Unseen Thunderbirds films found in garden shed

Most of Thunderbirds was filmed on the Slough Trading Estate

Getty Images A black and white image of the original Thunderbirds, with nine of the puppets standing on the set. — Most of Thunderbirds was filmed on the Slough Trading Estate

Film cans containing unseen footage of the Thunderbirds TV show have been found in a garden shed.

A family found the cans – light-tight containers used to enclose film – in the shed belonging to their father, an editor on the show who died recently.

Stephen La Rivière from Century 21 Films, which received the 22 old cans, said they mainly contained Thunderbirds material from the 1960s, including an alternative version of an episode that was never broadcast.

It is hoped the footage – filmed on the Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire – can be shown to the public as part of the series’ 60th anniversary next year.

The film cans were found in a garden shed

Century 21 Films A rusty metal container with a pink label on it saying the material inside is from an episode of Thunderbirds called Trapped In The Sky. It has branding on it from 'Incorporated Television Company Limited'. — The film cans were found in a garden shed

Mr La Rivière said he was contacted by the family last year.

He said they were difficult to identify because of the condition, but “clearly the majority of it was Thunderbirds”.

The only way to get a proper look at the material was to transfer it to digital, and so began the “very, very slow” process of scanning it.

“It took weeks, bit-by-bit,” said Mr La Rivière.

“Every night I’d get a link for a download of the latest one that had been scanned… you’d never know what you’d get.”

The film can containing the missing episode was damaged, exposing it to the elements

Century 21 Films A metal container that has appeared to split open at the side, exposing the film reels inside. — The film can containing the missing episode was damaged, exposing it to the elements

A lot of the material was the same as what had been aired.

“Eventually, listening one night… this one played out and it was not the same as broadcast,” Mr La Rivière said.

He had to wait 24 hours for the rest to be scanned, but then it turned out it was a “missing” episode “that no one had ever seen before”.

Mr La Rivière said the film can was damaged, exposing the films inside to the elements, so there was some restoration work to do on the material first.

But then he hoped it could be shown to the public in 2025, after 60 years of “lying around waiting to be discovered”.

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