A CLASSIC television sitcom is set to hit the stage in Lowestoft - more than two decades after it first captivated British audiences.Hi-de-Hi has been revived as a new stage adaptation, in collaboration with original series creators Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and this brand-new show will be presented at Lowestoft's Marina Theatre, from April 29.

A CLASSIC television sitcom is set to hit the stage in Lowestoft - more than two decades after it first captivated British audiences.

Hi-de-Hi has been revived as a new stage adaptation, in collaboration with original series creators Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and this brand-new show will be presented at Lowestoft's Marina Theatre, from April 29.

More than 13 million viewers watched 58 episodes of the popular show in the 1980s but the series -� famous for its 'Morning campers' slogan - disappeared from our screens when the final episode was broadcast in January 1988.

Now, a new nationwide tour is set to bring the fictional seaside town of Crimpton-on-Sea in Essex to Lowestoft.

Set in a 1950s holiday camp called Maplins, Hi-de-Hi is partly based on Perry's time as a Butlins redcoat.

Featuring original cast members, Barry Howard and Nikki Kelly, the production also includes former Emmerdale villain Chris Tate (Peter Amory) in the role of Jeffrey Fairbrother, Sky TV's Are You Smarter Than Your Ten Year-Old? presenter Damian Williams as Ted Bovis and Abigail Finley - fresh from BBC's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? - in the role of the excitable chalet maid Peggy Ollerenshaw.

It is scheduled for 24 venues across the country.

Producer Bruce James said: 'Both Jimmy Perry and David Croft loved the show when the production opened recently and were both in tears at the end of it all. Jimmy Perry was heard to shout out 'Fantastic!' on the curtain call.'

Call the Marina Theatre box office on 01502 533200.

While confessing that the popular TV series didn't do the holiday business too much good in the 1980s, former general manager at Pontin's Holiday Centre in Pakefield, David Gwyn, told The Journal he is 'looking forward' to the new stage production later this month.

For more on real lifetime memories from the Pakefield holiday centre, and the forthcoming big band/jazz weekend that Mr Gwyn now organises (which will be held from June 4-7 this year at Pontin's) be sure to buy next week's Journal.