1 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,520 Hello, and welcome to Saluting Dad's Army, 2 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,520 a series celebrating the brilliance of a comedy show that's 3 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:39,360 become part of all our lives. 4 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,040 In this edition, we'll look at how Dad's Army 5 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,640 was demobbed on television after nine years, 6 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,240 but only after bringing us some of its most memorable moments. 7 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:52,160 How the series had other lives on radio and the stage and how 8 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,160 the exploits of the Walmington-on-Sea Platoon live on 9 00:00:55,400 --> 00:01:00,160 decades since Captain Mainwaring and his men last marched into action. 10 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,920 The platoon do look all right to be looked at by the film people, 11 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:04,280 don't they sir? Yes, yes, yes, 12 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:07,680 all right, just as long as they get an all-round picture of the platoon. 13 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:12,760 Very good, sir. Attention! About turn. About turn. Series eight of Dad's Army began in 1975... 14 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,760 About turn. ..with the platoon called up to do a turn as film extras. About turn. 15 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,680 Well, I don't understand this at all, sir. Why do we want costumes? I mean, we've got our own uniforms. 16 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,440 Well, Mainwaring, your chaps won't be Home Guards. 17 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:25,720 They're playing the Nazis. 18 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,080 Captain Mainwaring is outraged by the news... 19 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,360 AUDIENCE HOWL WITH LAUGHTER 20 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,000 ..though some members of the platoon embrace the chance to be the baddies. 21 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:42,480 Schweinhund! 22 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:49,760 FAUX GERMAN ACCENT: So, 23 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,240 we are the masters now, eh? 24 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,600 You have just five seconds to tell us your plans, or else it is... 25 00:01:57,760 --> 00:01:58,880 ..kaput. 26 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:02,960 NORMAL VOICE: I like being an officer, don't you, Uncle Arthur? 27 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,040 But when they spot the platoon in German uniforms, 28 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,520 Mr Hodges, the vicar and the verger... Germans! ..sound the invasion alarm. 29 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:12,240 Now, pay attention, men. 30 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:16,480 The whole of the south coast is on red alert! The Brigadier, 31 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,920 he wanted to know what blithering idiot was responsible! 32 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,960 So I've made an appointment for you tomorrow morning at half past ten. 33 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:29,360 AUDIENCE LAUGH 34 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:31,080 You stupid boy! 35 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,880 Later in the series, Captain Mainwaring is much happier 36 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,880 facing some genuine Nazis, after a Luftwaffe crew ditches in a 37 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:41,960 nearby lake. 38 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,320 Hey, don't blow it here! A Scout troop served as extras... 39 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:48,080 ..in this dramatic episode, with a 40 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,440 special musical role for local lad Tim Ball. Blow it here, and I'll give you sixpence! 41 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:56,080 Well, Tim, this is a great honour. 42 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,280 Did you have as much fun making it as we all do watching it? 43 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:03,480 I had incredible fun making it and, I think, 44 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,040 for a 14-year-old lad, it was an honour... Yeah. ..to know that 45 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,400 you're going to be on television... Yeah! ..with the cast of Dad's Army. 46 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,440 So there you are, you're playing the reveille, which is the, this is sort of the wake-up call, isn't it? 47 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,960 I learnt reveille, and I learnt it tune-perfect. 48 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:20,200 Hodges was a little bit aggrieved. 49 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,840 Here! Hey, don't blow it here! Come with me. 50 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,560 Seeing me, about to wake up the whole camp, 51 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:28,200 he thought he could have a bit of fun. 52 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,440 Divert the noise directly into Captain Mainwaring's tent... 53 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:33,680 Blow it here, and I'll give you sixpence! 54 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:37,080 But instead of reveille, just before we'd shot the scene, 55 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,680 one of the producers said, "Can you just play something very 56 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,320 painful and out of tune, because we think it would sound a little 57 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,560 bit more horrible for Captain Mainwaring to wake up to." Yeah. 58 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:50,560 HE PLAYS HORRIBLY 59 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,200 Go away, boy. 60 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:06,480 Well done! Here you are. 61 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:08,200 What was it like when it came out on telly? 62 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,040 Mum, Dad and I sat there and we watched it and, straight away, 63 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,440 as the credits rolled, the phone was ringing. Course. 64 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,040 You know, "Oh, we've just seen you on the television." 65 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:18,080 Yeah, it was a special moment. 66 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,680 So, Tim, the big question, did you get paid? 67 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,680 I got paid the vast sum of money of £50. 68 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:25,920 50 quid? 69 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,480 It bought me a bicycle, and that bought me a record player. 70 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:30,560 Everything a 14-year-old kid needs. 71 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,120 Ha-ha, now, you've brought your bugle. Mm. 72 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:35,360 Give it a blow. Let's see what you can do. 73 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:37,400 HE PLAYS A STRANGULATED NOTE 74 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:41,920 Oh, sweet! 75 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,080 Left, right, left, right, left, right... 76 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,360 At Christmas, 1975, Dad's Army brought viewers a really special present. Come on, pick it up! 77 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:55,480 Arthur Lowe playing, not only respectable bank manager and Home Guard Captain George Mainwaring, 78 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,120 but also his embarrassing brother Barry, 79 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,520 a travelling salesman who likes a drink. 