The above quote is from the video box that contained this episode. And as a long standing fan of this show, it was new to me and I hadn't seen it before. So, why wasn't it shown? The Bilko shows were a regular staple of BBC TV when I was growing up in the sixties and have featured pretty much ever since as schedule fillers for daytime programming.
There isn't anything here too obvious as to why it shouldn't have been screened. The plot is the familiar one of Ernie trying to get some cash together by staging the 'Merry Widow' operetta in Roseville. Nice to see a performance from Margaret Hamilton, always fondly remembered as the Wicked Witch in the 'Wizard of Oz,' as a girls' schoolgirl headmistress.
All I can think is maybe the powers that be at the time it originally came out, were a bit perturbed by the transvestite overtones of this episode when Bilko's platoon have to drag up to the female roles in the operetta. This seems very silly from today's viewpoint but it was a different world back then when we British still had a bit of a stiff upper lip and certain standards to adhere to! lol
Still, it's always amusing to see Duane Doberman as a woman...surely the world's worst transvestite! Far worse than the ones in UK comedy series, 'Little Britain.'
Perhaps not as good as some of the other Bilko stories, a bit too contrived at times but good fun just the same.