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- GLOCKENSPIEL PLAYS 
- Hello, campers! Hi-de-Hi! 

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- Don't tell him, Pike! 
- Pike! 

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I met him, and he frightened me to death. 

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I'm free! 

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- He ruled with a rod of iron. 
- Did he! 
- A rod of iron, and a smile on his face. 
- Like a smiling viper. 

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Good moaning! 

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Shut up! 

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And he would laugh on every run-through, right up to the day of transmission, he would still laugh. 

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I remember someone saying to me, "Do you know what? 

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I walked down my road and I could hear laughter in the street." 

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David Croft, the man who wrote some of our best-loved TV comedies, has died at the age of 89. 

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David Croft was a unique talent in the world of British comedy, 

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not only co-writing, but producing and directing many of the greatest comedy series of the 20th century. 

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- This is my wife, Edith. I have told her everything. 
- Will she talk? 

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Incessantly. 

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David Croft is a brand, you know. A Croft programme is a real quality brand, 

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and you just guarantee if David Croft was producing, it was always going to be brilliant. 

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David Croft sitcoms were a key part of my growing up. 

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Looking back, it must have been so nice for my parents to have us 

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all in the same room, probably crying with laughter, no doubt. 

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David knew the business inside and out. Loved actors, actors loved him. 

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He was like a conductor. He conducted the whole thing. 

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Without him, nothing really would have happened. 

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For the first time, we'll hear the audio tapes he made whilst working on the scripts. 

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Ted joins Gladys. Ted into microphone. "Hello, campers! Welcome to Maplins. Hi-de-Hi! 

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David Croft was born in 1922, into a showbusiness family. 

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He inherited a love of entertainment from his parents, who performed together in the theatre. 

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He literally was a sort of dressing room baby. 

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Made his first appearance at the age of three, 

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and from the moment he walked off, he said he was totally hooked. 

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His mother was an amazing character, and very talented. 

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She was the only woman ever that had a theatrical production company in the West End 

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without a male partner or male equivalent. 

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It was "Anne Croft presents..." 

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His father, Reginald Sharland, was an actor and writer, who moved to Hollywood to pursue his career. 

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David Croft followed the family tradition, and entered the world of entertainment. 

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His path soon crossed with a man who would become a lifelong colleague and friend. 

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When I first met David Croft, I was a ragged-arse actor. 

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Ann, his wife, phoned me up, who was my agent, she said, "Oh, Jimmy, 

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David's doing a new situation comedy called Beggar My Neighbour. 

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And always so honest and trustworthy! 

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Never nick no more than what you could carry under your coat! 

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I did this scene where I came... "Hello, Sid! It's me, your brother George!" 

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Here, what are you all ponced up for? 

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Got a job as a waiter or something? 

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Growing tired of small acting roles, Perry decided to try his hand at writing. 

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And I thought, "I know what I'll do. I'll write a pilot." 

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One day, he came in and he said to me, 

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"I've got a script, I think it's got something." 

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So I read it, and I thought, "Well, yes it has." 

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Ann said to me, "Show it to David." He said, "Jimmy, it's great. Let's do it." 

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# Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler 

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# If you think we're on the run? # 

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None of us thought it was going to become a national treasure. 

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It was just another comedy series. 

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- Right, Pike, take off your tunic and wrap it round the pipes. 
- Why me? 

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Because you're wet already. Go on. 

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The magic ingredient was their casting. 

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He's doomed! Doomed! 

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I mean, the casting was absolutely brilliant in all of his shows. 

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You know perfectly well you can be here all day while I'm busy at the bank. 

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I'm sorry, Captain Mainwaring, but nothing is going to make me get up out of this chair, and that is that. 

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RADIO PLAYS "God Save The King" 

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David Croft used to cast people really well, 

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in that you can't imagine anybody but the people that played 

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all of those parts from all of those series playing it. 

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RADIO PLAYS END OF "God Save The King" 

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The thing about Dad's Army is that I think it's probably the most 

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perfect example of writing and casting coming together. 

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Come along, Godfrey! Godfrey, pick 'em up, pick 'em up! 

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I'm afraid they won't go any higher! 

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Although it's quite a big gallery of characters, 

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every single one of those characterisations is pitch perfect. 

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Sell your own grandmother, wouldn't you? 

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Well, there's no market for her. 

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If you were to think, "Oh, I'm going to start casting those characters," 

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you wouldn't want to swap them with anybody. 

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- Eight against one! 
- No, it's only seven. I'm not feeling very well. 

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We're talking about seven tough old pros. 

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All of them had been there and not quite made it. 

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And suddenly, they're stars. They've made it. 

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Every time they stop in the street, "There he is!" 

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And we were all working actors. Old John Laurie, he was a marvellous actor, 

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and Ian Lavender's another wonderful actor. 

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He was quite a young chap when we first started, Ian Lavender. 

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To say they took me under their wings, collectively or even individually, not quite so. 

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It was a bit of sink or swim. 

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I remember David saying, "We thought we'd throw you in the deep end 

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and see what happened," and he said, "You floated, it's all right! 

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- Shut the door, Pike. 
- Yes, sir. 

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From the other side! 

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- You should have said! 
- Get out! 

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And Croft had his own unique way of selecting the cast. 

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He said, "I just want somebody who can shout and push other actors about a bit." 

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What's going on here? I've never heard such a row! 

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His wife, my agent, said, "Well, I've got somebody who, 

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in fact, is not an actor. 

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I'm not sure that he ever will be a great actor, 

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but I think he's maybe what you want." 

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Hey! Hey! If you think I'm hanging on here, you're mistaken. 

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The first series we wrote more or less together, 

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and then he'd got me to write some, and he wrote some, and a bit of a mess, actually. 

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So we finally got to a situation, I said, "Dave, there's only one way to do this. Face-to-face." 

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So we both wrote by hand with a lovely felt-tip pen, and then 

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we'd have the rough script, and then we'd sit there, and then we'd act it. 

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They showed it to an audience, as they always did, to test it, 

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and it didn't go down very well, and some of the reports, 

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because you used to write a report, and they came in. 

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But as David ran his own little empire, in a way, 

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when all the really bad reports came in saying comedy couldn't be made out of this, 

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he managed to keep them in files that didn't get too high up the stand. 

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He'd say, "There's only one thing to do with this." 

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"Don't want that one." 

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He said, "I knew that, given half a chance, it would succeed." 

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All local defence volunteers to report to the church hall 

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at six o'clock today! 

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There you are. 

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After the first series, Croft and Perry had to defend Dad's Army against those who said 

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a comedy should not be made about Britain's Home Guard. 

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Did the scriptwriters make such a serious national crisis too funny to be even vaguely true? 

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Well, we've had one or two ideas which we thought were too way out. 

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You see, when we started this thing, I think we just regarded it as a comedy show, 

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but as you get into it, as soon as we started writing it properly, 

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we realised it was much more than this, because there's a wonderful spirit in those days. 

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These men really would have, they would have died, 

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and as soon as you get into that sort of dimension, 

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then you can't go too far into the realms of comedy, 

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you've got to keep it with its feet on the ground. 

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This sympathetic and understated approach could be seen throughout Croft's work. 

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He was quite a shy man, and he wasn't one for being openly effusive, 

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that's left to Jimmy Perry, basically. I think that's probably why they were such a good team. 

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He was a very private man, but he was a very caring and loving man. 

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He cared deeply about what he did. 

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I never saw him once lose his temper. He was always very calm. 

