The show, famous for its wobbly sets and wooden acting, ran for 23 years from 1965 to 1988, before returning as a daytime soap from 2001 to 2003.

According to ITV, archivists discovered the 1965 black-and-white episode in an unmarked tin at the old ATV archive in west London. It will show the episode for the first time on ITV.com this Friday 16 May.

The discovery is said to be unusual because TV companies tended to tape over every episode after it was broadcast and the episode is believed to be one of the earliest surviving examples of classic British TV.

Marc Webber, head of content at ITV.com said: "Crossroads will always have a place in people's hearts. People poked fun at it for its wobbly sets and bad acting, but it continually attracted millions of viewers every week. Hopefully, some of those fans will join us on ITV.com for a brilliant trip down memory lane this weekend."

ITV said the missing episode is number 126 from 1965 and admits some of the acting 'was more wooden than the sets'. It will be available for free but fans can also pre-order a DVD of two other 'missing' episodes from 1973 as well as the 1965 show.

If you think you've got any recordings of episodes of Crossroads broadcast before 1982, ITV.com would like to hear from you via the email address lost.crossroads@itv.com.

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