The two-hour show promises an entertaining and heartfelt journey though the classic sitcom’s history.

First broadcast in April 1975, The Good Life has earned a place in British television history.

The evergreen comedy followed Tom and Barbara Good (Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal) – a couple who opt out of the rat race and attempt to become self-sufficient. This involved everything from growing their own veg to keeping animals, generating their own electricity and brewing the famous Peapod Burgundy.

Together, the pair survived four seasons, plus a Christmas Special and a Royal Command Performance (as Queen Elizabeth II was reportedly a fan!)

The show made household names of Briers and Kendal, as well as Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith who played next-door neighbours Jerry and Margo Leadbetter. Of the four, Keith particularly shone as the relentless social climber Margo, a terrific comic creation.

To celebrate 50 years since the show debuted U&Gold has commissioned a 2-hour retrospective titled The Good Life: Inside Out. Fronted by Dame Penelope Keith, it promises to take us through the show’s history, looking at its inception and its enduring appeal.

Dame Penelope Keith said:

“I am delighted that U&Gold has invited me to celebrate fifty years of The Good Life, a series that was important to me and is still so well loved by viewers. I have such happy memories of making The Good Life – it was a wonderful cast and we were working with excellent scripts and a first rate production team. The only thing I can’t really believe is that it’s fifty years since I first played Margo…where have the years gone?”

The documentary promises to revisit filming locations and reveal props and artifacts from the show’s development process such as original scripts and production notes.

Makers Double Yellow Entertainment have also painstakingly recreated Margo and Jerry Leadbetter’s drawing room as it appeared in the original programme, and will capture Dame Penelope Keith stepping back onto the set. It will also include rarely seen archival interviews with her co-stars, as well as series producer/director John Howard Davies.

The Good Life: Inside Out will air on U&Gold later this year – we’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, you can currently find all episodes of The Good Life on BBC iPlayer.