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He was an observer. 

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He would sit at dinner parties. 

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When he did come out with a line, it was often very witty, very funny and very pertinent, 

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but mostly he watched people. 

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I look at it this way, sir. 

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Now, although Sergeant Wilson has got three stripes on his honourable arm, 

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you've got three pips on your common shoulder. 

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To me, their series were always about class. 

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Class and snobbery, yes, the conflict, yes, that's where 

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it springs from, they found that, I mean, we see it all the way through. 

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It reminds me of the time when I was at school, and we used to have midnight feasts in the dorm. 

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Really? 

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School I went to, we didn't have any midnight feasts. 

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You had to manage with a few aniseed balls in the corner of the playground. 

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Status within their series was a really key thing. 

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In Dad's Army it was that you had a bank manager and his assistant who were in charge, 

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and there was an issue there, because the assistant came from a higher class. 

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You needn't think you can roll in here 20 minutes late after lunch. Where have you been? 

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Well, I went up to the golf club and had a bite to eat up there. 

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- The golf club? 
- Yes. 
- Who took you? 
- Well, I'm a member. 

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I've been trying for years to get in there. 

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I believe they're awfully particular. 

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I don't think, when they wrote it, Jimmy Perry and David Croft passed any judgements on anybody. 

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They just laid out what I think was a very accurate landscape 

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of how the class system works. 

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Now, don't start any of that public school cheating with me. 

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One of the things that he did really well 

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is the ability to use understatement where a little goes a very long way. 

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CAPTAIN MAINWARING COUGHS 

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He was a marvellous director and producer. He was really first-class. 

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He'd say, "When you do that, just give a pause there and you'll get a bigger laugh. 

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He was right. 

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- Here we go! 
- No, no, no, no! Oh, no, that's only cardboard! 

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There is a war on, you know! 

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He would just smile and nod his head, and you knew he was pleased, 

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and if he was pleased, you'd know you'd achieved something. 

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You'd always try and say, "David, I've got an idea, I've got a suggestion here," 

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and he'd say, "Yeah, yeah." I said, "Can I just try something?" 

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And he'd say, "Yeah, of course, Melvyn. Show me, show me." 

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And I would do it, and he'd say, "That's very funny! I like it. 

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Save it for panto." 

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You'd try something in rehearsals, and flick a look to David, 

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just to see what his reaction was, and he'd just go... 

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Or... 

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And that was it. 

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I was just going to give the order... 

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I was just going to... 

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- What's the matter, Corporal? 
- I think I'm going, sir. 

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- I hear angels' voices. 
- Those are no angels' voices, it's the choir! 

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The most interesting thing about David and Jimmy's writing 

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was the juxtaposition of comedy with tragedy. 

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Elizabeth? 

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You've taken a long time to answer, dear. Where have you been? 

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Oh, I see. 

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- She's been down in the air raid shelter. 
- Ah. 

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I might have a little surprise for you tonight. 

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No, no, I've bought... 

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Jimmy and David had the knack of, how shall I put it? 

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Using broad strokes, poster paints, and then becoming very delicate. 

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Pastels, as it were. 

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I... I don't want you to go. 

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The whole pattern of my life has changed, I just live from one meeting to the next. 

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I know, and I'm just the same, but it's the only thing to do. 

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- People are talking. 
- People always talk. Who cares about that? 

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- But there's your wife. 
- Nobody'll talk to her. 

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It managed to, you know, be quite silly, very funny, 

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very nuanced in some of the characterisations, but also rather... 

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..well, the word I want to use is beautiful, which is that they could sometimes achieve 

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levels of poignancy and drama within an episode. 

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- Don't get that train. 
- George, I must. 

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I implore you, don't get that train. Look, we'll meet once a week. 

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George, you're making this very difficult for me, but I've made up my mind. It's the only way. 

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- Victoria, Victoria train! 
- Here's my train. 

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Look, Fiona. I've never begged anything from anyone in my life, but I'm begging you not to go. 

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You get this terribly touching, 

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poignant window into the unhappiness of Mainwaring's marriage, really, 

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and he knows that nothing can happen, and it's all beautifully executed. 

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- Where can I get in touch with you? 
- You won't be able to. 

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- You'll write, won't you? 
- I don't know. After a little while, perhaps. 

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Stand clear, sir. 

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And pull those blinds down! 

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Promise you'll write. 

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Very well. I promise. 

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WHISTLE 

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- Make it soon. 
- Goodbye, George. 

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TRAIN PULLS AWAY 

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All good comedy is truthful, no matter how silly it is, or apparently silly, 

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it's trying to get at some universal truth, and that's why, when it's good, it has so much power. 

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We'll stick together, you can rely on that. 

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If anybody tries to take our homes or our freedom away from us, they'll find out what we can do. 

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We'll fight. 

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You could sense it was the writers nodding their acknowledgement 

227
00:15:54,800 --> 00:16:00,520
towards the fact that the whole thing had been triggered by the experiences 

228
00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:04,040
of real men in the war, and I thought that was really effective. 

229
00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:06,320
To Britain's Home Guard. 

230
00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:10,480
ALL: To Britain's Home Guard! 

231
00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,560
It's quality stuff. It's timeless stuff. 

232
00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:17,240
You stupid boy. 

233
00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,080
Don't panic! Don't panic! 

234
00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,520
The fact that Dad's Army is, that millions still watch it, 

235
00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:23,600
says something. 

236
00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,880
- I am an officer. 
- Yes, quite, Sir, yes. 
- You're supposed to be an NCO. 

237
00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,360
- Yes, of course, yes. 
- Right. Very well. Remember... 

238
00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,120
Every Saturday, it's on. I'll be in later in the week. 

239
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,920
My grandchildren, they love it. 

240
00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:42,520
Even when I'm not in it! 

241
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:51,280
And it was real life again that inspired Croft's first hit series with writing partner Jeremy Lloyd. 

242
00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,880
MUSIC: "Porcelain" by Moby 

243
00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:07,320
I had the idea for Are You Being Served? 

244
00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:10,440
because I'd slaved away for three years at Simpson's in Piccadilly, 

245
00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:12,480
which was a big gentleman's outfitters. 

246
00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:16,800
The people, actually, that we created in Are You Being Served? 

247
00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:18,840
were all types of people that I'd worked with. 

248
00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:20,200
Oh, that does suit you! 

249
00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:24,120
Oh, that does suit you! 

250
00:17:27,120 --> 00:17:29,320
Oh, that does suit you! 

251
00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:33,640
We had a chat, and we had lunch, and I'd already written four or five pages, 

252
00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:36,280
which he read and said, "Well, let's do it." 

253
00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,680
And Lucas, while you're down there, straighten those seams. 

254
00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:43,960
- I hate to see crooked seams. 
- Yes, Mr Peacock. 
- Hm? 
- Captain Peacock. 

255
00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:55,840
Aaaah! 

256
00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,800
David actually had a marvellous idea, which I hadn't had, 

257
00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,680
which was that the ladies' and gentlemen's departments should be put together, 

258
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:08,360
so there'd be a lot of conflict, and that was the actual nub of the show, 

259
00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:11,920
and it worked marvellously, and the pecking order worked marvellously. 

260
00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,600
I have been deeply distressed to learn of a slump in our sales 

261
00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,240
over the past four weeks, which I'm sure you've all observed. 

262
00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:20,640
Yes, I have observed it. Haven't you, Mr Grainger? 

263
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,000
Oh, a very definite slump, I would say. 

