IT wasn’t so much of a ‘good moaning’ but a ‘groot ovening’ for a packed Theatre Royal as some of the most famous TV characters came to life on stage for the 25th anniversary production of ‘Allo ‘Allo.

The classic wartime French comedy by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft was played out to an appreciative Windsor audience as café owner, Rene Artois (Jeffery Holland of Hi-Di-Hi fame) and his waitress mistress Yvette (Vicki Michelle, TV’s original Yvette) took on the Germans over capturing the priceless painting, ‘The Madonna with the big Boobies’.

With the French resistance, Michelle played by Judy Buxton, Rene’s tone deaf singing wife, Edith (Corinna Marlowe), the self admiring Gestapo officer, Herr Flick (James Rossman) the gay Lieutenant Gruber (Oliver Beamish) who is after Rene, and the hapless Italian Captain Bertorelli (Martin Carroll) and German Colonel Von Strohm (Robert Whelan) all gumming up the works the scene is of course set for absolute mayhem.

Throw in the two English flying officers Rene is hiding in the café and Herr Flick’s Nazi squeeze Helga (Nell Jerram) and you have all the famous ingredients we have been admiring for more than two decades of cracking comedy.

And let’s not forget the farcical fake French gendarme who mixes up his vowels, Crabtree played by Matt Jamie. Where would we be without the immortal phrase, ‘Good Moaning’?

The plot is simple, get the painting, save the flying officers, deter the Germans and help the resistance.

We all know the characters and we love them. Hey are part of the national psyche. But no matter what age we are we all seem also to hunger for that nostalgic form of humour Croft and Lloyd give us.

There is something very comforting about this generation of humour so sadly lost to us now as situation comedy takes a twist to reflect our current trends rather than the ‘steady the buffs’ ‘save dad, keep mum’ ‘who do you think you are kidding’ brilliance of a bygone age.

With comedy of such a high standard from the creators of Dad’s Army and other great shows it is hard not to think back to boyhood favourites and wonderful stereotypes that made life so wonderful.

This is a ‘groot ovening’ indeed, laugh a minute, smile cracking comedy. Don’t miss it

Paul Thomas