The character of Rene Artois in 'Allo 'Allo...

Question

I have heard that this character was based on a real person during the WWII. Is this true? And if so, what was his name?

Answer 1

Rene, as the rest of 'Allo 'Allo was based on the programme ' Secret Army'. The character of Rene is based on Albert Fouret from Secret Army who in turn was based on a real life Belgian hero who ran the real 'Lifeline' which was an organization that returned allied servicemen to England.

The operation of managing Lifeline was so successful that many ordinary Belgian folk were suckered into believing that Albert and his colleagues were collaborators and at the end of the war were almost treated as traitors until the truth was uncovered and they were hailed as the true heroes that they really were.

People as great as these should never be forgotten.