Dad's Army is one of Britain's most beloved sitcoms.
The Germans are coming! Don't panic! The Germans are coming!
The iconic, energetically delivered catchphrases alone have become part of the national lexicon.
Stupid boy! They don't like it up 'em! We're doomed!
Doomed I am, doomed!
Yes, we love Dad's Army!
The thing that we loved about it was it was just always, always funny.
SHE LAUGHS Just...just funny.
It's the character, it's the writing. Those are the things that have given it its longevity.
In fact, we've always loved it.
It's still shown every day on the telly somewhere.
Even my daughter who's 13 finds it hilarious.
Yes, Dad's Army's often raucous comedy
simply transcends age.
Over the next 90 minutes, we'll discover the surprisingly low-key starting point.
No... Nobody was laughing.
Reveal what the cast were really like when the cameras stopped rolling.
Arthur the person was as patriotic as Mainwaring the character.
Please, do you mind? "Mr Lowe."
Reminisce about the times before health and safety.
You'd wonder whether they'd sit down and go, "What can we get Clive to do this week?
"What absurd thing can we persuade him to do?
"And he'll say yes, won't he?"
Enjoy some rare behind-the-scenes archive.
Well, happy birthday, young man.
And hear the memories of the youngest member of the troupe
in an exclusive audio interview.
Schweinhund!
'Those were my director's notes.
'"You've got carte blanche. Do what you want."'
As we discover exactly why we love Dad's Army.
This is in many ways the perfect situation for comedy to happen in.
Still after all these years, it's probably one of the best British sitcoms ever made.
LAUGHTER
All right, settle down, everyone.
I love Dad's Army now because I'm nostalgic
for that period when I was a kid growing up
and watching that show which was such a huge part of family life.
There was something amazingly funny in the series, but also something very charming about it.
Godfrey, pick 'em up, pick 'em up!
I'm afraid they won't go any higher.
Written by the legendary combination of David Croft and Jimmy Perry,
Dad's Army has been gracing our screens since 1968.
I can't get enough of it. I'm amazed that there are 80 episodes
and 80 episodes are just amazing.
I think it's so popular because, A, it's clean and, B,
people love seeing men in authority making fools of themselves.
I shouldn't go too far that way, Mr Mainwaring. There's a great big...
Led by the pompous Captain Mainwaring and his urbane number two Sergeant Wilson,
the platoon also featured Corporal Jones
and Privates Walker, Godfrey, Frazer and Pike
who inspired perhaps the show's most famous moment.
This is still one of the best lines in any sitcom ever.
It's just an amazingly funny moment because it really highlights what's wrong in their leadership.
Write what you like. You're not gonna win this war. Oh, yes, we are.
Oh, no, you're not. Oh, yes, we are!
# Whistle while you work
# Hitler is a twerp
# He's half barmy, so's his army Whistle while you... #
Your name will also go on the list.
What is it?
Don't tell him, Pike! Pike, thank you.
'So, yes, I am at the top of those steps
'and the only way I can stop from laughing
'is to bite the inside of my cheek.
'We finished the scene and I climbed down and gestured to the make-up girl.
'She comes over and I said, "Can I have a tissue, please?"
'And I spat out the blood from the inside... It was the only way I could not laugh on the shot.
'We didn't know it was gonna be like that, but we just knew it was a great line.'
HE LAUGHS It's funny every time.
It tells you everything you need to know about that man,
those people, that situation, all in...in three words.
Four words.
The real Home Guard,
originally the Local Defence Volunteers, or LDV,
began life in 1940 with an announcement
by the Secretary of State for War, Anthony Eden.
'We want large numbers of men between the ages of 17 and 65.'
Actor, writer and theatre manager Jimmy Perry served in the Home Guard as a young man
and it was these experiences that later inspired what became Dad's Army.
I wrote this script and I called it The Fighting Tigers.
And then I was working for David Croft.
And he said, "What a great idea! Let's work on it together."
And the rest is history.
# Who do you think... #
Our love for the show starts at the very beginning
with these iconic opening titles.
I think that's probably the most watched historical representation
of the start of the Second World War that anyone has ever seen.
It's really, really amazing and very, very powerful imagery.
At its peak, 18 million people were singing along to Jimmy Perry's catchy theme tune,
but Dad's Army did not take off straight away.
The very first episode,
um...I remember Bill Pertwee did the warm-up
and he was brilliant. The audience were falling about laughing.
He was a superb warm-up artist.
And I thought, "Oh, lovely, lively audience. Marvellous."
And we got cracking and there was dead silence.
There's certainly an uncomfortably echoey feel
to this early exchange.
Yes, Miss King? It's Anthony Eden, sir. In person?
On the wireless. They say it's very important.
And when I wasn't in a scene, sort of peering behind the flats,
nobody was laughing.
No... Nobody was laughing.
And it was such a disappointment.
And we thought we'd flopped and everyone was very subdued going up to the bar afterwards.
Underwhelming. I think we felt underwhelmed.
The less than spectacular response appeared to confirm concerns about the subject matter.
What did the higher-ups think of the series when you first broached it
or indeed when you'd had the first series?
It didn't take off straight away.
There was the thought that perhaps we were taking the mickey
out of England's finest hour, so they weren't all that keen.
It was the same when you started, wasn't it? Yeah. What?
You see, a lot of people took the Home Guard very, very seriously. It was a serious thing.
It seemed a silly idea, really. I was in the Home Guard
and nothing was so inexpressibly boring as being in the Home Guard.
I couldn't see how you could entertain people.
In the late '60s when they made Dad's Army, it wasn't a far-distant event. It had just happened.
The effects were still very much present in British society.
You had bits of London that were still bombed out,
so to go back and have a laugh about it, that's edgy.
Yet Dad's Army never hid from the genuine difficulties the Home Guard faced.
From the start, authenticity was key.
I researched very fully and made sure
that everything that was on the screen
as far as I had been concerned in it was the real thing.
All Home Guard, when they first started out, had no weapons at all.
So, you know, they would have spears on the end of broomsticks.
It was historically very accurate, particularly those early episodes when they haven't got uniforms,
they haven't got weapons and you're in suits, bowler hats
and a broomstick for a weapon.
Very sweet.
What's that supposed to be, boy? You said, "If you haven't got anything else,
"tie a carving knife to a broom handle."
I didn't say keep the brush on the end of it, you stupid boy!
You should've said! I don't want any insubordination.
Take this man's name. What's your name, lad?
