A personal message from the founder of Replay

Imagine that one day you had the bright idea to try and release a DVD of a series that you love, but you have no experience whatsoever in this field, nor do you have any real idea of what's involved. Most people would consider you to be a hopeless dreamer or possibly just plain crazy. Even so, you feel so passionately about doing this to help your fellow fans that you decide to give it a go anyway. Well, that is precisely what happened with myself and Joking Apart. It's been far from easy, but against the odds, it's now a reality. I still find it amazing that it required such an extraordinary effort for this show to be finally available to all those who have wanted it for so long.

With over twenty years experience in television and a keen understanding of computers, I knew that the technical side of producing a DVD would not be a problem....But, as I now know, that's only a tiny part of the battle in making a DVD available to the public. The Joking Apart Series One release was the culmination of twenty months of hard work and a substantial personal investment. It truly was a labour of love. As a huge fan of the show, I was determined that it had to be absolutely perfect and I'm more than happy with the result.

For those of you who would like to know the full story behind our first release, click here for a superb article by journalist Graham Kibble-White.

In December 2008 we released our third title in the shape of Chalk, which, like Joking Apart, is another fantastic comedy from the pen of the talented Steven Moffat, the new chief writer and executive producer of Doctor Who.

Chalk represents something of a landmark for me since it is the first release from Replay that is a direct result of suggestions from our customers, and that makes it particularly satisfying because when I started out on this project, I never envisaged doing anything beyond Joking Apart. Although it didn't take me long to realise that would be a real waste of all the knowledge I've needed to acquire, without doubt the best possible reason to carry on is that I'm well aware our first two DVDs have made a lot of people extremely happy. Some of the delightful messages I have received are proof of that.

I truly believe Replay can fulfil a genuine need. I can think of several other quality series that really should be out there, but ultimately, this shouldn't really be about what I want. So I would welcome you telling me the shows you think deserve the Replay treatment via the Suggestion Box. Indeed, the releases we have planned after Joking Apart are as a direct result of such suggestions. Okay, so that's not the usual approach but that's the way it really should be. That way, I can carry on what I've started - DVDs produced by a fan, for the fans.

CRAIG ROBINS