264
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,880
- Have you observed it, Mr Humphries? 
- Oh, I've observed it, Mr Grainger. 

265
00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,200
- You observed it, too, didn't you? 
- Oh, yes, definitely! 

266
00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:34,440
In order to do situation comedy, or perhaps almost any comedy, 

267
00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:36,760
you need to have a situation in which there are rules. 

268
00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:43,920
Mr Grainger returned from lunch, 14:03. 

269
00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:45,000
Would you sign, please? 

270
00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:52,960
I'm sorry, Captain Peacock, but I must refuse to sign your book. 

271
00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:59,560
These rules, then, are in danger of being broken, and from that arises most of the comedy. 

272
00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:01,480
That's a brandy for Mr Grainger. 

273
00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,320
Well done, Mr Grainger. The way you stood up to him. 

274
00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:08,920
We shall always remember you for that, Mr Grainger, when you've gone. 

275
00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:17,720
The doubles entendres, the double meanings were an essential part of it. 

276
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:21,480
And, sometimes, they were so outrageous that when we did 

277
00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:25,360
the read-through we'd say, "We can't say that, we'll all be arrested!" 

278
00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:29,880
At seven o'clock tonight, my pussy's expecting to see a friendly face! 

279
00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:34,520
I personally think that Mrs Slocombe's pussy is the funniest joke ever written in any medium, 

280
00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:38,680
and I can watch it any number of times and never be bored and never stop laughing. 

281
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,360
I never have any trouble in getting up in the morning. 

282
00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:43,600
My pussy's just like an alarm clock. 

283
00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,120
David would say, "Look, you do it as though you haven't 

284
00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:52,640
the slightest idea that there is any double meaning at all, 

285
00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:56,720
so it's done completely innocently, and no one will mind." 

286
00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,600
I think, looking back now, were my parents thinking, 

287
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,440
"Oh, some of those innuendos, are they getting them?" There must be a bit of that. 

288
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:06,360
I certainly didn't get any of them, I don't think. 

289
00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:10,400
Trousers are at a complete standstill. 

290
00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:13,000
You're lucky to get your tape up once a day. 

291
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:17,240
It was how you deciphered it. If you thought it was rude, that was... 

292
00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,160
Or, it could have been totally innocent. 

293
00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:22,800
Whatever has happened to the central heating in here? 

294
00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:25,440
My ballpoint'll never function in this weather. 

295
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:30,080
The key in the writing was that they can't get out of their scenario. 

296
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:35,520
It's very limiting, but it means you've got to really focus on the jokes. 

297
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,400
You've got to focus on getting laughs, because there's not much else you can do with it. 

298
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,240
Mmmm! She's a healthy girl, isn't she? 

299
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,080
Miss Brahms, get out the 44s. 

300
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,880
The Kilimanjaro range. 

301
00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:57,760
My favourite character in that was always young Mr Grace. 

302
00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:00,360
You've all done very well! 

303
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:04,120
I just never tired of that. 

304
00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:06,240
And again, "You're all doing very well" 

305
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,800
just became a phrase that we used whenever it was prompted. 

306
00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,560
You've all done very well! 

307
00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:15,680
ALL: Thank you, Mr Grace! 

308
00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:20,040
There isn't hardly ever a time, somebody did some research on this, actually, 

309
00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:25,880
when an episode of Are You Being Served? isn't being shown on some station, somewhere. 

310
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:29,960
Ho, ho, ho, little boy! Have I got a surprise for you! 

311
00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:40,440
Some company sent us in a book, which was a quiz of Are You Being Served? 

312
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:46,600
Penny, my daughter, was saying, "Oh, Dad, what was Mrs so-and-so's maiden name before she got married?" 

313
00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,160
"Er, urm, can't remember at the moment," 

314
00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:55,760
he said, and they couldn't answer half the questions that came out, 

315
00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,800
and said, "My goodness, people do really listen!" 

316
00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,640
I said, "Well, you've always said that!" 

317
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:06,520
MASTERMIND THEME MUSIC 

318
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,120
It Ain't Half Hot Mum, in two minutes, starting now. 

319
00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:14,640
Which character uses the expression, "it ain't half hot, Mum", 

320
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,400
when writing home during the first episode? 

321
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:17,600
- Gunner Parkin. 
- Correct. 

322
00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:19,560
In the seventh series, Captain Ashworth's given 

323
00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:21,520
an experimental anti-malarial drug by mistake. 

324
00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,920
- What effect does it have on him? 
- His skull grows through his hair. 

325
00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:26,200
Yeah, he loses his hair. 

326
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:28,920
When Bombardier Beaumont kicks the Sergeant Major, what punishment 

327
00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:30,280
does he receive from the Colonel? 

328
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,240
- He can't play Ginger Rogers again. 
- No, he can't. 

329
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:35,280
- You enjoying your tea, Gunner? 
- Yes, thank you. 

330
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:36,880
What the hell's going on?! 

331
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:42,720
If anybody says to me, "What's your favourite?" Without a doubt, it's Ain't Half Hot Mum. 

332
00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,480
# Meet the gang, cos the boys are here 

333
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:51,400
# The boys to entertain you! # 

334
00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,280
Jimmy actually ran a concert party. 

335
00:22:54,280 --> 00:23:00,160
We'd left India just a few days before India got its independence. 

336
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:03,800
Of course, that's why I've got all these stories! 

337
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:11,280
David spent most of the war not doing anything very theatrical, 

338
00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:15,600
although he was involved with a concert party when he was in India. 

339
00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,960
They always wrote from their own experiences, basically. 

340
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,400
They took reality and stretched it. 

341
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:27,080
The train will be back for us just before 18:00 hours, so, Bombardier, do not make it a long show. 

342
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,560
You can rely on me, Sergeant Major! 

343
00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:33,360
The only thing I can rely on you for, Bombardier, is to ponce about. 

344
00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:39,840
It Ain't Half Hot Mum was a concert party out in the jungle, 

345
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,960
right, playing to nobody, maybe two or three people, 

346
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,120
two officers who think they were wonderful, wonderful artists, 

347
00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:50,880
a Sergeant Major who just wants to get these men as men, up there fighting. 

348
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:54,880
Leave yourself alone, Bombardier, or I will make you wear boxing gloves. 

349
00:23:58,080 --> 00:23:59,640
Pay attention, lovely boys. 

350
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,080
This is the hottest time of the year, but we are not going to give in. 

351
00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:09,040
We can fight it. 

352
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:17,480
It's really very, very, very difficult to write big, ensemble comedy, you know, 

353
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:21,640
to keep each character's plate spinning on a stick. 

354
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,760
Your university education won't do you much good up there, will it? 

355
00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,800
- No, Sergeant Major. 
- "No, Sergeant Major!" 

356
00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:34,440
The intellect that is able to cope with all those different people, 

357
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:40,160
perhaps as many as 15 people in the cast, and still keep all the threads going 

358
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,760
and keep true to all the characters is extraordinary. 

359
00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:46,120
I'm afraid there's nothing else for it. Things are getting very desperate. 

360
00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:49,960
We'll have to break into the cocktail snacks. 

361
00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:52,400
- Surely not, sir! 
- Yes, I'm afraid so. 

362
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,840
He was very good at creating brilliant characters, and then all you have to do 

363
00:24:55,840 --> 00:25:00,440
is stick different ones in the room, and they kind of talk to themselves, in a way, in the writer's mind. 

364
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,160
Coo-ee! 