You should know by now. You've been a friend of my mum's since before I was born.
When it started, my father was in the Home Guard,
and he loved it because it was all so real.
He had a broom with a knife tied to it too as a weapon.
I remember my dad absolutely loving it
because it brought back so many memories for him and my mum.
I've seen photographs of them with sharpened sticks and, like, hoes.
And garden forks! Make do and mend, you know?
Croft and Perry loved to imagine their accident-prone platoon
learning the same field skills as the real Home Guard.
Countryside camouflage was a particular favourite.
At the double, line up for your short briefs!
I did it in basic training and I do remember it
because we used to literally get the trees and the branches
and stick 'em in all bits of us.
And this genuine river crossing exercise is not quite emulated
by the troupe as Clive Dunn expertly builds tension
towards the gloriously inevitable pay-off.
Don't look down. Eh?
Don't look...dow-ow...
Aagh!
'The simple idea of Dad's Army, of laughing at the LDV...'
I told you not to look at my feet!
It's funny cos it's true.
After the break, we look at the internal squabbles of the officer class.
I think it's time I... LAUGHTER
That wonderful war between the petty-bourgeois man
and the man who has really got some style and class.
And we get the lowdown on Mainwaring's struggles with the scripts.
He did become quite well known for not knowing his lines.
One day he came in and he didn't know the words terribly well, did he, in one episode.
And David said... Only one episode?
Welcome back to We Love Dad's Army.
Look me straight in the eyes, Wilson. Right, sir. Look out!
Perhaps the key to why we love Dad's Army
is how much we enjoy watching the deliciously fractious partnership
between the two officers charged with leading this ragtag platoon.
The relationship between Mainwaring and Wilson is fascinating
and it's kind of like a marriage.
I think it's time I took charge here.
You've got Mainwaring who needs everyone to see him as being the person in charge,
but ultimately he's the one who needs all the help.
And Wilson is this kind of casual, relaxed character
which you would have to be to put up with this blustering nincompoop.
Wilson is rather louche and public school
and Mainwaring is very much not. The thing is that Wilson couldn't care less about it.
I think in one episode he says to him, "I think you've got a chip on your shoulder."
I should've known not to trust that smarmy Captain Stewart.
You can't blame him, sir. He's got a job to do.
Oh, you'll stick up for him, won't you?
You both went to public schools, didn't you?
I can't help feeling, sir, you've got a little bit of a chip on your shoulder about that.
There's no chip on my shoulder. I tell you what is on my shoulder. Three pips and don't you forget it!
The whole contrast between...
The whole class system, if you like, is laid bare there.
It's that wonderful class war between the petty-bourgeois man
and the man who has really got some style and class to him.
I think that's what's given it its longevity
because I think that's as relevant today as it was then.
Where have you been? I went up to the golf club
and had a bite to eat up there. The golf club? Yes.
Who took you? Well, I'm a member.
You're a member? Since when?
Well, you see, when the committee heard about this title thing,
they asked me if I would, you know, like to join.
I've been trying for years to get in there.
I believe they're awfully particular.
The brilliant thing about the relationship
between Wilson and Mainwaring is Mainwaring's the captain,
Wilson's the sergeant and it should be the other way round.
In all the military history you ever read,
it's the sergeants who know what's going on and the captains who give the orders.
Croft and Perry knew that and they're using the comedy to illustrate that idea.
Most of the junior ranks will listen to the sergeant, definitely,
so you can see the interaction there between Wilson and Mainwaring
because whereas Mainwaring's the captain
and should be kind of the one that's leading everything,
it's always gonna be the sergeant that takes over.
"Do you really think that's wise, sir?"
John Le Mesurier as Wilson,
I mean, it just says it all.
He's not really asking the question.
He's telling him, "That's not wise."
I'll go through first. I won't ask my men to do anything I can't do.
Do you think that's wise, sir? Wilson...
just get the rest of the platoon ready to come through. All right, sir, yeah.
He never actually calls him a fool. He just asks him if he's a fool over and over again. It's brilliant.
They may have been at loggerheads on screen,
but off screen, despite press rumours at the time,
the reality was quite different.
John Le Mes and Arthur got on terribly well
with each other and they were good friends.
And even on screen, underneath the bickering,
sometimes we would catch glimpses of mutual respect,
even friendship between them.
I mean, although Wilson does snipe rather cleverly at Mainwaring,
there are wonderful scenes of camaraderie between them,
particularly the scene when they're trapped in the bank with the bomb.
I don't think I can stand very much more of this.
Oh, come on, Wilson. Cheer up.
It's a lovely warmth between them and just such a wonderful pair of character actors working together.
I'm reminded of the tale of the Australian soldier.
He arrived up at the front and was met by a British officer
who said, "Ah, my man, have you come to die?"
And he said, "No, sir.
"I came 'yester-die'."
It's a play on the words, you see,
on the pronunciation of the word "die". Yes.
Do you get it? WILSON CHUCKLES
Yes, I do get it, yes. Yeah.
The two of them were like old-fashioned,
film star double acts.
They were like Laurel and Hardy.
I mean, they were incredible.
But that partnership almost didn't happen.
Arthur Lowe had made his name on ITV as Leonard Swindley in Coronation Street.
I haven't made the tea yet.
I thought perhaps we ought to wait until Mr Fairclough arrived.
Yes. Let's hope he'll forgive the absence of anything stronger.
And Jimmy Perry had trouble convincing BBC Head of Comedy Michael Mills
that Lowe should be their Mainwaring.
When I suggested Arthur Lowe,
he said, "Arthur Lowe?"
This is the BBC 30 years ago.
"We don't know him, do we?
"I mean, he doesn't work for us, does he?
"Isn't he up north with that Granada thing in a back street somewhere?" "Yes."
I think from the first script I read of Dad's Army, it was obvious
that it was going to be good
and that one could make something from the character
without trying very hard, really, because it was there, it was self-explanatory.
I think to a certain extent he became the character. He really did.
You could see Mainwaring in him even at home sometimes.
It's said that Mainwaring felt that whoever held Walmington-on-Sea held England.
And that would be Arthur...
That would be Arthur to a T.
Are you anything like your character in Dad's Army, Captain Mainwaring?
Oh, no, no, no. No, certainly not.
I'm always being asked this question and the answer's definitely no.
Captain Mainwaring's a very pompous man, you know. There's nothing pompous about me.
That's very interesting, Arthur.
Please, do you mind? "Mr Lowe."