80 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:05,440 Remember that wonderful episode with the brother, the trick salesman? 81 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:07,800 Well, I mean, Arthur... 82 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,360 ..Arthur, as a drunk, I think, 83 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:12,400 is absolutely brilliant. 84 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,800 I remember his wife Joan saying to me, 85 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,720 "Every time I see one of the episodes where Arthur's drunk, 86 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:23,240 I always burst into tears cos he was so brilliant at being a drunk." 87 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:24,880 Is it... 88 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:26,280 Hello, good evening everybody! 89 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,440 Is this the party? 90 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:29,600 Uh... Excuse me, sir? Yes? 91 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:31,800 Could you tell me your name, please? Mainwaring. 92 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:33,560 Barry Mainwaring. 93 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:35,560 Jokes and carnival novelties. 94 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:38,760 Like, when he's in the chest. 95 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:39,840 Yes. 96 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:41,680 And then they lift it up. Yes. 97 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:44,840 "What floor's this?" Yes, I know. I think it's brilliant. 98 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:46,480 Ready? Lift! 99 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,040 Crikey! He's not much of a weight, is he? 100 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:54,360 No, you see, it's much easier when you all pull together. 101 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:56,400 Come on, let's go... 102 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:58,400 Hey! Look! 103 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,120 He don't look after his boots like Captain Mainwaring, does he? 104 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:05,240 Come on, put him down... All right. 105 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:10,720 What floor is this, then? 106 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:13,440 AUDIENCE ERUPT WITH LAUGHTER 107 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:17,840 Inventive, memorable episodes, such as My Brother And I, ensured 108 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,000 that Dad's Army remained highly popular in the mid-'70s. 109 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:22,880 No, thank you. 110 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,000 Not surprisingly, many people tried to replicate its appeal. 111 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:28,120 It's 5:30pm in the afternoon. 112 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,560 "Dad's Army...hilarious!" proclaimed an ad in one newspaper. 113 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,800 "Now, Uncle's Air Force...a riot! Original story, rights etc offered." 114 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:42,840 Meanwhile, ITV attempted to emulate the success of Dad's Army 115 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,080 with wartime comedy Yanks Go Home and followed 116 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,920 that with Backs To The Land, a show about the Women's Land Army. 117 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,320 And, not surprisingly, Jimmy Perry and David Croft's hit show 118 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,640 attracted attention from overseas producers. 119 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:05,760 I was in London on both vacation and business. I was watching television, 120 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,280 and I saw Dad's Army on the air and I fell in love with it. 121 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:12,720 Will you, er... Will you be bringing your wife, sir? 122 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,280 No. No, I don't think so, Wilson. 123 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:20,120 I don't think Elizabeth would do much for Anglo-American relations. 124 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,440 Both David Croft and Jimmy Perry were very flattered, 125 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:29,280 very excited to have somebody showing an interest to them 126 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,520 on their work of art, and we got along, 127 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,520 we were most compatible. And I arranged to licence the rights 128 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,360 to Americanize the show and bring it to the United States. 129 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:44,480 Now, look here, Wilson. Yes. When these Americans arrive... Yes. ..I want you to line the men up... Yes. 130 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,080 ..and I'll just say a few appropriate words. Yes. I trust you're not going to be too formal, 131 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,080 sir? Well, no, no, no. Of course not. That's the whole point of the thing. 132 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,080 Now, I understand there's a colonel in charge of them? That's right, yes. 133 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,440 How does one greet him? Well, he'll probably say, "Howdy, partner, put it there." 134 00:07:58,600 --> 00:07:59,920 Say what? 135 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,040 "Howdy, partner, put it there." 136 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:03,480 Put what, where? 137 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:09,440 When we shot the pilot in California, David Croft and 138 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:14,560 Jimmy Perry came over to be present and to be advisors to us and 139 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:18,080 they co-wrote that script that we used. 140 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,720 The US version of Dad's Army relocated the action from 141 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,800 Walmington-on-Sea to America's Atlantic coast and gave the 142 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:29,720 show a new title, The Rear Guard. 143 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,000 Well, The Rear Guard was a copy of Dad's Army. 144 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:35,200 The premise was exactly the same. 145 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:36,960 You can put down whatever you want, 146 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:38,800 but you're not going to win this war. 147 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:39,920 Oh, yes, we are. 148 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:40,960 Oh, no, you're not. 149 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:42,200 Oh, yes, we are. 150 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:43,240 Oh, no, you're not. 151 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:44,720 # Adolf Hitler is a jerk 152 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:46,360 # He's nothing but a Nazi 153 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:48,560 # He thinks that he will win the war 154 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,040 # He's not...so...hotsy-totsy... # 155 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:54,080 LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE 156 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:01,800 Your name will also go on the list. 157 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:02,920 What is it? 158 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:04,040 Don't tell him, Henderson! 