365
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,040
I think he heard me. 

366
00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,080
He's got them all together there, so you can bounce off each other, 

367
00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:15,760
and as a group comedy, it works marvellously well. They were masters at it. 

368
00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,160
Sir? Guess what the thermometer's reading. 

369
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,280
Something light? Agatha Christie? 

370
00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,280
David had the ability to gather a group of characters together 

371
00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,840
who wouldn't normally want to be in the same room with each other, 

372
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:31,000
and from that, create this marvellous comedy. 

373
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:34,720
Let me go out there and win them with my personality! 

374
00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:41,080
I think that a lot of David's comedy was very broad and, 

375
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:44,960
you might say, silly, farcical, ludicrous, in some ways, 

376
00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:46,440
like out of the dressing up box. 

377
00:25:56,800 --> 00:26:01,400
Gloria, bless him, I mean, you know, as far as he's concerned, life is wonderful, life is showbusiness. 

378
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:06,640
I'm meant to be a girl in an English garden, not Tarzan in the jungle! 

379
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,480
After about four weeks, David said to me, "We're going to find it very difficult to write for you." 

380
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:17,640
I said, "Why is that?" He said, "You're playing it very effeminately, very camp." 

381
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,680
I said, "Just a minute, David. 

382
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:26,280
Gloria is a feminine name, wears a wig, lots of make-up and dresses. 

383
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:28,480
How else can I play it?" 

384
00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:33,920
And he went, "Yeah, I see what you mean. Mmm, carry on, then!" 

385
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:39,680
Listen to that! They're shouting "We want Gloria!" My public are clamouring for me! 

386
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:44,040
David used to say to the make-up artists, "Let the boys do their own camp make-ups." 

387
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,160
So you got these lads, Chris and Michael, all the lads, 

388
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,760
and they'd put these terrible make-ups on with the big lipstick. 

389
00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,640
AUDIENCE LAUGHTER DROWNS OUT SINGING 

390
00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,760
That's how soldiers would have done it. 

391
00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:04,760
AUDIENCE LAUGHTER DROWNS OUT SINGING 

392
00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:14,040
Shut up! This is all your fault, Gunner Sugden! Shut up! 

393
00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:20,280
He wrote the part of Sergeant Major Williams 

394
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:24,680
as a standard cockney Sergeant Major. 

395
00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:28,400
"Left, right, left, right!" But we were wrong. 

396
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:32,520
Windsor came in to read the part, and he's Welsh, 

397
00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,760
and he read it in cockney, and I said, "That's wrong. Would you read it in Welsh?" 

398
00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:41,040
And he read it in Welsh, and that's where the whole thing started. 

399
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,120
He played it for reality. 

400
00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:46,520
Fix bayonets! 

401
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:51,760
I loved working with Windsor. He was a warm, generous man. 

402
00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:58,080
So concentrated, he'd be the Sergeant Major all the time on the set. 

403
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,160
Right, Johnny. 

404
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:03,360
SERGEANT MAJOR SPEAKS URDU 

405
00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:06,120
Sergeant Major Williams Sahib, Gunner Parkin Sahib. 

406
00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:09,000
Who do you damn well think you're talking to? 

407
00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:17,520
SERGEANT MAJOR SPEAKS URDU 

408
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:21,520
Why don't you talk to me in English, in which I am articulate? 

409
00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:24,320
Otherwise I would not be able to hold up this occupation. 

410
00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,680
I am Grade 2, not some damn native. 

411
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:34,880
The faces he pulled when he was angry, or when he was happy, 

412
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,200
he was just amazingly good. 

413
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:41,600
HE SPEAKS URDU 

414
00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,200
One cup of heavenly, enchanted tea coming up. 

415
00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:48,320
Sergeant Major, Sir. 

416
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,080
In a minute, my lovely. 

417
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:56,280
The decision to cast a white actor, Michael Bates, in the part of the Bearer, 

418
00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:59,200
would lead to the series running into controversy. 

419
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,240
Somebody said it was racist, and one of the reasons it was racist 

420
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:09,600
was because Michael Bates was white and was playing an Indian character. 

421
00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:13,200
# Moonlight becomes you... # 

422
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:14,920
HE SINGS IN URDU 

423
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:22,640
Michael spoke fluent Urdu, and was educated in India until he was 16. 

424
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,840
Knowing David and Jimmy the way I do, 

425
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:30,120
I don't think they would do anything that was racist. 

426
00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:34,760
A lot of David's work is of its time, and the attitudes of its time. 

427
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:39,840
I had too much to drink last night. Oh, I've got such terrible pullover! 

428
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:46,840
I think the notion of It Ain't Half Hot Mum being politically incorrect 

429
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,840
is definitely a retrospective notion. 

430
00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:54,600
Sergeant Major Sahib swore me to complete secrecy, so I will tell only you. 

431
00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:59,080
We did watch it as a family, and really enjoyed it. 

432
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,520
I don't want this fellow to hear, because he is Nosey Parker! 

433
00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:08,080
HE SPEAKS URDU 

434
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:09,320
Nosey Parker! 

435
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:11,680
If I say you are Nosey Parker, you are Nosey Parker! 

436
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,040
Oh, shut up! 

437
00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:22,200
And the fact that you had three regular Indian characters on television 

438
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:27,640
who were involved, they weren't the butt of the joke all the time, 

439
00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:32,600
they weren't there to be lampooned, they weren't on the periphery of the programme, 

440
00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:37,840
they were very much a part of it, was incredibly, kind of, exciting 

441
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,240
and reassuring for us as British Asian viewers. 

442
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:47,200
And what could be nicer than a glass of pure water from the heavens above? 

443
00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,320
HE SPEAKS URDU 

444
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:51,120
..glass of beer. 

445
00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:54,400
Sit up straight when you are punkah-ing! 

446
00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,680
Equally, it was making fun of the British Army. 

447
00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:05,320
One of the most respected elements of our society, of this country. 

448
00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:07,560
They may even have slipped something into the chai. 

449
00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:11,320
So no one must drink the tea until... 

450
00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,080
- Are you all right, Ashworth? 
- Yes, I think so, sir. 

451
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:19,920
Well, that's all right, then. You can drink the tea, chaps. 

452
00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:26,520
- Oh, my Godfathers! 
- Good God! Is he...? 

453
00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:28,960
I went to sit down and there wasn't a chair there! 

454
00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:41,160
Croft and Perry went to great lengths to make the locations look as realistic as possible. 

455
00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:49,600
Everyone thought we filmed in India, but in actual fact it was in Norfolk, 

456
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:54,040
and the desert scenes were shot in a huge sandpit, which they tricked out 

457
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:59,720
with palms and things, and the jungle itself was woods or forest nearby, 

458
00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:06,480
in which they imported, so they told me at the time, £500,000 worth of foreign or exotic plants, 

459
00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:10,280
and planted them among the trees, and it gave the impression of India. 

460
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:13,560
The greatest thing we've got going for us is that sweat. 

461
00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:15,440
Everybody used to say, "Where did that...?" 

462
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,240
It was bottles of glycerin mixed with water, 

463
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:21,960
and before every shot it would be under the arms, over the face. 

464
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,400
Stop scratching yourself, Sugden! 

465
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:29,880
I can't help it, Sergeant Major. I've got prickly heat. I'm covered in little bumps. 

466
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,720
As far as I is concerned, Sugden, you is one big little bump, now shut up! 

467
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:37,720
Normally, first day at rehearsals, you do the line, everybody would laugh. 