LAUGHTER
Arthur Lowe is one of the most underrated actors, I think, in the history of British television.
Oh, Mr Plinge! Where?
You. Oh, yes, so I am.
If you analyse how he played Mainwaring, it is sheer perfection.
He said so much with his face, just gestures with his face, just an expression,
just a fleeting thing.
What?
I'll have a double Scotch, please. 'He lived and breathed Mainwaring.'
Even if he doesn't speak, you just couldn't imagine anyone else doing it. Perfect casting.
And there are wonderful scenes, the scene with the wig,
trying to get the wig on because he's worried about being too old.
If you don't act those scenes well, they're just silly and slapstick
and to get away with that is brilliant.
At the end of the day, there's something wonderful about dead hair sat on top of a bald head.
But it's great, it's great
because Arthur Lowe is a master of playing it straight,
an absolute god at playing it completely straight.
What do you think of this?
Oh, it's awful.
What?
No, no, no, it's awfully good. Awfully good.
Dear, oh dear. LAUGHS LOUDLY
Dear, oh dear, oh dear. LAUGHS LOUDLY
LAUGHTER GETS LOUDER
Watch it, Wilson.
You might snap your girdle.
That whole scene, you never see him crack at all.
He wrote books and lyrics,
as well as production numbers with Cyril Ornadel...
LAUGHTER
I wish I'd read this before I came.
LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
The thing about Arthur, he did a great deal of other work as well
and he would really focus on Dad's Army
on the day that Dad's Army was in the studio.
And he did become quite well known for not knowing his lines.
One day he came in and he didn't know the words terribly well
in one episode and David said... Only one episode?
LAUGHTER
David Croft said, "Now take the script home and learn it.
"Don't put it in the desk. Take it home and learn it."
He said, "Certainly not. I'm not having rubbish like that in my house."
LAUGHTER
That was what it was like.
He came home and he was at home.
I mean, I have ridden in taxis with Arthur
where I've been asked not to speak because he's been reading the script,
possibly for the first time, in the taxi.
He was actually a very quick study.
I mean, the reason he didn't know his lines would be because he hadn't looked at them.
Now to an actor without whom no history
of post-war British cinema would be complete.
It would be quicker, in fact, to list the films he hasn't been in than to list the ones he has.
Ladies and gentlemen, John Le Mesurier.
Like Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier was a familiar face to British audiences before Dad's Army,
appearing in dozens of films and acting with comic legends such as Peter Sellers and Tony Hancock.
And just as Lowe resembled Mainwaring, Le Mesurier mirrored Sergeant Wilson.
In fact, he should have won an Oscar for being vague,
but he made quite a good life for himself
by having other people look after him.
I mean, he didn't even like driving.
Once he got sort of fed up with it,
he just left his car underneath Wandsworth's flyover and walked away.
I was fascinated watching them work.
John Le Mesurier was so casual,
very laid-back. He was always first at the rehearsal room, sitting quietly in the corner.
The thing about Wilson is, because he's so laissez-faire and louche
and, you know, it really doesn't matter, sort of rather languid about things,
he could be fantastically irritating because of that, but he's not.
We really like him just because he's a real character.
Wilson's laid-back nature perhaps reached its zenith when he refused to be caught up
in a spot of role play with Fulton Mackay's Captain Ramsey.
Right, right, right! BLOWS WHISTLE LOUDLY
Now I'm a Gestapo officer.
Now, you, Sergeant... Hmm, yes? What are you doing in France?
Well, I'm not in France. Oh, yes, you are.
You dropped by parachute, I captured you and now I'm interrogating you.
Oh, I see. Oh, bonjour. What do you want to know?
You're not supposed to tell me anything!
Now, what are you doing in France?
I don't know. You were trying to blow up a munitions factory.
All right, I was trying to blow up a munitions factory.
So, you admit it. Oh, really, this is too absurd.
Right, I'll show you how absurd it is!
I'm putting matches underneath your fingernails.
I'm setting light to them.
They're burning down. Now they've reached your fingers.
You're in agony.
How do you like that?
Well, to be absolutely honest,
it isn't really bothering me very much.
He was born to play Sergeant Wilson,
I mean, at all times reading 9.8 on the meter.
So, how do you occupy yourself when you're not actually acting?
I don't know. I just sit about and play music and stare out of the window from time to time.
People say to me, "What's the matter, John? You're not upset or worried or anything?"
And I often find myself saying, "Well, no, I'm not at all. I'm all right, you know, OK."
I'm not one of... People have... You can't help the way your face is built, can you, really?
He was such a lovely man.
I felt so sorry for him. He was, um...
He'd had such unhappy marriages, hadn't he?
I knew of him through my landlady Peggy Ann who was a great friend of Hattie Jacques, one of his wives.
Another very important event in your life, Hattie. In that same year,
on November the 10th, 1950, to be precise,
you married well-known actor John Le Mesurier.
I worked with his wife Hattie Jacques
and at the time, I had no idea of the menage a trois which was going on in their home
and the fact that poor John had to live in the attic upstairs
whilst Hattie was frolicking downstairs with a much younger man.
By the time Dad's Army started, John had married third wife Joan,
but that relationship too was rocked
when she had an affair with John's best friend Tony Hancock.
He was strong in a way as well.
He was, he was, you know, he was...
..very understanding of what was going on,
but thank God he was working too at the time.
He just had an air of tragedy about him
and everybody would rush round looking after him,
make-up girls powdering him down.
He'd call everyone "dear lady". "Oh, thank you, dear lady. Thank you."
He was a charming man, I mean, especially to the ladies.
Like Casanova.
He was just a gentleman.
Kind of suave, sophisticated
and just the way he walked.
He walked so slowly and so elegantly.
In the episode where he was dressed as a horse and...
And yet he was the most elegant horse in the world.
Wilson! Yes, sir? Office. Right.
Do you want me to walk or gallop?
Just come in the office, will you?
Oh, I loved him. I wish I could have met him.
I wish I could have married him. Anyway, that's another story.
Coming up... What do you want?
We look at the rest of the magnificent seven. They're just perfectly crafted.
The relationships are so well drawn.
Godfrey!
And find out the surprising truth behind a Private Godfrey catchphrase.
David and Jimmy were very good
and that's why they kept writing all these parts, "Can I be excused?"
So that he would have time to rest and go to the loo.
Welcome back to We Love Dad's Army.
Right turn!
One outstanding element of this treasured sitcom was the tremendous ensemble cast.