159 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:05,480 Henderson, thank you. 160 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,280 We loved the pilot of The Rear Guard. 161 00:09:09,560 --> 00:09:12,360 We thought it went extremely well and were very happy with it. 162 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,880 Several story ideas were prepared for a series of The Rear Guard, 163 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,680 but a problem emerged when US broadcaster ABC showed the 164 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:23,400 pilot to focus groups. 165 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,000 American viewers just didn't get it. 166 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,560 Nowhere in America had bombers going overhead, churches bombed, 167 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,600 homes destroyed. That was just... 168 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,840 The audience didn't understand that and could not accept it and 169 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,760 could not associate comedy with that as a storyline. 170 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,200 So The Rear Guard remained just a pilot. 171 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,600 However, for producer Herman Rush, compensation came in the form 172 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:52,560 of enduring friendships. 173 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,760 David Croft and Jim Perry and I became close friends. 174 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,920 Our families, we visited with them and their families several 175 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,680 times in London, and we did other things in the future with 176 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,120 both of those gentlemen. 177 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,760 We've got to get some sandwiches for the prisoners. Go over to my cousin Mario's restaurant. 178 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:11,280 Hold it. 179 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:13,800 You can't feed them from your cousin Mario's restaurant. 180 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:15,480 I ate there last week. 181 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:17,920 So? 182 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:20,520 Under the Geneva Convention, you cannot give the prisoners 183 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:23,840 cruel and inhuman punishment. 184 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:25,600 Coming up in part two, 185 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,280 on tour with Dad's Army, as the platoon takes to the stage. 186 00:10:38,690 --> 00:10:43,090 Welcome back, and it's time to look at the other lives of Dad's Army. 187 00:10:43,330 --> 00:10:45,970 The series had been created for television, of course, 188 00:10:46,210 --> 00:10:50,530 but radio listeners and theatre-goers also lapped up any 189 00:10:50,770 --> 00:10:52,690 opportunity to visit Walmington-on-Sea. 190 00:10:52,970 --> 00:10:56,130 I must say, we can't wait to get cracking. 191 00:10:56,410 --> 00:11:00,490 We, uh, we haven't...we haven't handled any live grenades before. 192 00:11:00,650 --> 00:11:01,650 Haven't you? 193 00:11:03,330 --> 00:11:05,610 David Croft and Jimmy Perry cast Michael Knowles 194 00:11:05,770 --> 00:11:07,970 in Dad's Army six times, 195 00:11:08,170 --> 00:11:10,090 usually as an army officer. 196 00:11:10,370 --> 00:11:14,170 Well, I started in Dad's Army because I was in Jimmy Perry's 197 00:11:14,410 --> 00:11:18,170 rep at Watford and he kept calling me a silly arse, and I suppose 198 00:11:18,370 --> 00:11:20,290 that stuck with me and so, 199 00:11:20,530 --> 00:11:24,210 whenever a silly arse part came up, I was in it. 200 00:11:24,490 --> 00:11:26,930 Jolly good. Now, Captain Mainwaring, I want you to get your chaps 201 00:11:27,090 --> 00:11:28,370 together and brief them. 202 00:11:28,650 --> 00:11:30,690 Oh, and don't forget, absolute secrecy. 203 00:11:30,890 --> 00:11:32,010 Oh, and here's a list of... 204 00:11:32,250 --> 00:11:35,890 Michael's involvement in Dad's Army took a new direction in 1973, 205 00:11:36,130 --> 00:11:40,490 when the powers that be at the BBC asked permission to adapt 206 00:11:40,650 --> 00:11:42,530 Dad's Army for radio. 207 00:11:42,770 --> 00:11:46,370 Jimmy Perry and David Croft were too busy to take on the job themselves, 208 00:11:46,650 --> 00:11:50,490 so Harold Snoad, veteran of five years on Dad's Army 209 00:11:50,730 --> 00:11:53,930 as production manager and director, joined Michael to rework the 210 00:11:54,090 --> 00:11:56,730 TV scripts for radio listeners. 211 00:11:56,890 --> 00:11:59,370 It wasn't an easy task. 212 00:11:59,650 --> 00:12:04,690 Because there was so much, erm, you know, activity and visual stuff... 213 00:12:04,850 --> 00:12:06,410 Yeah. 214 00:12:06,690 --> 00:12:10,290 ..we had to write something else to fill those gaps in. 215 00:12:10,530 --> 00:12:13,130 There's a shot with a dog running off with a bomb in his mouth. 216 00:12:13,330 --> 00:12:14,970 Well, you can't do that on radio. 217 00:12:16,770 --> 00:12:19,210 So "look at that dog running away with a bomb", it doesn't work, 218 00:12:19,450 --> 00:12:21,090 so you have to find something else to fill it. 219 00:12:21,250 --> 00:12:23,330 But it was a lot of that. 220 00:12:23,570 --> 00:12:27,490 Turning a television series full of visual comedy into a radio show 221 00:12:27,730 --> 00:12:31,650 was a challenge, but Harold and Michael weren't afraid to 222 00:12:31,930 --> 00:12:35,170 make radical changes to the TV original. 223 00:12:35,490 --> 00:12:38,010 We were fearless, weren't we, Harold? We were totally fearless, yes. 224 00:12:39,130 --> 00:12:42,170 For example, one television episode, Battle Of The Giants, 225 00:12:42,450 --> 00:12:45,610 was combined with another called Shooting Pains to produce a 226 00:12:45,770 --> 00:12:49,130 radio script titled Present Arms. 227 00:12:49,290 --> 00:12:50,290 You hear that, Wilson? Yes. 228 00:12:50,610 --> 00:12:54,210 Just before the King's Speech... This script, Broadcast To The Empire, 229 00:12:54,490 --> 00:12:56,690 was a segment for the BBC's Christmas Night With The Stars 230 00:12:56,890 --> 00:12:58,610 in 1972. 231 00:12:58,850 --> 00:13:01,010 Would you mind speaking into the microphone, please? 232 00:13:01,170 --> 00:13:03,170 LAUGHTER 233 00:13:03,410 --> 00:13:05,170 That's the microphone there, you see... 234 00:13:05,370 --> 00:13:07,170 HE BLOWS RASPBERRY 235 00:13:07,330 --> 00:13:09,250 Argh! 236 00:13:10,970 --> 00:13:14,290 But Harold and Michael adapted the 14-minute original to become a 237 00:13:14,530 --> 00:13:18,810 30-minute radio episode, retitled Ten Seconds From Now. 238 00:13:20,290 --> 00:13:22,410 GODFREY: Why did Captain Mainwaring send you down? 239 00:13:22,570 --> 00:13:23,930 He could have just telephoned us. 240 00:13:24,170 --> 00:13:26,850 WILSON: Private Godfrey, I won't tell you again, stop talking. 241 00:13:27,130 --> 00:13:28,810 It's the first time I've said anything... 242 00:13:28,970 --> 00:13:30,530 LAUGHTER 243 00:13:30,770 --> 00:13:33,490 Jimmy Perry told Michael and Harold that some of the radio 244 00:13:33,770 --> 00:13:37,090 episodes improved on the television original, but the Dad's Army 245 00:13:37,250 --> 00:13:39,370 cast was more sceptical. 246 00:13:39,610 --> 00:13:42,130 And some of them complained bitterly if one of their favourite 247 00:13:42,330 --> 00:13:43,370 lines had gone... Gone, yes. 248 00:13:43,650 --> 00:13:46,010 ..and we had, "Where's my line gone from there?" 249 00:13:46,170 --> 00:13:48,170 I said, "Well, we had to change it." 250 00:13:48,410 --> 00:13:53,050 One particular member of the platoon would make his opinions very clear. 251 00:13:53,290 --> 00:13:56,930 John Laurie was always very vocal... Yeah. ..if he didn't like something. 252 00:13:57,130 --> 00:13:59,730 "Rubbish, rubbish!" "Rubbish, rubbish!" Yes. 253 00:13:59,890 --> 00:14:01,970 Rubbish! 254 00:14:02,330 --> 00:14:05,450 He wouldn't say that to Jimmy and David, but he shouted it at us. Yeah. 255 00:14:05,690 --> 00:14:10,090 The last of the 67 radio adaptations was recorded in 1975, 256 00:14:10,330 --> 00:14:14,090 and later that year, Dad's Army took on another new incarnation. 