Thieves demand £1m ransom for BBC’s Robin Hood tapes

THIEVES have stolen the only master tapes for the BBC’s new £8 million series on Robin Hood and are demanding a £1 million ransom for their safe return.

The four tapes were stolen last week in Budapest, where the 13-part series is being edited, according to the Daily Mirror.

While it is far from clear that the outlaws responsible for the crime intend to hand the money on to the poor, the theft could cause serious headaches to the television schedulers.

The series, which is due to replace Dr Who on Saturday nights from October and is expected to be a worldwide success, could now be seriously delayed or even shelved, the paper said.

Tiger Aspect is the production company behind the new series.

The paper published a joint statement from Tiger Aspect and the BBC which said: “Tiger Aspect has been the victim of a break-in in Hungary where Robin Hood is currently being filmed and some high-definition tapes and other equipment has been stolen.

“The thefts are causing inconvenience and have resulted in a delay in finalising some of the episodes.

“Tiger Aspect is taking all reasonable steps to recover the tapes.”

The series features Jonas Armstrong as Robin, Keith Allen as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Lucy Griffiths as Marian and North & South star Richard Armitage as Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff’s lieutenant.