IN its day it was the backdrop for some of the most memorable films and television series ever made.

And the theatre at the end of Brighton's once magnificent West Pier echoed to the laughter and cheers of packed audiences.

In the Sixties it was used by Richard Attenborough for Oh! What a Lovely War.

Recently it was the setting for the psychological thriller Killer Net written by Lynda La Plante.

But now the curtain is set to come down on the grand old dame which once drew crowds to the magnificent Grade I listed pier.

The now delapidated and decaying theatre will be dismantled and put into storage while repairs are carried out on the pier's decking.

The theatre will be taken down next year when restoration starts.

But she is set to rise again and council officials have said the theatre will be put back and restored to her former glory.

The theatre will have to be raised slightly, along with the whole deck, to take account of a rise in sea levels since the pier was built last century.

Brighton West Pier Trust has submitted a planning application for the restoration of the structure to how it was in the Twenties when it was in its prime.

More than £30 million will be spent on the pier by the trust, helped by a lottery grant and by a privately-based consortium including Hove-based boxer Chris Eubank.

The restored pier will be faithful to the original, apart from the raising of the theatre and an increase in the width of the deck so it can take a covered walkway.

Conservationists want to see a model of the restored pier to illustrate any changes to it.

But so far they have not voiced any objections to the formal plans, to be considered by councillors in May or June.

Selma Montford, who chairs the conservation group, said members wanted to be completely assured the theatre pieces would be kept safely.

Delay

Conservationists were upset when the Palace Pier theatre was taken down for safe-keeping and parts were lost. She said: "We don't want that to happen again."

The Argus told last week how plans to restore the historic pier have hit yet another delay.

It was hoped the 133-year-old building would be finished by the year 2001 after Eubank announced he was heading a new consortium.

But planning wrangles mean work is likely to be held up for up to eight months.

The Prestbury Group, the main financial backer behind the consortium, wants assurances that a shoreline building essential to the scheme's viability will go ahead.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.