257 00:14:16,530 --> 00:14:17,610 ALL: Woo! 258 00:14:17,850 --> 00:14:20,090 Jimmy Perry and David Croft had already incorporated musical 259 00:14:20,370 --> 00:14:22,930 set pieces into the hit television show. 260 00:14:23,250 --> 00:14:28,010 Now, a singing and dancing version of Dad's Army was heading for the stage. 261 00:14:29,250 --> 00:14:33,130 We were on location filming, and we were all summoned up to Jimmy Perry's room, 262 00:14:33,370 --> 00:14:38,170 and he said, "Oh, we're going to do a stage show of this. 263 00:14:38,410 --> 00:14:41,410 "It's going to be a musical," and he went on and on and on about it. 264 00:14:41,650 --> 00:14:44,330 Great enthusiasm, you know, everything's going to be brilliant, 265 00:14:44,610 --> 00:14:46,050 and then he turned to Ian and he said, 266 00:14:46,290 --> 00:14:50,090 "I've got this wonderful...where you dream about having a 267 00:14:50,330 --> 00:14:54,650 banana, and you actually become a banana, and you'll be dressed 268 00:14:54,890 --> 00:14:57,970 as a banana," and Ian's face was a total picture. 269 00:14:58,210 --> 00:15:00,170 And Teddy Sinclair, who played the verger, 270 00:15:00,410 --> 00:15:02,930 said, "That all sounds very interesting." 271 00:15:03,170 --> 00:15:07,330 # When can I have a banana again? Tell me, mother, do... # 272 00:15:07,570 --> 00:15:10,050 Here's a rare sight of that spectacular banana-based 273 00:15:10,330 --> 00:15:14,930 musical number, filmed behind-the-scenes by Frank Williams. 274 00:15:15,210 --> 00:15:19,010 I remember saying to Arthur, "Arthur, I'm thinking of getting 275 00:15:19,290 --> 00:15:21,370 a cine camera, what would you suggest?" 276 00:15:21,610 --> 00:15:25,290 And he said, "Well, if you're going to use it, Frank, I think it 277 00:15:25,450 --> 00:15:27,050 should be something very simple." 278 00:15:29,490 --> 00:15:32,410 Jeffrey Holland would go on to star in two Perry and Croft 279 00:15:32,650 --> 00:15:36,090 television series, but he was still making his way when cast in 280 00:15:36,250 --> 00:15:37,930 the Dad's Army stage show. 281 00:15:38,090 --> 00:15:39,370 It was the chorus, basically, 282 00:15:39,530 --> 00:15:41,650 the boys and girls of the ensemble, 283 00:15:41,930 --> 00:15:45,610 and I was, er, understudy Private Pike and Private Walker. 284 00:15:45,850 --> 00:15:49,690 A disastrous afternoon came along once when I was asked to do a 285 00:15:49,930 --> 00:15:52,890 matinee as Private Pike because Ian Lavender, for some reason, 286 00:15:53,130 --> 00:15:57,690 was unavailable that afternoon. And I learnt the lines, 287 00:15:57,930 --> 00:16:01,210 they all came out in the right order, but I didn't get a 288 00:16:01,490 --> 00:16:05,690 single laugh all afternoon, because I wasn't Ian Lavender. 289 00:16:05,930 --> 00:16:08,690 The only laughs I did get were from the boys and girls in the 290 00:16:08,930 --> 00:16:11,450 chorus behind me, who were sniggering up their sleeves because 291 00:16:11,690 --> 00:16:13,290 I wasn't getting laughs from the audience. 292 00:16:13,570 --> 00:16:15,570 It was a disaster, but it was good fun. 293 00:16:17,090 --> 00:16:20,490 BBC cameras captured the Dad's Army stage show in London's 294 00:16:20,650 --> 00:16:23,130 West End in October 1975. 295 00:16:23,410 --> 00:16:25,530 Look me straight in the eyes, Wilson. 296 00:16:25,730 --> 00:16:26,810 Right, sir. 297 00:16:26,970 --> 00:16:29,130 Look out! 298 00:16:29,410 --> 00:16:32,730 No, no, please, please. I'm sorry, sir, but that wasn't fair. 299 00:16:32,890 --> 00:16:33,770 I wasn't ready. 300 00:16:35,090 --> 00:16:37,010 No, the bosh won't be ready, either. 301 00:16:37,210 --> 00:16:40,010 And they put it together from little bits and pieces of vignettes 302 00:16:40,290 --> 00:16:42,890 from various episodes of the TV series, you know, 303 00:16:43,130 --> 00:16:45,930 linked together with huge musical numbers. 304 00:16:46,210 --> 00:16:50,890 It was an incredible idea, and it really did work so well. 305 00:16:51,090 --> 00:16:55,330 # We three in Happidrome 306 00:16:55,490 --> 00:16:59,130 # Working for the BBC 307 00:16:59,250 --> 00:17:00,970 # Ramsbottom 308 00:17:01,170 --> 00:17:03,010 # and Enoch 309 00:17:03,170 --> 00:17:06,010 # and me. # 310 00:17:06,170 --> 00:17:08,050 APPLAUSE 311 00:17:09,810 --> 00:17:11,730 I've brought you some sausages. 312 00:17:11,890 --> 00:17:13,130 I know you like a nice banger. 313 00:17:13,290 --> 00:17:15,170 We've got one of our own, Jones. 314 00:17:17,210 --> 00:17:20,130 Unexploded bombs featured in Dad's Army television scripts more 315 00:17:20,450 --> 00:17:26,130 than once, but in London the stage show was disrupted by a real-life bomb scare. 316 00:17:26,370 --> 00:17:30,050 Well, it was the time of the IRA, and we all had to evacuate the 317 00:17:30,290 --> 00:17:32,810 theatre, the audience and everything. 318 00:17:33,090 --> 00:17:36,170 Well, of course, if you ask actors to evacuate the theatre and 319 00:17:36,450 --> 00:17:40,050 there's a pub opposite, they're all going to disappear into the pub. 320 00:17:40,290 --> 00:17:45,130 And I remember the sort of look of surprise on the regular 321 00:17:45,370 --> 00:17:48,290 customers' faces, seeing people in Home Guard uniform, and a 322 00:17:48,570 --> 00:17:54,450 vicar and a warden and all those people coming into the pub. 323 00:17:54,610 --> 00:17:56,770 Arnold Ridley celebrated his 80th 324 00:17:57,050 --> 00:18:00,690 birthday during the stage show's West End run, but he still 325 00:18:00,930 --> 00:18:03,290 joined the cast on the subsequent national tour, 326 00:18:03,530 --> 00:18:06,970 a bonding experience for all concerned. 327 00:18:07,210 --> 00:18:12,330 Put a lot of actors together and you really do get to know them... 328 00:18:12,570 --> 00:18:14,970 Yeah. ..in a way that you don't when you're just doing 329 00:18:15,170 --> 00:18:17,290 a television series. 330 00:18:17,570 --> 00:18:20,130 JEFFREY: I got very close to John Le Mesurier over the couple of years 331 00:18:20,290 --> 00:18:21,610 that we were doing the show. 332 00:18:21,850 --> 00:18:23,330 He was a wonderful man, in lots of ways. 333 00:18:23,570 --> 00:18:27,650 Very calming and a wonderful, sort of, calming nature and lovely to 334 00:18:27,890 --> 00:18:29,930 be with and talk to. I enjoyed his company very much. 335 00:18:31,170 --> 00:18:33,490 # The streets of town 336 00:18:33,650 --> 00:18:35,410 # They're paved with stars 337 00:18:35,570 --> 00:18:38,250 # It was such 338 00:18:38,450 --> 00:18:40,050 # A romantic affair 339 00:18:42,330 --> 00:18:45,810 # And as we kissed and said goodnight 340 00:18:47,290 --> 00:18:49,410 # A nightingale sang 341 00:18:50,970 --> 00:18:53,530 # In Berkeley Square. # 342 00:18:53,770 --> 00:18:57,330 The stage show was a happy experience, not only for its stars, 343 00:18:57,530 --> 00:18:59,450 but also for their families. 344 00:18:59,730 --> 00:19:03,610 There were some really great days out where we went to Longleat 345 00:19:03,850 --> 00:19:06,250 and Beaulieu and we had an open-topped bus at some point 346 00:19:06,490 --> 00:19:11,010 and all the people were waving and so, you now, special memories. 347 00:19:11,130 --> 00:19:12,290 I now look back and think, well, 348 00:19:12,450 --> 00:19:14,890 what a lucky kid to be amongst 349 00:19:15,090 --> 00:19:17,330 all this and have these great times. 350 00:19:17,570 --> 00:19:20,570 Though, for all the fun of touring, one member of the cast 351 00:19:20,850 --> 00:19:23,370 stressed that the show must come first. 352 00:19:23,610 --> 00:19:28,290 We were in Richmond, and my home was in Coventry, and I got a phone 353 00:19:28,530 --> 00:19:32,850 call just before the finale of the matinee from my mother-in-law 354 00:19:33,130 --> 00:19:35,650 to tell me that my wife had gone into labour. 355 00:19:35,930 --> 00:19:39,090 So as soon as the curtain fell, I just legged it. 356 00:19:39,330 --> 00:19:42,210 I legged it and was by her bedside when the baby was born. 357 00:19:42,450 --> 00:19:46,530 When I got back to the theatre on the following day, 358 00:19:46,770 --> 00:19:50,330 there was a note in my pigeon-hole waiting for me. 359 00:19:50,530 --> 00:19:51,490 Erm, 360 00:19:51,770 --> 00:19:54,930 "Mr Holland, Mr Lowe would like to see you in his dressing room 361 00:19:55,090 --> 00:19:57,090 when you arrive, please." 362 00:19:57,370 --> 00:19:59,090 So, I thought, hello, I'm in trouble. 363 00:19:59,250 --> 00:20:00,170 He never looked at me, 364 00:20:00,410 --> 00:20:04,170 he wouldn't look at me, and he said, "What you did last night was 365 00:20:04,450 --> 00:20:07,530 very unprofessional." And he still wasn't looking at me. 366 00:20:07,810 --> 00:20:09,810 He was doing his eyebrows and his moustache. 