Nostalgic look back at 1986 filming of BBC sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo at Lynford Hall, near Thetford and Brandon

Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once… Sitcom fans of a certain age will certainly remember this famous catchphrase from a wildly popular 1980s BBC comedy.

The catchphrase was one of many made famous by ‘Allo ‘Allo, the World War Two-based sitcom which portrayed café owner René’s escapades in the German-occupied French town of Nouvion.

However, Nouvion was in fact Lynford Hall, close to Thetford and Brandon and nowhere near northern France.

Today, we are taking a nostalgic look back to the spring of 1986, when the Bury Free Press was given a sneak peek behind the scenes of ‘Allo ‘Allo, which was created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd and starred Gordon Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Vicki Michelle and Sue Hodge.

Our photographer headed to the cobbled courtyard at Lynford Hall, which had been transformed to become Nouvion town square – including the exterior of Café René – and captured the scenes as the stars, writer and extras worked together to make television magic.

Lynford Hall, near Mundford, has been the set for several BBC sitcoms, including Dad’s Army and You Rang, M’Lord?

While its courtyard was turned into Nouvion town square for ‘Allo ‘Allo, the front of the hall became the chateau where the Germans had their headquarters.

Lynford Hall is now a 38-room hotel surrounded by 28 acres of gardens, including a lake and forest.

In 2019, the British Comedy Society unveiled a blue plaque to remember its connections with ‘Allo ‘Allo.

About ‘Allo ‘Allo

• ‘Allo ‘Allo was set in a café in the small, German-occupied town of Nouvion during World War Two
• None of the show was filmed in the real-life Nouvion, which is 60 miles south of Calais in northern France
• The sitcom ran from 1982 to 1992 – 85 episodes were made