All of the characters, I think, are wonderfully done,
even if some are slightly broader or more pantomimey than the others.
Still there's something sweet and human about the way they all interact.
And they became sort of national icons.
"The magnificent seven," Croft used to call them. And they were.
This seldom seen archive from the cine camera of Frank Williams,
who played Dad's Army vicar Timothy Farthing,
captures the ensemble in unguarded moments.
That's right, open the champagne.
Of course, you're overacting. You're overacting, Bill.
The whole cast had decades of experience behind them, except one.
Ian, of course, he's doing the Times crossword, as he does. Yes, Ian.
I liked Pike just because he was sort of a younger character,
a little bit cheeky.
You stupid boy!
And when a 22-year-old Ian Lavender landed the part,
his agent Ann had a small confession to make.
She took me out for lunch and said, "I've got something to tell you."
"What?" She said, "David Croft." "Yes?" "He's my husband."
She said, "You got the interview because I'm married to him.
"You got the job because he wants you."
"Oh, yeah, fine." She said, "All right then, don't believe me.
"But believe this. He can always write you out."
IAN LAUGHS
So, I can honestly say my agent was sleeping with the director.
Ian was lovely. I got on very well with Ian. We were the youngest.
I used to pick him up on the way to rehearsals at Hammersmith Broadway, a little second-hand Mini.
You couldn't park there now, could you?
I used to pull in, wait for him coming out of the Tube. Gosh!
He was of the age, Pike, that I sort of vaguely fancied him,
but he was such a sort of hilarious mummy's boy with so many ailments and things
that you couldn't quite. It was really hilarious.
Pike!
You must not wear a coloured scarf with your uniform.
How many times do I have to tell you? Take that off at once.
My mum says I mustn't take it off. I get croup.
Croup?
Chickens get that, don't they?
Yes, that's right.
He's also there, I think, to entertain the idea
that some people do think war is a great big adventure.
He sees the war through the prism of films and baddies and good guys
and for him, the guns are a prop.
I think that's such a key element to the sweetness of Dad's Army.
Ian was a very, very bright fellow,
so he could turn his part to any sort of character acting that there was.
The fantastic scene with him and John Le Mesurier, Wilson,
when they were dressed as Germans, German officers,
was absolutely genius.
'The instructions from my director when I went...
'"What do you want me to do with this, David?"
'He just looked at me and said, "Do anything you want.
'"You've got carte blanche."'
Schweinhund!
So...
we are the masters now, eh?
You have just five seconds to tell us your plans
or else it is...kaput!
I like being an officer, don't you, Uncle Arthur?
Pike's "uncle" Arthur was in a semi-clandestine relationship
with Pike's mum Mavis,
leaving some to wonder if he was more than just an "uncle"?
Uncle Arthur, his uncle Arthur.
But is he Pike's uncle Arthur, is he Pike's father
or what is the relationship between Uncle Arthur and Mrs Pike?
I think you're a proud father.
I don't quite follow you. Your son becoming an officer.
'There is one episode where it's alluded to,
'the fact that Wilson and Pike could be father and son.'
He's not my son, you see.
Because they were touching their face at exactly the same time.
There were exactly the same mannerisms that were going on
and it made you think, "Oh, I wonder?"
What size does the young man take? What size?
What size, hmm? What? Nines.
Nine. Nine, right.
'My character thought he was my uncle,
'so that's all I needed to know.
'We'd finished the last recording ever
'and as we were leaving the studio,
'I said to David, "David, I've got to ask you one thing.
'"Is Sergeant Wilson my father?"
'He just looked at me and said, "Of course he is."'
IAN LAUGHS
And that was it!
Mr Laurie, please, Mr Laurie. What do you want?
Private Frazer, the doubting Thomas of the troupe,
was played by John Laurie, a highly respected actor of stage and screen.
Doomed I am, doomed to be surrounded by idiots.
Bugger off!
Frazer's brilliant cos I remember seeing him in The 39 Steps.
He's got that kind of, you know...
He's got a great... He's a master of the grimace and the...
Go in with the gentleman.
He'll stay with us till tomorrow morning.
Your daughter?
My wife.
Clearly, a proper actor, you know.
Not like one of us comedy actors. A proper one.
Before I was 30, I was playing Hamlet at Stratford-on-Avon.
Also Othello, King Lear, Richard III.
I played all the parts in Shakespeare
that anybody could want to play.
Croft and Perry obviously thought they needed people who could do super-serious
and that that would be funny. That's what they do with Frazer. It's so funny, it's brilliant.
What's amiss? Can we come in and talk to you for a minute?
WIND WHISTLES
I'm sorry about the candles.
My blinds are a bit thin for the glare of the gas light.
I like candles. They're...they're more romantic.
I think John Laurie was very much like Frazer
and I think he could have his moments where he could be maybe a little difficult.
It was just a lousy part. I realised that, but I was out of work
and actors will take anything.
I'm here, look. LAUGHTER
Jimmy would write that into the scene
and have Frazer shouting the odds,
and then going into these long monologues which, of course, used his natural theatrical talent.
The great thing, as soon as Frazer speaks, everybody falls silent cos he can hold the room.
He's good. He's a great performer like that.
Captain Mainwaring...
Did...did you ever hear the story of the old, empty barn?
No.
Would you like to hear the story of the old, empty barn?
Well, yes.
You're drawn in. What's he gonna say? Where's this story going to lead us?
Is he going to frighten the life out of all of us? He commands us, he hypnotises us.
The story of the old...empty barn.
Well...
..there was nothing in it.
"There was nothing in it." "There was nothing in it."
Next to Frazer was Private Walker, a role Jimmy Perry originally wrote for himself,
but that was eventually taken by James Beck.
I always loved Walker. Walker was such a lovely character.
I think I partly loved him because I was a big Roxy Music fan
and Bryan Ferry went through a phase of having slick black hair and a moustache.
Maybe Bryan Ferry was a big Dad's Army fan. Maybe that was his tribute to Walker.
# I'm in with the "in" crowd
# I go where the "in" crowd... #
James Beck pulls off a remarkable performance, I think, with Walker
because he's such an iconic wartime character,
the way he dresses, the sort of zoot suits and the jaunty cap
and the cigarette and the little spiv moustache,
the ducking and diving, bribing people, helping the platoon out.
So, he's taking a lot of cultural images that everybody still remembered in the '60s.
Good evening, gents. Oh, and lady.
Now then, I've got ten minutes before the parade begins,
so I've got a few essential items here that are in short supply.