367 00:20:10,050 --> 00:20:12,970 He said, "You should have been here, you should have been here. 368 00:20:13,210 --> 00:20:16,690 "The show comes first, babies are born all the time." 369 00:20:16,930 --> 00:20:20,610 Needless to say, the first flowers to arrive at the wife and 370 00:20:20,770 --> 00:20:24,290 baby's bedside were from the Lowes. 371 00:20:24,530 --> 00:20:27,410 The Dad's Army stage show was seen in London and Manchester, 372 00:20:27,650 --> 00:20:32,010 Blackpool and Bath, Bournemouth, Birmingham and beyond, and 373 00:20:32,290 --> 00:20:34,890 gave those involved some memories to treasure. 374 00:20:35,130 --> 00:20:37,890 It was one of the happiest years I've ever spent in my life. 375 00:20:38,050 --> 00:20:39,690 It was wonderful, the stage show. 376 00:20:39,890 --> 00:20:41,810 I mean, we had a wonderful time. 377 00:20:43,810 --> 00:20:47,770 One highlight being an appearance at the 1975 Royal Variety Performance. 378 00:20:48,010 --> 00:20:50,290 # We thought we could hear the curious tone 379 00:20:50,530 --> 00:20:52,130 # Of the cornett, clarinet and big trombone 380 00:20:52,290 --> 00:20:54,050 # Fiddle, cello, big bass drum, 381 00:20:54,210 --> 00:20:56,370 # Bassoon, a flute and euphonium 382 00:20:56,650 --> 00:20:58,530 # Each one making the most of his chance 383 00:20:58,690 --> 00:21:00,610 # All together in the Floral Dance 384 00:21:00,770 --> 00:21:02,690 # Dancing here, prancing there 385 00:21:02,850 --> 00:21:05,090 # Jigging, jogging everywhere 386 00:21:05,250 --> 00:21:09,170 # Up and down and around the town 387 00:21:10,810 --> 00:21:13,890 #Hurr-a-a-h for the 388 00:21:14,090 --> 00:21:16,810 # Co-o-orni-i-ish 389 00:21:16,970 --> 00:21:20,090 # Flo-o-oral 390 00:21:20,250 --> 00:21:25,290 # Da-a-ance. # 391 00:21:25,450 --> 00:21:27,530 APPLAUSE 392 00:21:27,730 --> 00:21:29,290 Coming up in part three, 393 00:21:29,570 --> 00:21:33,090 Dad's Army reaches the end of the road. 394 00:21:33,410 --> 00:21:37,370 David and Jimmy were sensible enough to want to go out when we were still on the top. 395 00:21:46,170 --> 00:21:47,250 Hello again. 396 00:21:47,490 --> 00:21:50,850 It's time to go back to the autumn of 1977. 397 00:21:51,090 --> 00:21:54,930 Dad's Army was still pulling in millions of viewers, but as 398 00:21:55,210 --> 00:21:57,450 the ninth series reached the air, it seemed that the men of 399 00:21:57,730 --> 00:22:01,610 B Company No 1 Platoon were about to be demobbed. 400 00:22:03,090 --> 00:22:04,970 The platoon had certainly forsaken their uniforms... 401 00:22:05,250 --> 00:22:07,370 Platoon halt! ..in the first episode of the series. 402 00:22:07,570 --> 00:22:08,850 Look, this is no good, Wilson. 403 00:22:09,090 --> 00:22:10,970 We don't look suspicious or furtive enough. 404 00:22:11,210 --> 00:22:13,890 The episode I did was called Wake-Up Walmington. 405 00:22:14,050 --> 00:22:15,410 Halt! 406 00:22:15,650 --> 00:22:18,090 You silly old fool, I nearly ran you over! 407 00:22:18,250 --> 00:22:19,530 What do you want? 408 00:22:19,810 --> 00:22:22,690 FAUX GERMAN ACCENT: I want to know, where is the aerodrome? 409 00:22:22,890 --> 00:22:24,090 What aerodrome? 410 00:22:24,250 --> 00:22:25,530 Er... 411 00:22:25,690 --> 00:22:27,610 ..well, any aerodrome. 412 00:22:27,850 --> 00:22:32,850 The premise of it was that Mainwaring and Hodges had got their 413 00:22:33,090 --> 00:22:36,410 heads together and decided that Walmington-on-Sea was becoming very 414 00:22:36,650 --> 00:22:42,450 complacent about the war and nobody was taking it seriously enough. 415 00:22:42,730 --> 00:22:44,410 We'll shake this town out of its complacency. 416 00:22:44,570 --> 00:22:45,730 Oh, thank you, Napoleon. 417 00:22:45,970 --> 00:22:48,970 You and me together, we'll give them a fright they'll never forget. 418 00:22:49,250 --> 00:22:52,810 So they decided that they would dress up as what were then 419 00:22:53,090 --> 00:22:56,970 known as fifth columnists and shake the town up a bit. 420 00:22:57,250 --> 00:23:00,250 You know, look suspicious and behave suspiciously. 421 00:23:00,490 --> 00:23:02,930 The most ridiculous costumes you've ever seen. 422 00:23:03,050 --> 00:23:04,890 Do you think that fits the bill? 423 00:23:06,690 --> 00:23:08,170 I think it looks absurd. 424 00:23:09,810 --> 00:23:12,450 And they walk face-to-face with these guys who were dressed 425 00:23:12,610 --> 00:23:13,730 identically to them. 426 00:23:13,890 --> 00:23:14,810 Show us your papers. 427 00:23:14,970 --> 00:23:16,170 Show us YOUR papers. 428 00:23:16,370 --> 00:23:18,050 Oh, I've had enough of this. 429 00:23:18,290 --> 00:23:20,170 In the name of the King, I demand to see your papers. 430 00:23:24,370 --> 00:23:27,450 The episode ends with the fifth columnists under attack from 431 00:23:27,690 --> 00:23:30,130 Captain Square and the Eastgate platoon. 432 00:23:31,890 --> 00:23:35,050 Even in its ninth series, Dad's Army was still capable of 433 00:23:35,290 --> 00:23:39,210 providing action, laughter and surprises. 434 00:23:39,450 --> 00:23:43,170 And the show broke new ground in the very next episode, 435 00:23:43,490 --> 00:23:46,570 when Mr Hodges' niece... Cheers. Oh, cheers. ..takes a shine to Private Pike. 436 00:23:46,770 --> 00:23:48,690 You've got smashing eyebrows. 437 00:23:48,890 --> 00:23:50,450 AUDIENCE TITTER 438 00:23:50,610 --> 00:23:52,570 You've got smashing eyebrows. 439 00:23:52,730 --> 00:23:54,890 I loved that line. 440 00:23:55,130 --> 00:23:58,010 I said you've got smashing eyebrows. 441 00:23:58,170 --> 00:23:59,210 Have I? 442 00:24:02,290 --> 00:24:05,730 She's the one who really drives the, er... 443 00:24:05,890 --> 00:24:08,250 ..the assignation. 444 00:24:08,530 --> 00:24:11,610 "Drive" being the key word there, as the script sees Jean's 445 00:24:11,850 --> 00:24:15,450 character unofficially borrowing Captain Mainwaring's new staff car. 446 00:24:16,970 --> 00:24:18,890 No harm in just sitting in it. 447 00:24:19,170 --> 00:24:22,970 Jean had been cast as army driver Sylvia, despite not owning a 448 00:24:23,130 --> 00:24:24,210 driving licence. 449 00:24:24,450 --> 00:24:27,330 That hadn't been a problem for location shots like this, 450 00:24:27,610 --> 00:24:31,010 filmed on private land, but became a major issue when the car had 451 00:24:31,210 --> 00:24:32,610 to exit the studio set. 452 00:24:32,890 --> 00:24:34,650 You can tell me the way to get there. What're you doing? 453 00:24:34,810 --> 00:24:36,650 They said, "Well, don't worry, 454 00:24:36,890 --> 00:24:39,170 we'll pull you off and we'll add the engine noises afterwards." 455 00:24:39,370 --> 00:24:40,890 So I said, "Well, fine." 456 00:24:41,050 --> 00:24:42,130 Look, we'll get into trouble. 457 00:24:42,290 --> 00:24:43,690 Relax, we're going to the pictures. 458 00:24:43,930 --> 00:24:46,210 We'll get into trouble. You'll get me really into trouble! 459 00:24:46,450 --> 00:24:50,810 Not being an experienced driver, I thought, "I don't have to do 460 00:24:51,090 --> 00:24:55,130 anything," so I just sat there and we did the scene and they started 461 00:24:55,490 --> 00:24:59,610 pulling us off and I thought, "Why are they pulling me into the camera?" 462 00:24:59,890 --> 00:25:02,250 We were headed straight for the camera. 463 00:25:02,530 --> 00:25:05,890 But I'd forgotten the one thing I still had to do, 464 00:25:06,050 --> 00:25:07,690 which was steer, 465 00:25:07,970 --> 00:25:10,930 and the look on the cameraman's face... 466 00:25:11,170 --> 00:25:15,410 Sylvia's date with Private Pike is a bit of a letdown, but for the 467 00:25:15,650 --> 00:25:18,370 actress playing her, the role provided a wealth of warm 468 00:25:18,610 --> 00:25:21,050 memories of Ian Lavender and the cast. 469 00:25:21,290 --> 00:25:24,730 It was a real pleasure, honour and treat to work with Ian and to 470 00:25:24,890 --> 00:25:26,770 work with the whole cast, actually. 471 00:25:27,010 --> 00:25:32,010 Ian couldn't have been nicer and he was so in the skin of who he was 472 00:25:32,290 --> 00:25:36,410 that it made it very easy just to play off him. 473 00:25:36,610 --> 00:25:38,530 What're we going to do? 474 00:25:39,650 --> 00:25:42,930 Let's find a haystack and spend the night beneath the stars 475 00:25:43,090 --> 00:25:44,970 in each other's arms. 476 00:25:45,170 --> 00:25:46,330 Get off! 477 00:25:46,570 --> 00:25:49,450 I hadn't imagined it would still be so popular, 478 00:25:49,690 --> 00:25:52,810 but I'm delighted that it was. And I can see why it is, 479 00:25:53,050 --> 00:25:59,010 because, erm, they were all such wonderful, seasoned performers 480 00:25:59,770 --> 00:26:05,530 and they all had such strong individual characters and they were funny. 