大象传媒

80 years since their golden era, Laurel and Hardy continue to delight their legions of fans the world over. Al Murray explores some favourite moments from their archive and looks at the reasons behind their enduring appeal with the input of some of today's most prominent Laurel and Hardy fans.

These include actor Jeffrey Holland who is currently playing Stan Laurel in his own show, '...and this is my friend Mr Laurel' at the Edinburgh Fringe, and Jeff Pope, writer of Stan & Ollie, the soon to be released film starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly that tells the story of Laurel and Hardy's final British variety halls tour of 1953. Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt reveals the painstaking efforts to preserve and restore the films of Laurel and Hardy plus Yvette Fielding examines the role of strong female characters in their work. Ross Owen, who was responsible for successfully bringing Laurel and Hardy back to cinemas all over the UK a couple of years ago visits Mark Greenhow, curator of the Laurel and Hardy Museum in Stan Laurel's home town of Ulverston in Cumbria. Plus celebrity fans Fran Healy, lead singer of Travis and actor Perry Fenwick (Billy Mitchell from EastEnders) share their passion for all things Stan and Ollie!