Come over here. I've got some hair grips, some chocolate biscuits.
Oh, and some elastic. Oh! What about that? How much?
Five bob a yard. Five bob a yard.
Not bad, is it? You can't get it anywhere.
It's so long since it's been in the shops, some of you ladies must have been getting a bit desperate.
You couldn't help but like Walker because he always came up trumps,
he always came up with some great ideas on what to do.
The interesting thing about Dad's Army is that Private Walker's in there saying,
"Come on, let's be honest now. There was a black market."
It's all part of actually kind of how, if you want, edgy, but honest...
The programme's being honest. There's comedy in honesty.
Mainwaring would be sort of very sneery as to what he was doing,
but was not averse to taking the ill-gotten black market goods.
I just wanted to have a word with Captain Mainwaring. All right.
Psst, oi! Hmm? I've got your cheese.
You've got what? I've got your cheese! Oh, yes.
A pound of Cheddar. It isn't for me, of course. No, of course not.
You know I don't approve of that sort of thing. In that case, I'll take it away. No, no, leaveit.
Almost the polar opposite of street-wise Walker...
Godfrey, come along, quick as you can! For heaven's sake!
..was the oldest member of the platoon, Private Godfrey,
played by Arnold Ridley.
Could you halt right there, please?
Arnold Ridley, actor and playwright,
tonight, this is your life!
And smile, please!
I kind of liked Godfrey because he was just sort of dithering.
You just kind of think, "How are you in the army?"
It's that kind of thing. "How are you going to protect us?"
I really used to look forward to seeing Godfrey pipe up
which was maybe only two or three times an episode,
but he was such a reassuring presence and it was always so funny and always so sweet.
Mainwaring was quite tough on him, really, cos he was such a gentle soul. "Godfrey, sort that out."
You know, it was all very... I always sort of felt really sorry for him.
Godfrey? Where's Godfrey?
Godfrey!
Did someone call?
I'm terribly sorry, sir. I...I must have dozed off.
Dozed off?
We're guarding a dangerous bunch of cut-throats and you doze off?
I want you to watch them like a hawk. You understand? Like a hawk!
When casting, David Croft's one concern was whether 72-year-old Ridley,
a distinguished veteran of both world wars,
could manage the rigours of a regular filming schedule.
He said, "My only worry about it is I don't know whether you'll be able to stand up to it.
"It's not very serious." I said, "I think I'm as fit as anyone of 72."
He said, "I'll let you know in two or three days' time."
I didn't realise what really was at stake.
I didn't realise I'd got eight years' work ahead of me.
I thought it was about eight weeks at the most.
He just loved being there, Arnold, being part of it. David and Jimmy were very good.
They didn't give him anything that was too strenuous.
And that's why they kept writing all these parts, "Can I be excused?"
So that he would have time to rest and go to the loo.
What is it, Godfrey? Do you think I might be excused?
Certainly not.
We were an awfully long time in that boat, sir.
You should have taken advantage of it, shouldn't you?
Arnold was very kind, very gentle, but strong,
much, much stronger than the part he played.
And he and Clive Dunn used to tell the filthiest jokes
and I was only 22.
I was shocked that this lovely, sweet old boy, you know,
and out would come all these very naughty jokes.
HUMS "DAD'S ARMY" THEME TUNE
I stand right behind Arnold and he goes...
HUMS THEME TUNE
And I know exactly what he's thinking.
It's ten past ten and the pubs are still open.
After the break, the incomparable Clive Dunn.
Clive Dunn really put his neck on the line for the show.
And a story from the days before health and safety kicked in.
There was this panic going on as they realised
that actually Dad for some reason was still out,
quite a way out in a boat on his own.
Welcome back to We Love Dad's Army.
BLOWS BUGLE LOUDLY
What are you blowing that for? They don't work if you suck 'em.
Clive Dunn as Jones, of course, the most iconic character, I think, in the show,
certainly the one that everybody had an impression of at school.
It seemed to be almost as if he was the oldest, yet he wasn't,
because at the time,
Clive Dunn the actor was under 50 years of age.
# I've been sitting here all day, thinking... #
In 1971, Clive Dunn topped the charts with Grandad.
Aged just 51 at the time,
he had already been charming viewers with his convincing portrayal
of a slightly decrepit old man for three years.
# Memories linger on
# Thoughts of when I was a boy... #
He seemed to have carved a career playing these old men. He'd done it before.
But in real life, he was very suave, elegant,
with a suede jacket and beautiful shirts and trousers.
When I first joined, he had to have a lot of make-up
to make him look like Jones.
But as the time went by, Make-up used to laugh and they'd say,
"We need less and less make-up with him because, you know, he's growing into the part."
That again was brilliant casting because it meant, as an old man,
he could do all those wonderful, wonderful stunts.
He could actually be the clown of the group.
And, boy, Croft and Perry used that to great effect!
Take it easy, Jones. Yeah, all right, sir.
I'm nearly... I'm nearly there, sir.
I'm nearly over. I'm nearly there, sir.
Yes, all right, sir. I'm nearly there, sir.
Clive Dunn really put his neck on the line for the show.
You'd wonder whether they'd sit down and go,
"What can we get Clive to do this week?
"What absurd thing can we persuade him to do and he'll say yes, won't he?"
"I'll be the one who wants to be shot, Mr Mainwaring." He'll do all of that. He'll do anything.
There was no situation Jonesy couldn't turn into a moment
of laugh-out-loud, slapstick comedy.
Mr Mainwaring! Mr Mainwaring!
It's where the comedy is at its broadest, really, and that's perhaps why, as a kid, I loved it.
That's once again a masterstroke, the reason why it was so popular with all ages.
Initially, though, Dunn wasn't sure about taking the role
and it almost went to a young David Jason.
Did you say yes to that part immediately?
Oh, no, I didn't say yes. Yeah.
To be honest, I'd just been in a show that I wasn't very good in
and I thought, "I don't wanna go in another show I'm not very good in."
Jimmy Perry based Jones on a character from his days in the Home Guard
and gave him the privileged position of the town's butcher.
The thing I like about the relationship between Jones and Mainwaring is, um, you know,
he's completely at his beck and call, a military man through and through,
but then every now and then,
there's a little threat of Mainwaring not getting his ration of meat that week
when Corporal Jones isn't getting what he wanted.
Oh, sir. Yes? There's, um...
There's a couple of pounds of steak there, sir.
Compliments of the house.
Oh! Yes, sir.
