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'Ere, want to find out about Dad's Army? Meet me behind Jones's van.

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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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# We are the boys who will stop your little game

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# We are the boys who will make you think again

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# Cos who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler

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# If you think old England's done? #

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AIR-RAID SIREN, GUNFIRE

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Dad's Army is the most affectionately regarded comedy programme ever on TV.

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We want to find out why it's so wonderful.

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This could be the only documentary made entirely in second gear.

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I was sitting in my office with a stack of Dad's Army videos and a cup of tea

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and I watched 40 programmes.

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I think I know now what makes it so wonderful.

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I'm going into fourth gear now.

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YES!

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Dad's Army's on!

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Don't panic! Don't panic!

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It's still popular. People really do love it.

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We're doomed...doomed.

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It was definitely one of those shows where it was a family event.

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Excuse me, Uncle Sergeant.

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I was part of something important in the history of television.

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Stupid boy!

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When comedy really works well, you know, the secret ingredient is magic.

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It was a miracle. The cast was right, the time was right,

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the script was right, the tunes were right

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and the whole situation was right. It's as simple as that.

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# Don't let's be beastly to the Germans

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# When our victory is ultimately won... #

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Dad's Army ran from 1968-1977 - nine years.

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World War II was only six. It's never been repeated!

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Like all good sitcoms, it's based on a very simple idea -

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a bunch of blokes in a church hall defending their country.

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But it's about a vanished England, class, relationships, war.

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To me, the linchpin of the whole thing is the relationship between Mainwaring and Wilson,

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and the performances of John Le Mesurier and Arthur Lowe.

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Stupid boy.

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- You both went to public school. 
- Can't help feeling, sir, you have a chip on your shoulder about that.

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No. What IS on my shoulder, though - three pips and don't you forget it!

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'Captain Mainwaring loved being in charge. He made himself in charge.'

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When it all started, everybody was volunteering for everything,

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and he decided to volunteer to himself to become a captain.

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- First, we have to appoint a properly appointed commander. 
- A what, sir? 
- A properly appointed commander. Me!

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- All right? 
- ..All right.

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People say, "Was Arthur Lowe really pompous?"

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He wasn't, but he didn't suffer fools gladly.

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Mainwaring was the best example of pomposity ever.

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- I don't think I gave you permission to sit. 
- I'm sorry, sir.

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He got carried away with his own importance, or sense of importance.

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He could fight the Germans single-handed.

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You kind of have an empathy for... You do feel for him.

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There were episodes where he showed himself to be a good person.

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- We rarely get a chance to meet as equals. 
- No, we don't.

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- However, tonight, you may call me George. 
- Thanks awfully, sir.

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- I shall call you Arthur. 
- Will you really? Good.

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The change over Arthur Lowe as the aggressive captain...

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and he has, from time to time, to speak to his wife on the phone.

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"Get them to do so and so and so and so!"

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Then a complete change... "Hello? Elizabeth?"

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Hello? 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. 
- Oh...

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..I might have a little surprise for you tonight.

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..No, no...

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'They wanted her to appear in an episode. Arthur didn't.'

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I agree. We all got this different idea of what Elizabeth was like.

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I think the only time we had a possible glimpse of her body

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was when her great big bum was in the top bunk

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and Arthur was underneath, Mainwaring was underneath!

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Are you awake, Elizabeth?

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Stuck on the bottom bunk of a joyless marriage - no wonder Mainwaring was tempted elsewhere.

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Oh, I shouldn't have eaten all that cheese.

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Far too rich.

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'Only Mainwaring doesn't have anybody,'

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except his wife that's never seen, until this one episode

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where Miss Fiona comes into his life.

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It was out of character for Mainwaring to drop his guard,

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if you'll pardon the pun, and go chasing after Carmen's character.

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But it just showed another side of his character.

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Captain Mainwaring? Yes?

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I heard you need women helpers for the Home Guard.

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Yes, quite correct.

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'I played a character called Fiona Grey,

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'who'd gone down to Walmington-on-Sea'

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to take her mother away from the bombs in London. He falls for her.

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Fiona?

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What a pretty name.

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Do you think so?

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Yes, it's always been one of my favourites. Oh, thank you. >

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She says, "Would you mind taking your glasses off? It gets in the way of the warmth of the eyes." He blossoms!

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'It's so sweet that he grows... He wishes he didn't need the glasses.

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'She realises he has a wife,'

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so she decides to go back to London.

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Stand clear, sir! ..And pull those blinds down!

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Promise you'll write.

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Very well. I promise. WHISTLE BLOWS

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Make it soon. Goodbye, George! >

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FRANK WILLIAMS: 'I'd say something like a Brief Encounter thing

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'actually was not out of character for Mainwaring.'

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It added a new dimension to his character.

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This was the other wonderful thing that happened in so many episodes.

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You suddenly found a facet of a well-loved character that you hadn't seen before.

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You've got to have light and shade, really, for the comedy to work.

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If it's gag, gag, gag, gag, gag, it doesn't work.

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You've got to have that... not tears of a clown, crying on the inside and all that,

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but you've got to strike the balance for the comedy to work.

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It's a wonderfully complicated relationship between Mainwaring and Wilson.

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Wilson is upper class with a way with the ladies.

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Mainwaring despises the upper class, but might like to be part of it.

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The other complication is Wilson is only the chief clerk at the bank

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and Mainwaring is the bank manager.

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You're right. I'm the manager and you're the chief clerk.

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I'm the officer and you're the sergeant. Pull your socks up and get about your business.

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'The relationship between Mainwaring and Wilson in the bank'

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was a very strange one. The manager in those days was God.

