The saddest episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air screened 25 years ago

Will Smith starred in the title role of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Image / Supplied.

Fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air are wiping tears from their eyes as they remember the series' saddest episode which aired 25 years ago.

Will Smith's smash hit comedy sitcom provided endless laughs throughout its seven year run in the 90s, but one of its most emotional moments came in the season four episode titled Papa's Gotta Brand New Excuse.

The storyline saw Will's deadbeat dad re-enter his life after 14 years and make all kinds of promises, only to abandon him again before the end of the episode.

This gets me every single time. pic.twitter.com/ecYlRBWXY9

— HRH جميلة (@RealLawLady) May 9, 2019

As its famous rap theme song explains, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air centered around a street-smart "West Piliadelphia born and raised" teenaged Will moving in with his rich aunt Vivian and uncle Phillip in their Bel Air mansion, having grown up without his dad and proven too much for his worried mum to handle.

Will's hopes of reuniting with his father are raised when his long absent dad, Lou, reappears, however his aunt and uncle refuse to forgive him for having abandoning his young son and mother.

Will then has a heated argument with his uncle before packing his bag to go on a trip with his father, who lets him down by trying to sneak away without saying goodbye.

Will puts on a brave face and goes on an emotional rant about how he has managed to go through life without a dad, but ultimately breaks down and asks Lou why his father wants nothing to do with him. The episode ends with Will and his uncle share a tearful hug.

The episode title references the James Brown song Papa's Got a Brand New Bag.