By the way, sir, what about my stripe? Your stripe?
I was a Lance-Corporal for 14 years. Can I keep it?
No, Jones, I'm afraid you can't. In that case, I'll keep the steak.
I loved that about him. I loved that steely quality
about him being prepared to use his valued position as butcher in the village to get what he wants.
Jones's butcher's van became a vital tool for the platoon throughout the series.
# We're on a road to nowhere... #
Here is my van. Here we are.
I'm afraid we don't have a Jonesy in it.
This rare footage sees the cast taking the van for a spin
on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally.
Well, I think Clive was quite nervous about driving it.
It wasn't the easiest vehicle in the world, being so old,
with a very strange steering wheel,
so it took him a while, but he got used to it.
You must be very proud of Corporal Jones. What a superb job at the wheel!
A marvellous job, a marvellous job indeed. I think it was excellent.
And how did she behave? Oh, she behaved very well, sir.
Rather a lot of steam came out. Yeah, I noticed.
We formed our own smokescreen, so that nobody could see us as we came through, sir.
But the legendary van hadn't always been in such great shape.
The prop buyer and myself looked around for quite some time until we found a garage
that had something suitable.
It was in a terrible state.
We had it renovated and made roadworthy,
then I designed the graphics for the side of the vehicle
in a way that was... the same sort of style that you expected of Jonesy himself.
The van was often at the heart of Dad's Army's signature set-piece capers
that Jimmy Perry had encouraged from the very start.
He said it was adventure comedy
and he said that was the only way they could really get the laughs
because, I mean, look at it, they were ridiculous ideas, weren't they?
Jump to it! Hup!
Croft and Perry were unrestrained
by any sense of trying to either keep it characterful, real or broad comedy.
They had all of these things at their disposal and they weren't afraid to use any of them.
And Mainwaring being dragged around the countryside strapped to a barrage balloon, it's just...
They really give their value for money.
Ruddy hooligans!
What do you think you're playing at? Cowboys and Indians?
I mean, yes, it was totally and completely adventure comedy.
Well, Clive, Bill and I
were often the subjects of this adventure comedy
in that if somebody had to fall into a river or whatever, it would be one of us three
to the extent that Wardrobe just automatically packed wetsuits for us,
but it was always us because we were young.
But perhaps the show's most complex water scene
was bravely shot in studio
and required some breathtaking ingenuity from the Dad's Army crew.
What am I gonna do when the water reaches my head? Oh, don't worry about that.
We'll have thought of something by then.
We had two sequences where the water was low down
and then later on, it was higher up
and we did that by lowering the set into the water
which was done behind closed screens in front of the audience.
Uncle Arthur... Yes? If you don't let me up on that bunk, I'll tell Mum.
The set itself got applause from the audience.
I don't think that's ever happened to me before or since, actually.
Give us a hand. Give us a pull. It's different now, isn't it?
When I wanted to get in your bath, you didn't want to know.
Now you want help! Hurry up! Get over there!
'It also meant that Bill Pertwee and I, instead of standing in the water,
'now had to kneel so that the water was at our shoulders.
'That's when you suddenly realise your bodies are quite buoyant
'and somebody had to be in there holding Pertwee down in his water tank,
'so he didn't fall over.'
Aaagh!
I think one of the reasons people love Dad's Army is you get the feeling
that there's nothing Croft and Perry wouldn't do to one of their characters if it got them a laugh.
Oh, it's someone's birthday.
As Frank Williams's home movie shows,
the popular Bill Pertwee was nothing like his warden character.
Well, happy birthday, young man.
But he was often the one asked to be the fall guy in the name of comedy.
David and Jimmy said, "The great thing about Bill,
"we could throw anything at him, he didn't mind a bit.
"We'd throw barrels of horrible old manure all over him or water
"and chuck him in this lake here."
I remember Dad was forever in the water.
Clear off! Aaagh!
Aaagh!
Oh, here we go again!
He used to come back after doing the rehearsals and say, "Isn't it all marvellous? Aren't we alllucky?"
It was fine with him. He didn't mind. There was no health and safety then.
That lack of health and safety wasn't usually an issue
until one night when life began imitating art for the unfortunate Pertwee.
They'd gone out to do a scene in the sea off the pier and it was a night shoot, pretty late.
And Dad is in a boat on his own.
I wonder what it is? It ain't half making a lot of splashing.
Hey! Put that light out!
And the two guys who were filming thought Dad had been taken back in another boat,
so everyone came back to the Thetford hotel
and there was this sort of slight panic going on
as they realised that actually Dad for some reason was still out,
quite a way out in a boat on his own, paddling back to the pier,
but that was a bit hairy, he told me.
Um...and we were a little bit worried.
I could sense the atmosphere,
but it all ended OK.
Captain Mainwaring and the platoon would no doubt have had little sympathy
for Hodges being cast adrift in the North Sea,
but he was a vital part of the show.
They obviously needed in the series, they needed an antagonist because we do never see the Germans,
so as the ARP Warden, he's there for them to bump up against.
He was the perfect foil for Mainwaring in Dad's Army.
And Hodges could call on some heavenly back-up.
It's supposed to be Hitler, but it's actually the ARP Warden
or the vicar or the verger he's really fighting against most of the time.
They represent the dark side, but they're just jobsworths, aren't they?
That's it. They're just annoying, idiotic jobsworths.
And we love to see these jobsworths get their comeuppance.
There were some iconic moments or seconds, if you like,
and there's the one with the grenades going off.
And it's just perfectly timed and you see Walker with his cigarette
throw it into the box of dynamite and there's this lovely pause.
Then Dad just comes out and reveals himself
with this angst look on his face.
I'll get you, Mainwaring!
All sorts going on. As Clive would probably say, "Bill overacting again."
Still to come, the mysterious Mrs Mainwaring.
Fear, terror, anger.
Just so many emotions.
And we get a rare peek behind the scenes of Dad's Army on location.
They'd be up all night. They wouldn't get to bed.
They'd still be word-perfect the next day. God knows how!
Welcome back to We Love Dad's Army.
If you ask someone about Dad's Army,
I don't think they're ever gonna say one of the female characters
because they were essentially non-existent.
# This is a man's world... #
The cast of Dad's Army was overwhelmingly male.
Nevertheless, women weren't completely absent.
Wendy Richard had a recurring role as Walker's girlfriend.
Jonesy constantly lusted after Pamela Cundell's wonderfully brassy Mrs Fox,
while Barbara Windsor once appeared as a theatrical crack shot
in a typically risque role that chimed with her Carry On persona.