468
00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,280
Crew, everybody would laugh, thinking, "That's very funny!" 

469
00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:43,800
Second time, nobody laughs because they've seen it, except David. 

470
00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:48,360
David would laugh, and he would laugh on every run through, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 

471
00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:53,040
Thursday, Friday, right up to the day of transmission, he would still laugh. 

472
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:57,680
Though he'd seen it 20 times, he would still find it amusing, and that's very encouraging. 

473
00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,440
So, each time we rehearsed it, you know, this is good, this is what he wants. 

474
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:07,120
It say: "They are caught like rats in trap." 

475
00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:10,080
That's it. I knew it. We should never have come here alone! 

476
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,400
They should have sent some soldiers with us! 

477
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:17,000
The better the sitcom, the fewer the actual jokes. 

478
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:20,160
It's all about the interaction of the people. 

479
00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:24,400
The strongest material has to emanate from character. 

480
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:28,080
And it was the characters that Croft and Perry had themselves encountered 

481
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:30,120
who formed the basis for the next series. 

482
00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:34,760
The characters in Hi-de-Hi! were archetypal. 

483
00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:39,120
The Punch and Judy man that hated kids, and I'm sure that happened. 

484
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:42,080
And now, your kiddies' entertainer, Uncle Willy! 

485
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:45,760
Get out the way. Get out the way! 

486
00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:54,680
The dancers, who were just wonderful, you know, that thought themselves a cut above everybody else, 

487
00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:58,360
and used to bring their own wallpaper and pin it up. 

488
00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:03,120
A little higher, Barry. The stalk's not quite lined up with the flower. 

489
00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:06,120
It's happened before, dear, it'll happen again. 

490
00:34:08,240 --> 00:34:12,680
So all these characters were based on real people. 

491
00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:17,240
Everyone that David and Jimmy cast, whatever it was, they were a failure. 

492
00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:21,120
Hello, campers. Hi-de-Hi! 

493
00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:23,240
ALL: Ho-de-Ho! 

494
00:34:23,240 --> 00:34:26,200
The heroism comes in the fact that they all keep going. 

495
00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:28,160
Jeffrey can't hear you. Hi-de-Hi! 

496
00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:30,200
ALL: Ho-de-ho! 

497
00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:33,640
Give me strength! 

498
00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:37,800
Most of them were never going to make anything in a million years, but you know what? 

499
00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,120
They all had hope given to them. 

500
00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:43,760
When that entertainments director comes down, could you get me an interview? 

501
00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:46,440
You know, about being a Yellowcoat. You did promise. 

502
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:50,160
- Well, I said I'd try. He's a very busy man. 
- Oh, please, do your best! 

503
00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:54,520
- Of course I will, Peggy. 
- Oh, bless you! You're a lovely man! 

504
00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:56,720
Well, thank you. 

505
00:34:56,720 --> 00:34:59,160
They portrayed that life can be difficult, 

506
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,120
and it's sometimes like wading through treacle, 

507
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:04,080
and you sat back and go, "Good, it's not just me." 

508
00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:05,160
What happened? 

509
00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:08,200
What happened? It were a bloody disaster! 

510
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:13,720
- What are you talking about? It can't have been! 
- You see these two feet? 

511
00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:15,720
I died on them tonight. 

512
00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:19,240
- That's the success of their shows. 
- That's right, it was always putting people together. 

513
00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:20,640
It went for the underdog. 

514
00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:25,200
I'm terribly sorry about all this, Peggy. Are you all right? 

515
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,320
I think I'm getting the hang of it! Can we do it again? 

516
00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:33,360
All I remember is just waiting, every week, 

517
00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:37,040
for Ruth to go ding-ding-ding! 

518
00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:38,920
GLOCKENSPIEL PLAYS 

519
00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:43,400
Hello, campers! Hi-de-Hi! 

520
00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:46,080
CAMPERS: Ho-de-Ho! 

521
00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:47,120
Oh! 

522
00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:55,080
What a hot day it's been, and what a lot of fun we've all had in the Olympic-size swimming pool. 

523
00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:59,360
I couldn't get enough of her flirting with Simon Cadell. 

524
00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:04,520
Thinking about it, David Croft probably had a very strange effect 

525
00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:08,720
on my learnings of romance, as a boarding school girl, 

526
00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:14,680
so I would have learned about unrequited love from Simon Cadell and Ruth Madoc. 

527
00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:17,240
Morning, Jeffrey. 

528
00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:19,240
MUSIC: "Someone Like You" by Adele 

529
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,320
Beautiful. 

530
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:31,840
If you give out a little more, you'd be surprised what you get back in return. 

531
00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:40,240
That quivering, unfulfilled romance between Ruth Madoc's character 

532
00:36:40,240 --> 00:36:43,720
and Simon Cadell's manager. 

533
00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:48,360
There's so much of you that doesn't show on the surface. 

534
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:54,760
A lovely, exquisitely-teased out, comic, tragic romance. 

535
00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:59,520
If only he'd take notice of her in the right way, 

536
00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:01,600
and he never did, God love him. 

537
00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:11,480
Croft and Perry found their own unique way of developing the storylines. 

538
00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:14,240
We worked out this sort of technique, 

539
00:37:14,240 --> 00:37:19,400
so we used to write it very rough, and then we'd act it. 

540
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:25,320
They enjoyed it, because they'd get all their acting, their bits of wanting to act 

541
00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:27,760
out of their system, didn't it, really? 

542
00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:32,800
We'd put it on one of those little mini recorders, and just listen to it. 

543
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:36,320
Ted into microphone. "Hello, campers! Welcome to Maplins. 

544
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:40,720
"Hi-de-Hi!" Gladys. "Go on, Yellowcoats. Get amongst 'em!" 

545
00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:43,520
Yellowcoats move in amongst the campers getting off the coach. 

546
00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,120
Ted continues into the microphone. "I'm Ted Bovis... 

547
00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:49,920
..your camp host. If you want to know anything, don't ask me. 

548
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:51,760
Make your way to reception and sign in, 

549
00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:54,480
and the Yellowcoats will help you to your chalet. 

550
00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:57,840
Hello, Mrs Evans! Back again? Lovely to see you, darling! 

551
00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:03,560
- They did every voice. 
- Yeah. 
- If it was Peggy, "Oh, no, not Miss Cathcart!" 

552
00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,880
If it were Ted, "Spike, what are you doing, lad? Come here!" 

553
00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:09,760
But he used to tell us sometimes, in rehearsals, how they did it, 

554
00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:14,320
and I'd say, "None of us sound like that! You're terrible actors!" 

555
00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:18,600
Cut to Gladys. "Oh, no, not him!" She hurries away. 

556
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:24,880
Spike sees her reaction. Spike. "What's the matter? Where are you going, Gladys?" He follows. 

557
00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:28,000
Cut to Ted for more of his announcements. 

558
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:32,520
You back again? I thought we drowned you last year! Never mind, we'll soon fix that! 

559
00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:35,880
They knew what they wanted to hear on that screen. 

560
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:37,920
They have the time of their lives writing Hi-de-Hi! 

561
00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:39,680
They used to fall off their chairs laughing! 

562
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:43,080
I received a letter from Joe Maplin this morning. 

563
00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:46,880
I don't know about you, but I really do enjoy reading these letters, 

564
00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:51,320
because Joe writes as he thinks, and they really are sincere. 

565
00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:53,880
Get this into your thick heads. 

