IF everything has gone according to plan and I have not been run down by a bus or suffered some other misfortune, as you read this I shall be coming out of retirement to host another showbiz occasion.

We are launching the completion of the first phase of the film and television theming of our town and I hope to be joined by some old friends from the acting profession in the shape of veterans Phillip Madoc, Liz Fraser, Burt Kwouk and Barbara Windsor.

It is the third year of my retirement, or move into God’s waiting room as I call it, and it is nice to be back in harness if only for a few hours. I had the pleasure to host many Elstree film evenings from 1984 to 2008, and it gave me the excuse to invite back to Borehamwood some great names from our motion picture past. Whether it was two-time Oscar winning actress of the Thirties Luise Rainer or triple Oscar winning cameraman Freddie Young.

It was great to meet Lew Grade, Doug Fairbanks Jr and Frankie Howerd or Herbert Lom, Mollie Sugden or Adam Faith. I always remember the grace of Anna Neagle and the fun of Trevor Howard. Sadly, nearly 50 of the stars who attended those events over the years are no longer with us so, alas, they are occasions that can never happen again.

In 1996 the British Film Institute decided to celebrate 100 years of cinema-going and it agreed to provide 18 commemorative plaques honouring Elstree greats, provided I could arrange an unveiling ceremony for each one. These have just been refurbished and you should see them reinstalled in Shenley Road this week.

I can’t believe my energy back then, as I ploughed through 15 unveiling ceremonies in just six months. But the acting profession rallied to my aid as they all had fond memories of working in the studios here. I think the ones I enjoyed most were the plaques for John Mills and Richard Todd in that first batch.

John returned to Elstree with his daughter Hayley and recalled making his first important film at the studio over 60 years earlier. Richard recalled the 16 happy years he spent under contract to Elstree starring in such films as The Dambusters. They were both true gents.

In 1997 I asked Ralph Fiennes to unveil the plaque honouring Charles Laughton and in 1998 Hollywood legend Olivia DeHavilland agreed to do the honours for the Vivien Leigh plaque. Olivia had a good laugh when in my introduction I reminded her that the head of Warner Bros once said: “If you think Bette Davis is a tough broad you have never met DeHavilland.”

In 1999 I finally got the Stanley Kubrick plaque unveiled, having been turned down by Tom Cruise and George Lucas, by collaring Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell, who was was in the studio filming for a few days.

Then in 2006 I persuaded the town council and studio to relaunch the scheme and it was great fun to organise and host unveilings for and with local boy made good Simon Cowell and Roger Moore, who had played the Saint at Elstree 40 years earlier.

I had a final burst in 2008 when I organised and hosted four more plaques, with Barbara Windsor, Cliff Richard, Christopher Lee and Bryan Forbes joined by such guests as Dickie Attenborough, Tim Rice, Barbara Shelley and Francis Matthews.

I felt privileged to have brought about those moments in time. They were produced on shoestring budgets but with a great deal of goodwill.

For a council house kid who had grown up enjoying the movies they were magical occasions, but for now it’s back to retirement.