481 00:26:05,690 --> 00:26:07,090 This is Sergeant Wilson. 482 00:26:07,250 --> 00:26:08,970 How do you do, Sergeant Wilson? 483 00:26:09,250 --> 00:26:14,490 So I really feel honoured, and grateful, and happy that I was 484 00:26:14,730 --> 00:26:19,130 given this wonderful opportunity. And it was the first time I'd 485 00:26:19,370 --> 00:26:23,010 been to a rehearsal where nobody wore jeans. 486 00:26:23,210 --> 00:26:25,330 Right, give me your leg. That's it. 487 00:26:25,570 --> 00:26:29,570 The viewers tuning into Dad's Army in their millions in 1977 488 00:26:29,850 --> 00:26:33,890 were treated to a feast of brilliant comedy business, along with 489 00:26:34,170 --> 00:26:37,050 Captain Mainwaring's endless irritation with Sergeant Wilson. 490 00:26:37,330 --> 00:26:39,010 Why have you brought that stupid-looking dog? 491 00:26:39,250 --> 00:26:41,650 Well, the knights always used to have them, sir. 492 00:26:41,890 --> 00:26:43,730 Why must you give yourself airs all the time? 493 00:26:43,970 --> 00:26:46,290 Why don't you behave normally, like me? 494 00:26:46,490 --> 00:26:47,930 LAUGHTER 495 00:26:48,290 --> 00:26:51,810 But just a day after the filming of Walmington's Wings For Victory Pageant, 496 00:26:52,090 --> 00:26:55,690 the press reported that Dad's Army was coming to an end. 497 00:26:57,570 --> 00:26:59,130 Dad's Army ended in 1977, 498 00:26:59,290 --> 00:27:01,810 and it was a parting of the ways for 499 00:27:01,970 --> 00:27:03,930 a troupe that had become very close 500 00:27:04,170 --> 00:27:08,090 to each other, and I think that was probably quite painful. 501 00:27:08,250 --> 00:27:10,170 Well, I suppose 502 00:27:10,450 --> 00:27:12,810 David and Jimmy were sensible enough to want 503 00:27:13,050 --> 00:27:15,890 to go out when we were still on the top, and we were. Yeah. 504 00:27:16,130 --> 00:27:18,530 I mean, it was still really, really popular. 505 00:27:18,730 --> 00:27:21,010 It was really an inevitable decision. 506 00:27:22,370 --> 00:27:24,730 The cast, all the cast were getting older. 507 00:27:24,930 --> 00:27:26,810 Many of them had health problems. 508 00:27:27,090 --> 00:27:30,730 They were perhaps glad to be freed to go and do other work and 509 00:27:30,970 --> 00:27:36,930 pursue other interests, but, yeah, it was never quite the same again. 510 00:27:38,370 --> 00:27:42,090 There was still, sort of, a bit of thought that possibly they'd 511 00:27:42,370 --> 00:27:45,370 do some more and then, of course, Teddy Sinclair, 512 00:27:45,610 --> 00:27:49,770 who played the verger, died and I think it was at Teddy's 513 00:27:50,010 --> 00:27:52,730 funeral that Arthur Lowe said, "Well, that's it. 514 00:27:53,010 --> 00:27:55,450 "There won't be any more Dad's Army." 515 00:27:55,690 --> 00:27:58,570 And I think it was a right decision... Yes. 516 00:27:58,890 --> 00:28:03,330 ..because you don't want to limp on... No, no, that's true. ..not being as good as you had been. 517 00:28:08,090 --> 00:28:11,170 The final episode of Dad's Army was transmitted on Sunday 518 00:28:11,330 --> 00:28:14,010 the 13th of November, 1977. 519 00:28:14,290 --> 00:28:18,410 Titled Never Too Old, it saw Lance Corporal Jones finally marry 520 00:28:18,610 --> 00:28:21,770 Mrs Fox, the woman of his dreams. 521 00:28:21,970 --> 00:28:24,450 I see her face everywhere I go. 522 00:28:24,650 --> 00:28:27,170 I see it in the trees and the hills. 523 00:28:27,450 --> 00:28:30,010 I even saw it yesterday on the gasworks. 524 00:28:30,250 --> 00:28:33,370 However, an invasion scare interrupts the wedding celebrations, 525 00:28:33,610 --> 00:28:36,890 and the happy couple spend their first night as newlyweds 526 00:28:37,050 --> 00:28:39,130 with Mr Jones on guard duty. 527 00:28:39,290 --> 00:28:41,090 When this is all over, Jack, 528 00:28:41,370 --> 00:28:44,210 can we go and live in a little cottage? 529 00:28:44,410 --> 00:28:45,450 Yes. 530 00:28:45,610 --> 00:28:46,770 With roses round the door. 531 00:28:46,930 --> 00:28:48,330 Oh, yes. 532 00:28:48,490 --> 00:28:51,010 And a big fridge in the kitchen. 533 00:28:52,410 --> 00:28:54,370 What do we want a big fridge for? 534 00:28:54,610 --> 00:28:57,450 To keep all the big joints of meat in. 535 00:28:57,690 --> 00:29:01,490 Well, after the war? Oh, yes, after the war. 536 00:29:02,650 --> 00:29:05,930 Not that we won't have a joint or two before then, of course. 537 00:29:09,650 --> 00:29:12,410 The series ended quietly, with the members of the platoon 538 00:29:12,690 --> 00:29:16,290 gathered together on Walmington Pier and, in truth, at the time, 539 00:29:16,530 --> 00:29:19,890 the end of Dad's Army didn't provoke a massive amount of comment... 540 00:29:22,130 --> 00:29:25,810 ..though a national tabloid did lay on a farewell dinner, where Arthur 541 00:29:26,090 --> 00:29:29,610 Lowe announced he wouldn't want such a rubbishy newspaper in his home. 542 00:29:32,090 --> 00:29:33,690 I don't usually sit at the rear of the stalls. 543 00:29:33,930 --> 00:29:36,290 I usually sit in the grand circle or the two and threepennies. Yes. 544 00:29:36,530 --> 00:29:38,130 Well, of course, you just have to take what seats 545 00:29:38,370 --> 00:29:39,930 you can, you know, in wartime. Oh, yes. 546 00:29:40,250 --> 00:29:42,690 This war seems to be an excuse for anything. You can't even go to the cinema 547 00:29:42,930 --> 00:29:44,370 without it becoming a bacchanalian orgy. 548 00:29:44,570 --> 00:29:45,610 Really... 549 00:29:45,890 --> 00:29:49,530 I could watch those episodes again and again and not fail to laugh, 550 00:29:49,770 --> 00:29:53,450 and it's like seeing family and I'm very lucky in that 551 00:29:53,690 --> 00:29:56,690 respect that he's kind of immortalised for me. 552 00:29:58,050 --> 00:30:00,930 Characters from Dad's Army were brought back by Michael Knowles 553 00:30:01,210 --> 00:30:04,650 and Harold Snoad for the radio comedy It Sticks Out Half A Mile. 554 00:30:06,010 --> 00:30:07,490 Then, in the early '90s, 555 00:30:07,770 --> 00:30:11,850 Saturday teatime repeats on BBC One brought Dad's Army to a new 556 00:30:12,090 --> 00:30:16,410 generation of viewers, and its popularity has not waned since. 557 00:30:16,690 --> 00:30:21,490 I once went to do a talk at a church and the vicar greeted me and 558 00:30:21,730 --> 00:30:26,650 he said, "I want you to meet your youngest fan," and I said, "Oh?" 559 00:30:26,930 --> 00:30:29,850 And he said, "Yes, it's my three-year-old granddaughter." 560 00:30:30,010 --> 00:30:31,570 So I thought that... There you are. 561 00:30:31,810 --> 00:30:35,850 And they'd just showed an episode where Mainwaring and I had 562 00:30:36,090 --> 00:30:39,730 had a bit of an argy-bargy about the office. 563 00:30:39,970 --> 00:30:42,690 Good evening. What are you doing at my desk, vicar? 564 00:30:42,930 --> 00:30:45,370 May I remind you, Captain Mainwaring, that this is my office 565 00:30:45,610 --> 00:30:47,850 and my desk and it is only through my good intentions 566 00:30:48,090 --> 00:30:51,250 in this hour of our country's need that I allow you to share it. 567 00:30:51,410 --> 00:30:52,490 But I have a lot of work to do. 568 00:30:52,730 --> 00:30:54,410 Well, the vicar's got a lot of work to do as well. 569 00:30:54,570 --> 00:30:55,650 You keep out of this, Wilson. 570 00:30:55,890 --> 00:30:58,250 And suddenly this three-year-old looked up at me, and she said, 571 00:30:58,530 --> 00:31:04,250 "Tell me, that desk, is it yours or is it Captain Mainwaring's?" 572 00:31:04,490 --> 00:31:06,610 And I thought, "She's even following the plot!" 573 00:31:06,770 --> 00:31:08,650 It's amazing. 574 00:31:08,810 --> 00:31:10,410 Coming up in part four... 575 00:31:10,610 --> 00:31:12,090 The other foot is in the boat. 576 00:31:12,370 --> 00:31:16,930 ..just what is it that makes Dad's Army so great? 