566
00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:58,280
That's the letter, it's not me. 

567
00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:03,400
I suppose, David Croft comedy, they are unique. 

568
00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:07,600
They're, sort of, I think it's theatre on television, really. 

569
00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:10,480
They're just productions, really camp, theatrical, 

570
00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:13,280
ensemble productions that you just don't get now. 

571
00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:15,880
- Tie Gladys to the stake. 
- Just doing that. 

572
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:21,000
Well there's no need to put so tight, it's only pretend. 

573
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:24,280
It's got to be tight. Virgins have to struggle for their honour. 

574
00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:26,160
I'm surprised you can remember that far back. 

575
00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:33,480
People absolutely loved, they absolutely loved the physical aspect of their comedy. 

576
00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:36,240
Visual jokes were a very strong vein, 

577
00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:40,600
and you can see them in Hi-de-Hi! with the pantomime horse. 

578
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:42,720
Will you sign for this, please? 

579
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:55,840
When I was given the reins of the real horse to hold, because I was in the front of the pantomime horse, 

580
00:39:55,840 --> 00:40:02,320
this horse took a shine to me, and it started doing what horses do, blowing its nose at my nose. 

581
00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:11,960
- What am I going to do with it? 
- It'll have to live in the stable! 

582
00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:14,400
Oh, blimey! We'll take the shortcut along the beach. 

583
00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,880
That's what put Hi-de-Hi! on the map, that scene. 

584
00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:38,280
It's what he was so brilliant at, is that he had the combination of the massive laughs, 

585
00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:40,960
and this delicacy. 

586
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:45,600
His great thing about a character, he didn't want them to be one-dimensional. 

587
00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:50,480
I'm sorry to bother you, Mr Fairbrother. 

588
00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:54,280
I just wanted to thank you for getting me that interview with the Entertainments Director. 

589
00:40:55,600 --> 00:41:00,280
I did ever so well. Oh, he was nice, he talked to me just like a father. 

590
00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:05,080
He said I was to carry on trying, and working hard at me job, 

591
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:09,600
and he keep a special eye on me, and later in the season he'd let me know. 

592
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:15,160
I think he wanted to convey that, certainly the characters in Hi-de-Hi!, 

593
00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:19,160
you know, they're all trying to make a better life for themselves in whichever way they knew. 

594
00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:24,000
He managed to write characters with such, not only broad brush strokes 

595
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,040
that we understood why they were funny, but such detail, 

596
00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:31,720
so he just had the right combination, I don't know how he did it. 

597
00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:36,000
I just want you to know, I'm not going to give up. 

598
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:41,080
I'll keep on trying, and I'll be wearing that yellow coat one day, you'll see. 

599
00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:42,120
Hi-de-Hi. 

600
00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:45,400
ALL: Ho-de-Ho. 

601
00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:47,000
APPLAUSE 

602
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:52,000
David always wanted a reality about his work, insofar as he wanted you to be sincere, 

603
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:57,720
and he said it doesn't really matter, even if you think, "Oh, God, this is laying this on a bit thick." 

604
00:41:57,720 --> 00:42:02,800
He said, "No, if you're in that situation, and you know that character well enough, 

605
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:08,680
that's what I want. I want you to never be afraid to bring a tear to somebody's eye." 

606
00:42:12,240 --> 00:42:17,040
Croft and Perry weren't afraid to bring successful series to a close. 

607
00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:20,200
But it wasn't always easy for the writers. 

608
00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:24,840
The worst one, for the last episode, was Hi-de-Hi! 

609
00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:28,680
Well, that's it, folks. It's the last night of the season. 

610
00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:30,720
AUDIENCE GROAN 

611
00:42:30,720 --> 00:42:32,600
We all hope you've had a wonderful holiday. 

612
00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:34,080
AUDIENCE: Yes! 

613
00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:36,840
Because we've had a wonderful time entertaining you. 

614
00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:42,360
There was a huge sadness, and I will never forget singing 

615
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:47,920
Goodnight Campers for the last time in the Hawaiian ballroom. 

616
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:50,280
Let's all join in with a good old farewell song... 

617
00:42:51,720 --> 00:42:53,640
that is being sung at this very moment... 

618
00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:58,720
in Maplins holiday camps all over the country. 

619
00:42:58,720 --> 00:43:05,520
It was so poignant, and there were real tears from us, 

620
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:11,720
from Su Pollard and myself. I daren't look at Pollard! 

621
00:43:11,720 --> 00:43:14,320
# Goodnight, campers 

622
00:43:14,320 --> 00:43:18,400
# See you in the morning. # 

623
00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:21,520
- Everybody was in floods of tears. 
- It was, true. 

624
00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:23,960
Because it was a very, very emotional ending to that last one. 

625
00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:26,440
- Yes, it was. 
- That was the manner of the man. He knew his job. 

626
00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:30,960
It was a long time, and we were a great family, really, 

627
00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:33,560
and we just went, "Oh, well, this is it, then." 

628
00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:35,600
You know, it was really very poignant. 

629
00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:42,160
Oh, Ted! It's been just wonderful. I did it! I got me yellow coat! 

630
00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:46,840
I'll remember this week for the rest of me life! 

631
00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:55,280
# Goodnight! # 

632
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:15,560
Hi-de-Hi! 

633
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:24,640
And the whole audience were in tears. They just sat there. I said, "Thank you, everyone." 

634
00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:30,760
And a woman said, "Have we got to go, now?" Great moments. 

635
00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:37,560
David and Jimmy are very hot on using people from their various other sitcoms, 

636
00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:39,280
if they felt they married up. 

637
00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:42,760
And the next series would bring together some familiar faces. 

638
00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:48,320
You Rang, M'Lord? was certainly our favourite of the three shows we did together, I think. 

639
00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:52,120
You Rang, M'Lord?, David and I thought it was the best. 

640
00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:55,120
Where are you going to find the £73 7/6 you owe her? 

641
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:56,840
I've got the 7/6. 

642
00:44:59,480 --> 00:45:02,040
It was certainly David's favourite show of all. 

643
00:45:02,040 --> 00:45:04,680
He said he thought it was part of the best of his work. 

644
00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:08,480
- What was it David said about it? The jewel in his crown? 
- The jewel in his crown. 

645
00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:14,680
This was given to me by my father on my 21st birthday, for being a good girl. 

646
00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:21,480
And that was given to me by the Turkish ambassador, for not being a good girl. 

647
00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:25,440
It was very similar to Upstairs, Downstairs, with laughs. 

648
00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:32,080
They were very, very interested in putting social comment underneath the comedy. 

649
00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:35,040
I don't suppose you've been in a room like this very often. 

650
00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:40,480
No, your Lordship. Not since I done the grate this morning. 

651
00:45:40,480 --> 00:45:43,960
It has a lot of comment about exactly the changing of the world, 

652
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:49,760
and how things developed majorly in the '20s and '30s. 

653
00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:54,320
Beautiful, you're wonderful, with your shiny, scrubbed face, 

654
00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:56,320
and those glasses with the thumbprints on them! 

655
00:45:56,320 --> 00:45:57,400
Give over! 

656
00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:04,680
Teddy was great fun to play. People still come up to me and say, "carbolic soap", 

657
00:46:04,680 --> 00:46:08,080
and "smudgy glasses", and things. 

658
00:46:08,080 --> 00:46:10,920
Oh, I loved it, because it was outrageous, really. 

659
00:46:10,920 --> 00:46:16,760
- Why do you go in for servants? 
- I don't know. It just comes over me. 

