Day Storm. Although he could not remember any details of the incident, he retained a scar on his forehead from a piece of wooden advertising hoarding that had smashed through the car windscreen.
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Talking in the new Channel 5 film, co-star Kim Hartman (who played Private Helga Geerhart) says: "It was terrible. It was absolutely devastating. I couldn't believe that such a thing could happen to Gorden. He seemed indestructible."
Guy Siner, who played Oberleutnant Hubert Gruber adds: "It was terribly traumatic."
Vicki Michelle (Yvette Carte-Blanche) describes how the cast and crew didn't know whether Gorden was going to survive. Discussing the event, she says: "A hoarding fell down and went through the front of the windscreen and went straight through his head," before Guy adds: "The policeman who first discovered him and this stake sticking out of his head, broke it off. He had to in order to get him to hospital."
Writing in his memoirs, 'Allo 'Allo! co-writer Jeremy Lloyd said he visited Gorden in hospital, adding: "I believe part of his recovery was due to his agent getting a video and showing reruns of 'Allo 'Allo! to remind him who he was."
Gorden would eventually recover from his injuries. Sue Hodge (Mimi Labonq) says of this: "I shall never forget that day because Carmen (Silvera) showed me this letter and it just said, 'big 'ugs', so we knew he was okay." Gorden passed away on January 23 2017, at the age of 75, after a battle with dementia. You can read more about that here.
See the full story in 'Allo 'Allo!: Forty Years of Laughter on Channel 5 at 9pm
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