577 00:31:17,170 --> 00:31:19,290 FAUX SCOTS ACCENT: Did I ever tell you the story 578 00:31:19,490 --> 00:31:21,130 of the old, empty barn...? 579 00:31:30,700 --> 00:31:33,220 Welcome back to Saluting Dad's Army. 580 00:31:33,460 --> 00:31:36,180 It's decades since Captain Mainwaring and his men 581 00:31:36,460 --> 00:31:39,460 recorded their last adventure, but of course, Dad's Army 582 00:31:39,740 --> 00:31:42,740 continues to delight its millions of fans. 583 00:31:42,980 --> 00:31:47,220 Why is that? Just why do we love it so very much? 584 00:31:48,620 --> 00:31:51,780 Now, don't start any of that public school cheating with me. 585 00:31:52,060 --> 00:31:54,180 I watched it all as a kid and just thought it was funny, 586 00:31:54,420 --> 00:31:56,420 and then, as you get older, you see the class thing between 587 00:31:56,700 --> 00:31:58,980 Mainwaring and Wilson, which is really... I never noticed that 588 00:31:59,300 --> 00:32:01,780 that as a child, and that becomes more and more absorbing and fascinating. 589 00:32:01,940 --> 00:32:03,260 Perhaps you'd care to explain. 590 00:32:03,540 --> 00:32:06,260 Yes, well, you see, one of my uncles died without leaving any 591 00:32:06,500 --> 00:32:09,460 children, so that meant that my side of the family moved up one 592 00:32:09,700 --> 00:32:13,980 place, so to speak, and so, therefore, I am now the Honourable. 593 00:32:18,060 --> 00:32:19,340 Bless my soul. Yes. 594 00:32:19,580 --> 00:32:22,020 Well, I don't really see why it should make any difference 595 00:32:22,220 --> 00:32:24,100 to you and me. 596 00:32:25,380 --> 00:32:28,220 You can bet your bottom dollar it won't make any difference to you and me. 597 00:32:28,460 --> 00:32:32,180 The thing that fuels the comedy in the relationship between 598 00:32:32,380 --> 00:32:35,140 Mainwaring and Wilson is, I think, 599 00:32:35,380 --> 00:32:40,180 that kind of simmering anger in Mainwaring that this isn't fair. 600 00:32:40,460 --> 00:32:42,220 You never fought for anything in your life. 601 00:32:42,460 --> 00:32:45,100 Brought up by a nanny. Father, something in the City. 602 00:32:45,380 --> 00:32:48,060 All you've had to do is just sit back and let everything come to you. 603 00:32:48,220 --> 00:32:50,380 It is the longing in Mainwaring 604 00:32:50,540 --> 00:32:52,300 to, sort of, be accepted, 605 00:32:52,540 --> 00:32:56,620 which you know he will never, ever achieve. 606 00:32:56,780 --> 00:32:58,820 He'll never get there. 607 00:32:59,020 --> 00:33:00,620 Hello, Bathurst. Golf all right? 608 00:33:02,180 --> 00:33:03,780 Good. 609 00:33:03,940 --> 00:33:05,220 And then there's that brilliant 610 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:08,540 moment where he's trying to describe how to get into a boat, 611 00:33:08,700 --> 00:33:10,020 and he says, "it's very simple, 612 00:33:10,260 --> 00:33:12,020 you just simply put one foot in the boat." 613 00:33:12,260 --> 00:33:17,100 I'll observe that I keep one foot on the ladder here 614 00:33:17,300 --> 00:33:20,180 and one hand on the post here. 615 00:33:20,380 --> 00:33:23,740 The other foot is in the boat thus. 616 00:33:23,940 --> 00:33:25,420 And then, of course, inevitably, 617 00:33:25,700 --> 00:33:28,340 the boat starts to depart and he's left doing the splits. 618 00:33:29,780 --> 00:33:32,020 LAUGHTER 619 00:33:33,140 --> 00:33:37,060 So this kind of ridiculous clown of a character is born of this 620 00:33:37,300 --> 00:33:40,660 brilliant sense of the English class system and people trying to 621 00:33:40,900 --> 00:33:43,700 get above their station but never managing it, and us all loving 622 00:33:43,820 --> 00:33:45,540 the fact that they can't. 623 00:33:45,820 --> 00:33:47,980 You'll excuse us, Mannington. Yes, erm... 624 00:33:48,140 --> 00:33:50,180 ..Mainwaring, actually. 625 00:33:50,420 --> 00:33:52,860 Though, as well as his vain battle to climb the social ladder, 626 00:33:53,140 --> 00:33:56,300 Captain Mainwaring has another struggle on his hands, 627 00:33:56,540 --> 00:33:59,100 with the unseen, terrifying Mrs Mainwaring. 628 00:33:59,300 --> 00:34:00,980 FRAGILE VOICE: Hello, Elizabeth? 629 00:34:02,620 --> 00:34:05,700 In a way, Mainwaring's life was a sort of attempt to impress 630 00:34:05,980 --> 00:34:11,060 his own wife, which was ultimately pointless. 631 00:34:11,340 --> 00:34:15,220 I might have a little surprise for you tonight. 632 00:34:15,380 --> 00:34:17,420 No, no, I've...I bought... 633 00:34:19,900 --> 00:34:21,780 He's clearly absolutely terrified of this woman. 634 00:34:21,980 --> 00:34:23,460 There's one moment where he says, 635 00:34:23,740 --> 00:34:28,260 "Oh, yes, a very happy marriage, very happy indeed." 636 00:34:28,460 --> 00:34:29,580 I've had a very happy marriage. 637 00:34:31,500 --> 00:34:33,020 Very happy, indeed. 638 00:34:33,260 --> 00:34:38,100 And he does this extraordinary wince, which tells you 35 years 639 00:34:38,340 --> 00:34:41,100 of difficulty between the two of them, but just a brilliant, 640 00:34:41,340 --> 00:34:47,060 brilliant moment of description by him about his wife. 641 00:34:48,540 --> 00:34:52,100 Mainwaring's pretence about his marriage falls apart amid a 642 00:34:52,340 --> 00:34:55,380 doomed romance in the episode Mum's Army, 643 00:34:55,660 --> 00:34:58,340 proof the series could carry real emotional punch. 644 00:34:58,620 --> 00:35:03,940 Mum's Army, where Mainwaring has a sort of brief encounter with 645 00:35:04,180 --> 00:35:07,140 a character played by Carmen Silvera, I mean, 646 00:35:07,420 --> 00:35:11,380 I just think that is a beautifully moving moment. 647 00:35:11,580 --> 00:35:14,020 What's this? What's happened. 648 00:35:14,260 --> 00:35:16,580 Nothing's happened. I'm just going back to London, that's all. 649 00:35:16,740 --> 00:35:18,580 For how long? I don't know. 650 00:35:18,740 --> 00:35:19,660 A month or two. 651 00:35:19,860 --> 00:35:21,100 Perhaps for good. 652 00:35:21,340 --> 00:35:23,700 But you never mentioned it. You never even hinted at it. 653 00:35:23,940 --> 00:35:26,300 I just thought it would be for the best. 654 00:35:26,460 --> 00:35:28,020 But... 655 00:35:28,220 --> 00:35:31,180 ..but I don't want you to go. 656 00:35:31,460 --> 00:35:32,940 The whole pattern of my life has changed. 657 00:35:33,180 --> 00:35:35,300 I just live from one meeting to the next. I know. 658 00:35:35,540 --> 00:35:38,220 And I'm just the same, but it's the only thing to do. 659 00:35:38,420 --> 00:35:39,380 People are talking. 660 00:35:39,620 --> 00:35:41,260 People always talk. Who cares about that? 661 00:35:41,420 --> 00:35:42,620 But there's your wife. 662 00:35:42,780 --> 00:35:44,860 Huh! Nobody'll talk to her. 663 00:35:45,020 --> 00:35:47,180 LAUGHTER 664 00:35:47,420 --> 00:35:50,220 She hasn't left the house since Munich. 665 00:35:50,460 --> 00:35:54,140 The romantic drama of Mum's Army was David Croft's favourite of all 666 00:35:54,300 --> 00:35:56,580 80 Dad's Army episodes. 667 00:35:56,740 --> 00:35:58,100 Promise you'll write. 668 00:35:58,300 --> 00:35:59,860 Very well. I promise. 669 00:36:02,100 --> 00:36:03,740 Make it soon. 670 00:36:03,900 --> 00:36:06,380 Goodbye, George. 671 00:36:06,580 --> 00:36:08,340 Goodbye. 672 00:36:08,620 --> 00:36:10,820 I think the beauty of the character writing, as well, 673 00:36:11,100 --> 00:36:14,580 was that it got to a stage where, you know, 674 00:36:14,820 --> 00:36:18,180 you are so involved with the characters that when they 675 00:36:18,420 --> 00:36:23,060 take a risk creatively and doing it, like the episode where they discover 676 00:36:23,300 --> 00:36:27,740 that Godfrey was a conscientious objector in the First World War... 677 00:36:27,980 --> 00:36:29,900 I'm terribly sorry about this, Captain Mainwaring. 678 00:36:30,140 --> 00:36:33,740 I've enjoyed, so much, being with you all and I only hope that my 679 00:36:33,980 --> 00:36:35,500 service has given every satisfaction. 680 00:36:35,660 --> 00:36:36,540 Get out. 681 00:36:39,060 --> 00:36:42,340 ..that carries a huge emotional charge with it as well, 682 00:36:42,580 --> 00:36:45,220 because you're so invested in all those characters. 683 00:36:45,380 --> 00:36:46,740 Cigarette out. No smoking in there. 684 00:36:46,980 --> 00:36:50,140 The story takes a dramatic twist when the platoon practises 685 00:36:50,420 --> 00:36:52,820 escaping from a smoke-filled building. 686 00:36:53,060 --> 00:36:54,900 Now, Godfrey, you're not going to get out of this one. 687 00:36:55,180 --> 00:36:56,380 I'm not trying to get out of it, sir. 688 00:36:56,620 --> 00:36:59,060 You'd jolly well like to, wouldn't you? Off you go. 689 00:36:59,220 --> 00:37:00,500 Remember, I'll be right behind you. 690 00:37:00,780 --> 00:37:03,180 None of your damn conchie tricks here. 691 00:37:03,460 --> 00:37:06,620 Godfrey saving Mainwaring in the fire, which is incredible, 692 00:37:06,780 --> 00:37:09,420 it's like an amazing bit of drama. 693 00:37:09,580 --> 00:37:11,620 It's like, what? 694 00:37:11,780 --> 00:37:12,660 Mr... 695 00:37:12,860 --> 00:37:13,700 ..Mr Hodges! 