660
00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:22,720
I find myself creeping up the attic stairs, my heart pounding, 

661
00:46:22,720 --> 00:46:26,920
then I push open the door, and there's the smell of carbolic soap. 

662
00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:34,480
Oh, the production values on You Rang, M'Lord? were marvellous, I mean, like a feature film, almost. 

663
00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:40,720
Every piece of furniture, the cutlery, the glasses, everything, even down to the cigars we smoked. 

664
00:46:40,720 --> 00:46:44,880
I like the period altogether, the cloche hats, the beautiful '20s coats. 

665
00:46:45,920 --> 00:46:49,880
It was just, you were transported into another world. 

666
00:46:49,880 --> 00:46:53,240
Surrounded by beautiful props and wearing lovely costumes. 

667
00:46:53,240 --> 00:46:56,440
And all real, by the way. There was nothing fake. 

668
00:47:00,520 --> 00:47:03,320
They had them watched, 24 hours a day. 

669
00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:07,120
David used to say it cost a fortune to hire the props. 

670
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:08,760
Chocks away! 

671
00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:11,520
- Is that right? 
- Hold on to your hat! 

672
00:47:12,880 --> 00:47:18,640
The clever thing about all David's programmes is that they're set in the past, so that they never date. 

673
00:47:18,640 --> 00:47:20,720
They're already in the past. 

674
00:47:20,720 --> 00:47:26,840
And it was a historical event that inspired another hit series for David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. 

675
00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:29,840
Here comes that idiot Englishman who thinks he can speak our language. 

676
00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:36,840
Crabtree. Good moaning. Rene. Good moaning. Crabtree. Do you want the good nose or the bad nose? 

677
00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:40,560
Oh, do let us have the good nose! 

678
00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:45,120
I have hushed up the shutting of the two tits. 

679
00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:50,720
What does Crabtree say, Yvette? 

680
00:47:50,720 --> 00:47:53,520
He has hushed up the shooting of the two tarts. 

681
00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:59,000
You could hear them in the room, going, "Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" 

682
00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:04,760
The laughter that was coming out... "You can't say that." "I think we can!" 

683
00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:09,000
Stand by for inspection by General von Klinkerhoffen. Hans. 

684
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:12,360
General von Klinkerhoffen! Colonel. General von Klinkerhoffen! Michelle. 

685
00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:17,800
There is a gun in your back. If you give us away, you will be the first to die. 

686
00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:21,760
You will do exactly as I say. Rene. Now listen very carefully... 

687
00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:24,120
..I will say this only once. 

688
00:48:24,120 --> 00:48:28,080
It was quite bold of David and Jeremy 

689
00:48:28,080 --> 00:48:32,920
to put a series together called 'Allo 'Allo!, 

690
00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:37,200
set in France, occupied by the Germans. 

691
00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:42,720
It was quite heavily criticised at the time for taking the Mickey out of all these brave people. 

692
00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:49,640
David said, "But we don't send up anyone in particular," he said. "We send up everyone." 

693
00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:53,720
"The Germans are kinky, the French are randy and the English are stupid." 

694
00:48:53,720 --> 00:48:55,280
Hello! 

695
00:48:57,000 --> 00:49:02,040
The phone rang, and it was my agent, and she said, "I've just been on the telephone 

696
00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:06,640
for nearly three-quarters of an hour with David Croft, 

697
00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:11,560
and he's got this idea for a new series, a new comedy series." 

698
00:49:11,560 --> 00:49:16,320
"He's eager to have you in it, Gorden, and he's sending the script." 

699
00:49:16,320 --> 00:49:21,000
I started to read it, and I was laughing about a third of the way down. 

700
00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:27,480
I thought, "This is funny. It's not one of my lines, it's just a description of what's going on." 

701
00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:31,440
And, eventually, I got through it, and I thought, 

702
00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:36,520
"I've got to ring agent up and say yes please, with knobs on." 

703
00:49:36,520 --> 00:49:40,560
Otto Flick, the Gestapo officer, is having dinner in the back room. 

704
00:49:40,560 --> 00:49:43,760
Upstairs are two German officers in their underwear, 

705
00:49:43,760 --> 00:49:48,360
because I have borrowed their uniforms to help two British airmen to escape. 

706
00:49:48,360 --> 00:49:52,000
The pianist over there is in fact a forger for the Maquis, 

707
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:55,600
and the German officer at that table fancies me. 

708
00:49:57,560 --> 00:50:00,520
And it is only Tuesday! 

709
00:50:00,520 --> 00:50:05,320
You shouldn't be laughing at it, because it breaks all the rules of political correctness, 

710
00:50:05,320 --> 00:50:08,040
but at the end of the day, it's full of joy and delight. 

711
00:50:08,040 --> 00:50:10,880
Is the secret camera operating correctly? 

712
00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:12,600
I will demonstrate, Colonel! 

713
00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:16,120
OWL HOOTS 

714
00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:25,000
No, I wasn't the only one in the piece that wondered if we would get away with lines like these. 

715
00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:28,760
I have three fallen Madonnas, with six pink boobies. 

716
00:50:30,320 --> 00:50:33,080
We were very lucky getting Gorden Kaye, 

717
00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:38,400
who was from Huddersfield, who does the most marvellous French accent. 

718
00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:41,040
I expect you would like a light. 

719
00:50:41,040 --> 00:50:42,280
Thank you, you're very kind. 

720
00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:46,560
I have no matches. 

721
00:50:50,280 --> 00:50:52,200
Then why do you ask me if I would like a light? 

722
00:50:53,880 --> 00:50:55,200
I'm very sorry. 

723
00:50:57,680 --> 00:51:02,320
If you have no matches, if you have no matches, take mine. 

724
00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:06,480
- I have a spare box. 
- Are you one of them? 

725
00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:13,520
Really, it was very lonely on the Russian Front. 

726
00:51:16,760 --> 00:51:21,520
Jeremy and David wrote so that you laughed out loud. 

727
00:51:21,520 --> 00:51:25,360
Even if you didn't want to laugh, you laughed. 

728
00:51:25,360 --> 00:51:28,960
The scripts were beautiful, and we all knew where the laughs were. 

729
00:51:42,880 --> 00:51:45,840
Er, do you have a light? 

730
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:49,760
What do you want a light for? I just lit it. 

731
00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:55,400
I don't want a light, I just wondered if he had a light. 

732
00:51:57,320 --> 00:51:59,200
I have no matches. 

733
00:52:00,960 --> 00:52:03,040
I've just given you some matches! 

734
00:52:07,600 --> 00:52:10,840
These are your matches, they're not my matches! 

735
00:52:14,200 --> 00:52:17,440
- Is he one of us? 
- No, he's one of them! 

736
00:52:17,440 --> 00:52:19,560
Please, don't tell everybody! 

737
00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:25,720
David had a wonderful brain for construction of shows, 

738
00:52:25,720 --> 00:52:29,440
what was funny, how to put it all together. 

739
00:52:29,440 --> 00:52:33,560
Scripts, when they came for new series, I would read them and I'd think, 

740
00:52:33,560 --> 00:52:36,480
"Oh, I can't wait for so-and-so to say that line," 

741
00:52:36,480 --> 00:52:39,880
because I knew exactly how they would do it, 

742
00:52:39,880 --> 00:52:43,440
and therefore David and Jeremy themselves obviously knew how they would do it. 