How's that? A transformation!
Squad...'shun!
Stick your chest out.
God!
Producer and writer David Croft certainly saw it
as a very male comedy from the start.
When I arrived for the interview, he told me straight out he didn't want me. He didn't want a girl in it.
He wanted just men. He didn't want any women at all.
Michael Mills, who was then Head of Comedy, had insisted you can't have a comedy without a blonde.
One regular female character, however, was Pike's mum Mavis,
played by Janet Davies.
She's sort of blonde. She's managing to dye her hair through the war.
She's sort of the epitome of womanhood
outside of this bunch of men.
She's clearly having an affair with Sergeant Wilson.
He is on a knife edge all the time. He can't be obvious
about their relationship, but he wants to keep it,
so he can't be that rude to her, you know?
I really think you're being rather silly. Oh, I'm silly, am I?
You're very silly if you think I'm only here
to administer to all your little comforts every evening. Now, Mavis, please.
You think you've only got to knock on my door and I shall come running.
I've never asked you to run, Mavis.
'She plainly runs the relationship.'
It's a wonderful thing to watch and comically rich.
At least we saw Mavis.
Captain Mainwaring's domineering wife Elizabeth remained defiantly off screen.
You always knew you were never gonna see her,
but it didn't matter cos you felt you knew her
and you knew that all of the platoon knew her
and they all knew how terrified he was of her.
I think many other comedies have lifted the idea that you never see a character,
but you only ever hear them talked about and the reaction to them.
It's your wife, sir. What? Your wife.
Tell her I'm not here. I'm sorry, sir, but she heard you shouting.
WILSON CHUCKLES Really? Yes.
Hello, Elizabeth.
Arthur Lowe's face when Elizabeth phones him to tell him off
is fear, terror, anger, just so many emotions.
I might have a little surprise for you tonight.
No, no, I've bought...
One episode did have more of a gender balance, however.
Mum's Army took its inspiration from women being recruited into the Home Guard.
The Mum's Army sticks in my mind because of the drill that you just get it wrong.
I remember my sergeant shouting in my ear,
"Private Holmes, get off the parade ground now!"
I'm going, "Oh, I'm in trouble!"
Left turn!
There seems to be some confusion as to which is which.
Yes, I know, I know.
I can just imagine if all those women were on a parade ground.
They've all got their lipstick on and their hair over
and, you know, kind of all dressed normally, like... Nah.
Croft and Perry used this tale of female recruitment
to show a different side to Mainwaring
as they delivered a heartbreaking love story.
This is the beauty of the writing
whereby Mainwaring falls in love
and he's putty in the hands of this lady who he meets called Fiona,
played by the actress Carmen Silvera,
and he falls for her hook, line and sinker.
I was very lucky to get Carmen Silvera to play Mrs Gray.
Of course, ultimately, I used her in 'Allo 'Allo!
She's a lovely actress
and she was so retiring and so delicate, the way she played it.
'It was a beautiful performance.'
Captain Mainwaring, may I ask you something awfully personal?
Yes.
Do you always wear glasses?
Yes. Yes, I always have.
Would you take them off for a moment?
If you wish.
Oh, that's so much better.
Do you know, I think spectacles...
Well, they take away the warmth in a person's eyes,
just as a fireguard takes away so much of the heat.
I think it's the first time you see his vulnerability and you see him fall in love.
And so did she.
But you knew it was doomed.
While the family life of the platoon may have been largely absent from the screen,
behind the cameras it was different,
particularly when it came to the annual trips to film on location in Norfolk.
Well, we all saw it as a family holiday.
We'd all arrive at Television Centre and get on the buses,
including Arthur, and Arthur always had to sit at the front because he was head of the team.
We were like a family when we went away filming.
No responsibility of telephones ringing at home,
letters to answer, anything like that.
We became a family up there for over nine years, so it was great.
I remember going up to Thetford several times in the school holidays.
They used to call it Croft's Summers
because it was just glorious sunshine the whole time.
This intimate, behind-the-scenes cine footage
shows how the family of the cast were allowed to mingle
in the relaxed atmosphere encouraged by Croft and Perry.
David Croft was tremendous to work with.
"One take" David. He loved to do just one take
if he possibly could and go straight on.
Then Sound would come through and they'd say, "David, we've got the mic in shot. We need to redo it."
And he said, "We're not redoing it because it was very funny.
"If people at home see the mic, they've missed the joke."
Dad was very impressed with the way they were.
They weren't the type of creators that shouted and screamed at everyone.
That niceness, if you like, or pleasantness seemed to spread throughout the whole thing.
They all got on so well.
When they were shooting on location in Thetford,
they were like, you know, best of pals.
To me as a young actor that was just starting out,
I got these seven other people,
who came from seven totally different backgrounds
socially and professionally, to watch and to learn from.
It was like going back to summer school every year. It was wonderful. And I got paid.
I think one of the joys of Dad's Army was you felt that they all loved each other.
And you felt that, this incredible sense of camaraderie,
both in the situation their characters were in of fighting the war,
but also as actors.
It was good fun. The one episode that I particularly liked,
it was where the harvester was used.
I had a harmonium at home
and actually it was that harmonium that I brought
for the lady to play in the field.
"Raise the song of harvest home
"All is safely gathered in
"'Ere the winter storms begin."
At this point, the platoon is sloshed on potato wine,
a state authentically captured by the entire cast
as they begin drunkenly bickering amongst themselves.
You staggered against me. You can't hold your liquor.
Don't you talk to me like that, you...you drunken old snob!
All right, all right, Frazer, I can look after myself.
The day's work was serious. It was long, it was arduous.
But when we got back and relaxed,
those two or three hours over supper, dinner and a drink in the bar were great fun.
If there was a time when we bonded, then that's when we did truly bond.
John Le Mesurier and Jimmy Beck, you know, they'd be up all night.
They wouldn't get to bed. They'd be drinking companions.
And they'd still be word-perfect the next day. God knows how!
In the final part of the show, we look at the longevity of Dad's Army.
One of those rare things, the time was right, the cast was right,
the script was right and the idea was right.
And discover the origin of Mainwaring's most uttered phrase.
Dad never said "you stupid boy" to me,
but I sort of heard the line in my own head, "You stupid boy,"
and I think that... HE LAUGHS ..it was pretty close.
Welcome back
as We Love Dad's Army makes its final push.
It's time to celebrate an element of the series that we all adore.