696 00:37:20,340 --> 00:37:22,980 All right, Captain Mainwaring, I'm coming. 697 00:37:23,220 --> 00:37:26,980 Godfrey rescues Captain Mainwaring, and as he recovers from his 698 00:37:27,260 --> 00:37:30,180 heroics, the platoon visits him at home. 699 00:37:30,420 --> 00:37:33,020 Wait a minute. You're wearing the Military Medal. 700 00:37:33,220 --> 00:37:34,660 Yes, that's right. 701 00:37:34,900 --> 00:37:36,980 But you told us that you were a damn... 702 00:37:37,260 --> 00:37:39,780 ..that you were a conscientious objector. So I was. 703 00:37:39,980 --> 00:37:41,180 Well, how could you win the MM? 704 00:37:41,420 --> 00:37:44,580 He volunteered to join the Medical Corps, 705 00:37:44,820 --> 00:37:48,460 and during the Battle of the Somme, he went out into no-man's land 706 00:37:48,700 --> 00:37:51,620 under heavy fire and saved several lives. 707 00:37:51,820 --> 00:37:53,820 Oh, no, it wasn't as heavy as all that, you know? 708 00:37:54,060 --> 00:37:58,380 They realised how wrong their judgment had been. Mm-hm. 709 00:37:58,660 --> 00:38:01,060 And I think the fact that Jimmy and David could do things like 710 00:38:01,220 --> 00:38:03,380 that was pretty brilliant. 711 00:38:03,620 --> 00:38:07,220 In Dad's Army, you are seeing a lot of catchphrases coming through, 712 00:38:07,460 --> 00:38:09,580 but they were never looking for catchphrases. 713 00:38:09,860 --> 00:38:13,700 This was just what emerged from the characters once they'd formed. 714 00:38:13,940 --> 00:38:17,820 "Do you think that's wise, sir?" just sums up Sergeant Wilson. 715 00:38:18,140 --> 00:38:22,540 "Don't panic! They don't like it up 'em!" is the defiance of Corporal Jones. 716 00:38:22,780 --> 00:38:27,260 Very early on, when Steve Punt and I had a kind of, you know, sort of 717 00:38:27,540 --> 00:38:32,380 double act on the cabaret circuit, Frazer used to come into it a lot. 718 00:38:32,620 --> 00:38:36,140 I used to spend a lot of time going, "Oh, we're doomed!" 719 00:38:36,300 --> 00:38:38,100 You know, and all that. 720 00:38:38,260 --> 00:38:41,020 We're doomed! Doomed! 721 00:38:41,260 --> 00:38:44,620 There's one very memorable bit which I kept on saying over and over, 722 00:38:44,900 --> 00:38:49,940 probably wrongly, but where he goes, "Did I ever tell you the 723 00:38:50,140 --> 00:38:52,900 story of the old empty barn...?" 724 00:38:54,380 --> 00:38:58,820 The story of the old empty barn. 725 00:39:01,380 --> 00:39:02,940 Well... 726 00:39:04,820 --> 00:39:07,140 "..there was nothing in it." It's just... 727 00:39:08,820 --> 00:39:11,780 I don't know why, it just tickled me at the time. 728 00:39:12,020 --> 00:39:14,220 Report to the church hall at six o'clock. 729 00:39:14,420 --> 00:39:17,020 And here's another reason why we love Dad's Army. 730 00:39:17,180 --> 00:39:19,020 There's a lot of it to love - 731 00:39:19,180 --> 00:39:20,700 80 episodes, 732 00:39:20,940 --> 00:39:24,020 a rare feat in British television history. 733 00:39:24,260 --> 00:39:26,420 It's a huge achievement that Perry and Croft kept up that 734 00:39:26,580 --> 00:39:29,660 quality over all that time. 735 00:39:29,940 --> 00:39:34,500 I think it just comes from them knowing those characters so well. 736 00:39:36,620 --> 00:39:40,780 You know, Wilson, over the years that I've come to know the members 737 00:39:40,980 --> 00:39:44,780 of this platoon, I've grown quite fond of them. 738 00:39:46,420 --> 00:39:50,820 But I can't help feeling sometimes that I'm in charge of a bunch of idiots. 739 00:39:51,020 --> 00:39:53,060 If you make something rock solid, 740 00:39:53,340 --> 00:39:57,140 which has real soul and meaning and incredibly well-acted and 741 00:39:57,380 --> 00:40:00,460 just hilarious, people will always like it, you know? 742 00:40:00,700 --> 00:40:06,340 Some of the most precious times I spent with my dad were watching 743 00:40:06,620 --> 00:40:12,420 an episode of Dad's Army together, and this was when he was 90, 91, 92. 744 00:40:12,660 --> 00:40:17,220 And him just smiling and appreciating and you can stand back 745 00:40:17,460 --> 00:40:19,780 and you just think, "Isn't this wonderful?" 746 00:40:20,020 --> 00:40:22,700 And there's not many shows that can do that. 747 00:40:22,860 --> 00:40:25,860 Mr Mainwaring? Mm. 748 00:40:26,100 --> 00:40:28,300 Warden wasn't right, was he, when he said the Nazis would walk 749 00:40:28,460 --> 00:40:29,460 straight through us? 750 00:40:29,620 --> 00:40:31,780 Of course he wasn't right. 751 00:40:32,020 --> 00:40:35,020 I know one thing, they're not walking straight through me. 752 00:40:35,140 --> 00:40:36,940 Nor me. 753 00:40:37,140 --> 00:40:38,420 I'll be beside you, Jonesy. 754 00:40:38,580 --> 00:40:41,020 We'll all be beside you, Jonesy. 755 00:40:41,260 --> 00:40:43,940 We'll stick together, you can rely on that. 756 00:40:44,180 --> 00:40:46,340 Anybody who tries to take our homes or our freedom away from us, 757 00:40:46,540 --> 00:40:48,220 they'll find out what we can do. 758 00:40:48,380 --> 00:40:49,420 We'll fight. 759 00:40:49,700 --> 00:40:52,380 There's a brilliant moment at the end where they all raise 760 00:40:52,620 --> 00:40:57,220 their tin mugs and they propose a toast to the Home Guard. 761 00:40:57,380 --> 00:40:58,260 And we're not alone. 762 00:40:58,540 --> 00:41:00,100 There are thousands of us all over England. 763 00:41:00,300 --> 00:41:02,020 And Scotland. And Scotland. 764 00:41:03,580 --> 00:41:06,740 All over Great Britain, in fact. Men who'll stand together when their country needs them. 765 00:41:06,980 --> 00:41:09,860 Excuse me, sir, don't you think it might be a nice idea if we 766 00:41:10,020 --> 00:41:13,060 were to pay our tribute to them? 767 00:41:13,260 --> 00:41:16,220 For once, Wilson, I agree with you. 768 00:41:16,380 --> 00:41:18,220 To Britain's Home Guard. 769 00:41:20,300 --> 00:41:23,100 ALL: To Britain's Home Guard. 770 00:41:23,340 --> 00:41:26,940 That seems just perfect and extraordinary and brilliant 771 00:41:27,180 --> 00:41:32,060 and really moving as a definition of what this thing was. 772 00:41:32,340 --> 00:41:36,140 The relationships have a kind of timeless quality about them 773 00:41:36,420 --> 00:41:42,300 and a sort of timeless observation of what it is to be British. 774 00:41:42,980 --> 00:41:46,820 And what I hope we'll continue to preserve is that sense of, 775 00:41:47,020 --> 00:41:48,860 you know, being together, 776 00:41:49,020 --> 00:41:50,700 of having things in common, 777 00:41:50,940 --> 00:41:55,660 of keeping perspective and knowing what's important in life 778 00:41:55,940 --> 00:42:00,300 that makes that show a show that I hope will go on forever. 779 00:42:02,580 --> 00:42:07,420 But remember, men, we have one invaluable weapon on our side. 780 00:42:07,700 --> 00:42:09,940 We have an unbreakable spirit to win. 781 00:42:11,060 --> 00:42:14,860 A bulldog tenacity that will help us to hang on while there's 782 00:42:15,020 --> 00:42:16,700 breath left in our bodies. 783 00:42:16,940 --> 00:42:20,220 You don't get that with Gestapos and jackboots. 784 00:42:20,380 --> 00:42:22,540 You get that by being British. 785 00:42:23,780 --> 00:42:26,780 So, come on, Adolf! We're ready for you. 786 00:42:26,940 --> 00:42:28,780 ALL: Hooray! 787 00:42:28,940 --> 00:42:30,180 Well, that's about it. 788 00:42:30,420 --> 00:42:32,740 It's been my huge pleasure to explore the story of 789 00:42:32,980 --> 00:42:36,300 Dad's Army and to hear from so many people involved in the 790 00:42:36,540 --> 00:42:39,460 making of this magical piece of television history. 791 00:42:39,700 --> 00:42:42,180 But, let's be honest, you don't want to hear all that from me. 792 00:42:42,340 --> 00:42:43,860 You want to see this. 793 00:42:44,020 --> 00:42:47,140 I am making notes, Captain, 794 00:42:47,300 --> 00:42:51,620 and your name will go on the list. 795 00:42:51,900 --> 00:42:54,460 And when we win the war, you will be brought to account. 796 00:42:54,700 --> 00:42:57,220 You write what you like. You're not going to win this war. 797 00:42:57,580 --> 00:43:00,060 Oh, yes, we are. Oh, no, you're not. Oh, yes, we are. 798 00:43:01,460 --> 00:43:02,860 # Whistle while you work 799 00:43:03,020 --> 00:43:04,620 # Hitler is a twerp 800 00:43:04,820 --> 00:43:07,060 # He's half barmy, so's his army 801 00:43:07,220 --> 00:43:08,380 # Whistle while you... # 802 00:43:08,580 --> 00:43:11,420 Your name will also go on the list. 803 00:43:11,580 --> 00:43:12,860 What is it? 804 00:43:13,020 --> 00:43:14,180 Don't tell him, Pike! 805 00:43:14,380 --> 00:43:15,220 Pike.