743
00:52:43,440 --> 00:52:47,880
- Listen very carefully. I shall say this only once. 
- I beg your pardon? 

744
00:52:49,520 --> 00:52:54,920
It's so clever if you've got a character that people can engage in so much, 

745
00:52:54,920 --> 00:53:00,000
and be interested in enough to just have quite simple catchphrases 

746
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:04,040
and find them so funny and want to see them every week. 

747
00:53:04,040 --> 00:53:06,600
It is I, LeClerc. 

748
00:53:06,600 --> 00:53:09,840
It's only when somebody says it and it gets a laugh, 

749
00:53:09,840 --> 00:53:15,040
and then they say it again the next week and it gets a laugh, it then becomes a catchphrase. 

750
00:53:15,040 --> 00:53:19,920
I think people liked the knowledge that somebody's going to do it, and then enjoy it when they do. 

751
00:53:19,920 --> 00:53:21,320
You stupid woman! 

752
00:53:22,960 --> 00:53:27,440
The catchphrases, probably, that stick are the ones which 

753
00:53:27,440 --> 00:53:31,680
coincide perfectly with the character, in some way. 

754
00:53:31,680 --> 00:53:34,680
Oh, Rene! 

755
00:53:34,680 --> 00:53:37,320
It was David's idea, which I also thought was brilliant, 

756
00:53:37,320 --> 00:53:41,000
to have the English arriving not speaking French, 

757
00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:44,400
the French not understanding them, but everybody speaking English. 

758
00:53:44,400 --> 00:53:49,720
Go and find us a table where we will be alone. I have a little English, I will explain. 

759
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:54,400
OK, chaps. Follow the boss. 

760
00:53:54,400 --> 00:53:56,440
Oh, good God! She speaks English! 

761
00:53:56,440 --> 00:54:00,040
The French seem to be able to understand the Germans 

762
00:54:00,040 --> 00:54:03,400
and vice versa, but nobody understood the English. 

763
00:54:03,400 --> 00:54:05,240
Are you expecting us, by any chance? 

764
00:54:06,480 --> 00:54:09,880
- What does he say? 
- I don't know, I don't speak English. 

765
00:54:09,880 --> 00:54:15,960
David Croft himself used to say, "It's a can of worms, don't go there, you know." 

766
00:54:17,840 --> 00:54:23,720
These are the rules, you know, don't go too deep into that, but it's working so far! 

767
00:54:23,720 --> 00:54:25,880
I say, is anyone down there? 

768
00:54:25,880 --> 00:54:30,560
Oh, my God! Not another stupid English man! 

769
00:54:30,560 --> 00:54:34,560
I'll never forget David walking into the studio rehearsals one day, 

770
00:54:34,560 --> 00:54:36,960
and saying to me, I think, halfway through the first series, 

771
00:54:36,960 --> 00:54:42,280
saying to me, "I've had the most brilliant idea! I've had a brilliant idea last night!" 

772
00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:50,240
He said, "I'm bringing in an English policeman who can't speak French." 

773
00:54:50,240 --> 00:54:56,400
I just, basically, wanted to see the policeman, who was hilarious. 

774
00:54:56,400 --> 00:54:58,440
Good moaning. 

775
00:54:58,440 --> 00:55:03,120
At school, I mean, we never not said "Good moaning". 

776
00:55:03,120 --> 00:55:06,840
That's what we'd say, good moaning. It was just a catchphrase for us all. 

777
00:55:08,600 --> 00:55:11,200
I was pissing by the door... 

778
00:55:11,200 --> 00:55:13,680
AUDIENCE LAUGH 

779
00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:18,720
..when I heard two shats. 

780
00:55:19,800 --> 00:55:21,960
It had kind of gone to my head a bit. 

781
00:55:21,960 --> 00:55:25,200
David came up to me and said, "Yes, yes, we'll do that again, 

782
00:55:25,200 --> 00:55:29,280
and this time, don't come in knowing you're going to be funny." 

783
00:55:30,800 --> 00:55:32,680
Which is actually devastating! 

784
00:55:35,800 --> 00:55:36,840
Good moaning. 

785
00:55:38,160 --> 00:55:42,240
And I think it's probably the best note I've ever been given in my whole career. 

786
00:55:42,240 --> 00:55:44,800
I've never forgotten it, I never will forget it. 

787
00:55:44,800 --> 00:55:48,840
- You bear a most remarkably close resemblance to Rene. 
- I know. 

788
00:55:50,360 --> 00:55:55,440
- You even have the same pretty rings. 
- Ah, yes, yes. He left them to me. 

789
00:55:55,440 --> 00:56:02,320
Now I come to look, your eyelashes are a little longer, and your hands are more artistic. 

790
00:56:03,920 --> 00:56:07,040
The Colonel told me you arrived from Nancy this morning. 

791
00:56:07,040 --> 00:56:10,320
- Yes, yes, quite right. 
- Is that where you and Rene were born? 

792
00:56:10,320 --> 00:56:12,400
Yes, we were both Nancy boys. 

793
00:56:20,880 --> 00:56:25,680
It's a wonderful thing to know that I worked with one of the great, 

794
00:56:25,680 --> 00:56:28,200
one of the greats of our profession. 

795
00:56:28,200 --> 00:56:34,600
He gave something to British comedy that is like a treasure chest. 

796
00:56:34,600 --> 00:56:37,040
MUSIC: "Run" by Snow Patrol 

797
00:56:47,680 --> 00:56:52,200
They don't come like David any more. Those sort of writers are gone. 

798
00:56:53,640 --> 00:56:55,000
So sad, in a way. 

799
00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:59,120
He was a great mentor, and you couldn't want for anybody better, could you? 

800
00:56:59,120 --> 00:57:04,240
I'm so grateful to him for the laughs, and all that he's done for the genre that I love so much. 

801
00:57:04,240 --> 00:57:05,680
What have we got here? 

802
00:57:07,680 --> 00:57:09,760
Is it a mushroom? 

803
00:57:09,760 --> 00:57:14,600
His work was injected with a sense of fun, I think, as well. 

804
00:57:14,600 --> 00:57:16,040
A kind of optimism. 

805
00:57:16,040 --> 00:57:20,600
They can put 20 bombs down my trousers, and they will not make me crack! 

806
00:57:22,400 --> 00:57:26,000
He wasn't just liked by everyone that worked with him, 

807
00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:27,920
he was loved by everyone that worked with him. 

808
00:57:27,920 --> 00:57:32,160
This man, Croft, had a knack for making people smile. 

809
00:57:32,160 --> 00:57:34,800
Plenty of room under the arms for movement. 

810
00:57:34,800 --> 00:57:37,680
I get quite carried away when I put one of...aaaah! 

811
00:57:39,680 --> 00:57:41,920
You don't argue with somebody who's got 

812
00:57:41,920 --> 00:57:45,000
a list of successes like he has, over the years. 

813
00:57:47,080 --> 00:57:53,000
He had a very good ear and a very good eye. I was very, very lucky to meet him. 

814
00:57:53,000 --> 00:57:56,920
I screamed and screamed, but nobody came. 

815
00:57:56,920 --> 00:57:59,240
We thought you were singing. 

816
00:57:59,240 --> 00:58:05,120
I'd like to say this as a tribute to David, because he was so easy. 

817
00:58:05,120 --> 00:58:10,520
We never had a row. He knew it all. Can you say that about somebody? 

818
00:58:44,840 --> 00:58:47,880
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 

819
00:58:47,880 --> 00:58:50,920
E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk