The Muppet Christmas Carol has been watched countless times by millions since its release in 1992, but what you might not have realised is that there was a song missing from the original version. 

However, the ‘lost song’, When Love Is Gone, has now been found and restored after the discovery of the video master. 

The tune was sung to a young Scrooge by his fiancee Belle in the Muppets’ reworking of the classic Charles Dickens tale, but was removed at the behest of Disney’s then-studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg after he noticed children fidgeting through the scene.

Director Brian Henson – the son of Muppets creator Jim – previously said that in the process of cutting the song for the cinema release, they lost both the video master and negative.

But speaking on BBC Radio 2, he revealed that he had received a call two weeks ago saying the film was being remastered in 4K and was asked if he would check the new version.

He recalled: “I was so excited. They actually hid it. So I went down and they said, ‘But before we show it to you, we’ve got something else we want to show you’.

“And they put up reel four of Christmas Carol with When Love Is Gone.

“I was like, ‘No, you did not’ and they said, ‘Yes we did, we found it’.

“I was so happy, I was so happy. They are all set with the full-length version again.”

Brian said he was not sure whether Disney would be able to have the restored version ready for its Disney+ streaming service by Christmas, where it is currently available to view. 

He warned that they would “have to scramble to do it in time”.

The full interview will air in The Muppets at Christmas: It’s Time To Play The Music on Christmas Day on BBC Radio 2 presented by OJ Borg.