Where is Cliffs bus?

First a television company rang up and asked if I knew where the London Transport double decker bus featured in the movie is now located.

To be honest, I have no idea if it has survived or of its whereabouts, but I suggested a couple of places to investigate ,, unless any of our readers know where it might be?

Then somebody asked who owns the copyright of the film, which I now believe is in the hands of a French company.

Nostalgia was the order of the day when we gathered to witness a plaque unveiling by the British Comedy Society, honouring the late, great Peter Sellers at Elstree Studios.

Most of his best films were made between 1954 and 1964, including Lolita at Elstree, and The Millionairess at MGM in Borehamwood.

Peter later returned to Elstree during the Bryan Forbes period to make a film entitled Hoffman, which was a disaster.

He apparently so disliked it that the produce later said that Sellers attempted to buy the negative so he could destroy it!

The unveiling was performed by the comedy legend Spike Milligan, who had also made films at MGM and Elstree and is still active at 82 years old.

During the lunch that followed I asked Spike to sign my programme.

He remarked: 'What are you going to do with it?'

To which I replied: 'Keep it in my private archive then donate it to the studio or the council when I go to the big film studio in the sky.'

Spike responded: 'Well looking at you, they won't have a long wait!'

64-year-old Bond Girl Shirley Eaton was also present and it is hard to believe it is 36 years since she was painted in gold in the film Goldfinger.

I asked Shirley if she had ever worked at Elstree.

'Well, most of my movies such as the Carry Ons and Goldfinger, were made at Pinewood, but I do remember making an episode of The Saint with Roger Moore at Elstree in the 1960s,' she said.

For many years Shirley was also a local resident, living in Bushey.

'It would be great fun to be asked to appear in another movie and to see how things have changed,' she said.

Oddly enough, while writing this column I had a phone call from Peter Greenwood, who had seen the plaque unveiling on television.

He told me: 'I was Peter's chauffeur for the last two years of his life. In fact I was sitting in the car outside the Dorchester the day he had his fatal heart attack.

I had taken Peter's lawyer home and he said Sellers had enjoyed a nice breakfast and was in good spirits. Then his secretary ran down and said to follow the ambulance which took him to the hospital where he died.

Peter, who now runs a dry cleaning business, also commented: 'When Sellers was cremated at Golders Green I noticed the plaque failed to mention his CBE, so his wife added it later.'

He wondered if that honour had also been accidentally left off the Comedy Society plaque at Elstree.

The evening after the unveiling Jenny, Ben and myself went up to town to listen to an illustrated talk by actor Graham Stark, who appeared with Sellers in the Pink Panther films, including A Shot in the Dark, made at MGM.

Graham recalled: 'In a later Panther film I played an old pipe-smoking hotel-keeper signing in Inspector Clauseau. What everybody knew except me was that they filled the pipe with marijuana, so I was out of my mind during the scene and for the rest of the day!'

Elstree Film Studios-based television quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire has been described as a global TV sensation, now showing in 29 countries with another 50 in preparation, ranging from Venezuela to Russia.

In the USA it has helped revive the fortunes of the giant ABC network.

In Germany it is called Wer Wird Millionaer, in Russia O Schastlivchik, which translates into, Oh Lucky Man, and in India it goes out as Kaun Banega Crorepati. It has made the production company Celador a powerful player in the world of television and no doubt a few individuals quite wealthy.

At Elstree the set stands all year round on Stage Nine, reminding us of what can happen if you come up with a winning formula on television.

by PAUL WELSH