Ah, a pelican crossing. The light's green. Carry on then.
The catchphrases. Don't panic, don't panic! Captain Mainwaring, the light's flashing. What do we do?
Don't panic, don't panic! They don't like it up 'em.
Excuse me. Stupid boy!
You stupid boy!
We're doomed. He's doomed!
All you really want Frazer to do is say, "We're all doomed," and everyone's happy.
All of these catchphrases have just travelled for decades
and that is the sign of a piece of universal, timeless art, isn't it?
"Don't panic," in particular, I think,
it's just burned into us, into our sort of comic retina.
The Germans are coming! Don't panic! The Germans are coming!
Don't panic! Don't panic!
There's a mine under the pier!
It's part of British society, it's part of the fabric of life,
as is that TV series and always will be.
The catchphrase "they don't like it up 'em" was when I was in the army.
The proper army. It was the bayonet drill.
"They don't like it up 'em, you know. They do not like it up them." Who does?
That was probably the biggest catchphrase to come out of the show.
I mean, everyone loved that.
And it kind of works in most situations, bizarrely.
That was, I think, a tribute not only to the writing, but also to Clive Dunn's performance.
There's no substitute for the cold steel.
They do not like it up 'em. They don't like it up 'em!
You actually believe that he did at some point stick one up 'em
because he says it with such joy and glee.
When three episodes lost from the BBC archives were re-made in 2019,
the huge popularity of the catchphrases was obvious.
It was a problem for us in the lost episodes
because we got to a moment where Kevin Eldon had to say,
"I'll give 'em a bit of the cold steel and they don't like it up 'em, they don't like it up 'em."
And the audience went crazy.
I'm the right man for the job, sir. I'm a man with fine potential.
What is more, I would let them have a taste of cold steel
because they don't like it up 'em, sir, they do not like it up 'em! AUDIENCE CHEER
You had to ask them, could they not quite respond to that particular line, uh...
so...so enthusiastically?
When Dad's Army was rebooted as a movie in 2016... Bravo, Mainwaring.
..the catchphrases were inevitably part of the trailer,
reassuring fans that their favourite lines would not be overlooked.
It's all hands on deck. An enemy spy is operating somewhere near here.
I'll catch him, sir. What does he look like?
We don't know, Frank. That's rather the point with spies. Stupid boy!
Captain Mainwaring's withering put-down of poor Pike
was probably the most uttered catchphrase of the show.
When I was a boy,
I had a terrible school report and my father said to me,
"This is awful. You've got to have some qualifications."
I said, "I don't need any qualifications.
"I'm gonna be a famous film star or a great comedian."
And he looked at me and said, "You stupid boy."
I know Jimmy and David never set out initially to write catchphrases.
Catchphrases write themselves. If a catchphrase happens that the character uses,
a line that they use a few times and the public latch on to it, then you've got your catchphrase.
That's the great thing about a really good actor. A catchphrase doesn't seem like a catchphrase
because he always says it slightly differently in the context of the line.
It's very often a throwaway at the end of what he's said,
so he incorporates it into the sense of whatever the scene is.
Is he fighting you, Mr Mainwaring?
Of course he isn't fighting me, you stupid boy.
Well, it's easily solved, isn't it?
Stupid boy.
You stupid boy.
It wasn't repeating "stupid boy".
It was sometimes anger, sometimes humorous,
and that was what was brilliant and he delivered it so well.
If you're gonna have a catchphrase, deliver it well. Arthur did.
Dad never, ever said "you stupid boy" to me,
but I often saw him looking at me
and I heard...
I sort of heard the line in my own head, "You stupid boy."
And I think that... HE LAUGHS ..it was pretty close.
APPLAUSE
You ruddy hooligan!
# Thank you for the days
# Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me... #
But perhaps the one thing that makes Dad's Army stand out amongst the crowd
is its utter Britishness.
# I won't forget a single day, believe me... #
The reason that Dad's Army has endured for half a century
through 80 episodes, Christmas specials,
is because it is a beautifully played, beautifully written comedy that has heart.
One of those rare things, the time was right, the cast was right,
the script was right and the idea was right.
# Days I'll remember all my life... #
I think you absolutely could describe Dad's Army as the quintessential British sitcom.
This is the sitcom which reflects aspects of our character and our personality
that we would like to have.
Even though we're a bit crap in some things, we will carry on and do our best.
No! LAUGHTER
Shall I carry on? Hold on, hold on.
The reason it's endured is because it's darned funny.
And nothing survives like stuff that's properly funny
with characters who we can laugh at and feel affection for.
We know people like those people in that cast
that we can relate to and that's what comedy is.
I think the British especially love the underdog. It's very endearing
to see a little man triumph.
It sums up nostalgia, it sums up the best of us, it sums up winning.
It never fails to make me smile, usually with a warm glow.
There's very little that makes me laugh out loud
and Dad's Army is just one of those programmes that does.
Dad's Army made us laugh for 80 episodes,
but the final scene made a serious point
as the platoon saluted the inspiration for the whole series.
It ends on a wonderful moment
when they all agree that they will stand and fight
and they make a tribute to the Home Guard to camera
and what an amazing end to nine years of Dad's Army.
If anybody tries to take our homes or our freedom away from us, they'll find out what we can do.
We'll fight.
And we're not alone. There are thousands of us all over England.
And Scotland. And Scotland.
All over Great Britain, in fact.
Men who will stand together when their country needs them.
Excuse me, sir. Don't you think it might be a nice idea if we were to pay our tribute to them?
For once, Wilson, I agree with you.
To Britain's Home Guard!
ALL: To Britain's Home Guard!
Dad's view on it was that he just absolutely felt pretty privileged,
I think, that he was in such a show and that it had given him
such a happy time in his life.
I think Johnny would be pleasantly surprised, really.
He wouldn't be jumping up and down.
He would just go, "I can't believe people are still watching it."
He loved it, yeah.
They were brothers in arms by the end of shooting Dad's Army
and, uh...this showed in the way they were knitted as a team, yeah.
The only reason why it stopped was because we lost three of our leading characters
and we were all getting rather old, so we stopped while the going was still good.
Somehow we belonged to the country.
It seemed as though we were part of the fabric
and people liked having us around like a favourite armchair,
um...which was a very, very lovely feeling to have.
Hey, it's a living.
Or it was.
Yeah, I miss it terribly. It was to me the finest kind of pension an old man could have.
LAUGHTER
Subtitles by Red Bee Media