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John Le Mesurier's character obviously came from a good family,

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upper class,

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and Arthur was made good from the ranks.

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- Being a member of the aristocracy explains a lot about your character. 
- Really? 
- Oh, yes.

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Wilson didn't care. This worried Captain Mainwaring.

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Wilson?

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- What are you doing? 
- So sorry, sir.

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As it was such a beautiful day, I thought, while you were chatting,

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I'd take advantage of this glorious sun

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and try and get myself a tan.

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'Wilson wouldn't want to be in charge.'

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He was only really there because Mainwaring told him to be.

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He was actually in control, more in control than Mainwaring, really.

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Is it the Honourable Sergeant Wilson or Sergeant The Honourable Wilson?

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I don't want any fuss. I just want to be like an ordinary sergeant.

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I'm sure that would suit us all, Wilson.

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'John Le Mesurier was wished on me by Michael Mills, the Head of Comedy.

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You must have John Le Mesurier. He suffers so beautifully.

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Sometimes you'd see him do that before he answered

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or while he was answering.

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Mainwaring would have a go at him about something and he'd say,

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"Yes, I think you're right, sir."

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He gets wise and he'd wait,

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and I realised he was waiting for that light on the camera.

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He gave this wonderful vagueness, which was important to the show. We took advantage of that.

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- Listen, Arthur. 
- Yes. 
- Tell Captain Mainwaring I'm not having Frank going on any more marches. 
- I can't.

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Well, if you don't and Frank wakes up in the night again, you won't be there to hear it!

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We knew he was having a long-standing affair with Pike's mother,

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but we never mentioned anything.

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She used to say, "Oh, Arthur - he's a wonderful man. So strong!"

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We used to put in all this innuendo!

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- Will you be round later, Arthur, for your usual? 
- Maybe.

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The clever part of the writing was that it wasn't a classy lady,

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which you'd expect because Wilson was supposed to come from that class.

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But here was a lady who was ordinary, almost working class.

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Gin and tonic - there we are!

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And don't get all Nellie Dean like last week!

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Excuse me... Oh, cor blimey, how do you do?

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Uncles and aunts were part of people's lives.

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It did keep things moving very smoothly in family circles.

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And...unquestioned. It was Uncle!

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I never hear you leave and I never hear you come back in the morning.

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Well, you see, I let myself in and out very quietly.

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You never do anything else quietly!

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'After we'd finished,'

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I said to David, "Was John my father?" He said, "Of course he was, yes."

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- I'm going to have this out with Captain Mainwaring. 
- I feel a fool! 
- I can't help that.

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Evening!

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Pike was based probably on me and the rest of us boys in the Home Guard.

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- Uncle Arthur? 
- Yes?

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- I've got an idea. 
- I'm delighted.

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Jimmy very kindly told me after about ten episodes

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that Pike was him. "Thanks, Jim(!)"

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Suddenly, you're playing the writer.

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Jimmy was that age in the war and he was in the Home Guard.

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- What do you want now, Pike? 
- I'm sorry, but Mrs Mainwaring's on the phone again.

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I said you were having coffee with Mrs Fox...

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You stupid boy.

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He was the main foil for nearly every ambition Mainwaring had.

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- Why don't we wrap something round the pipe? 
- Pike, take off your tunic.

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- Why me?! 
- Because you're wet already.

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Arthur came to me and said, "Ian, don't worry about not having a lot of lines. They'll come.

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"For now, get yourself a funny costume and stand near me."

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Pike? You must not wear a coloured scarf with your uniform. Take it off.

182
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Mum says I mustn't take it off. I get croup.

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# When Britain is in danger When trouble's in the air

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# We all forget our squabbles It's trespassers beware

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# A nation is united When danger looms in sight... #

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The world of Walmington-on-Sea is pre-war.

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Even in the war, things were pre-war because they didn't have time to be post-war till after the war

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because there was a war on.

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The society Mainwaring was a pillar of was very rigid. Nobody liked Hodges. He was only a greengrocer.

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# United we shall stand Whatever may befall... #

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There's a wonderful variety of ages within the main group.

192
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You've got the spiv Walker, who is old enough to fight but has got out of it,

193
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and Pike, who is too young to fight.

194
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Jones enlisted in 1880-something and gave the fuzzy-wuzzies a seeing to.

195
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The cold steel, they don't like it up 'em!

196
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JONES: I've been struck by something deadly.

197
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I look at it this way - we're now all in possession of secret information.

198
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Supposing we was captured by an enemy agent, sir,

199
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how long could we stand out against torture before we revealed ourselves?

200
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I spent four years in a POW camp,

201
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working for Hitler, of course -

202
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up a mountainside, digging and God knows what else.

203
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So when I had this part, it was like a sort of revenge for me.

204
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I could be aggressive.

205
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It was like a wonderful happy revenge for that.

206
00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:30,160
I signed on as a drummer boy in 1884. Later, I saw service in the Sudan.

207
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Fought the fuzzy-wuzzies. They come at you with a knife and slit you right open!

208
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They soon find out if you have guts!

209
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'The part of Corporal Jones'

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was based on a real character, an old soldier with me in the Home Guard.

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They don't like the cold steel, sir. They don't like it up 'em. They...

212
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Get him a chair, Wilson.

213
00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:01,480
This instructor we had - he'd been in the 1914-18 war - used to say,

214
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"Look at the bayonet, you've got to understand the cold steel.

215
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"They don't like it up 'em. They can't abide the cold steel. So show 'em the cold steel."

216
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You'd think, "Who wants it up 'em?"

217
00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:22,760
When I saw it in the script, "They don't like it up 'em", I thought it was offensive.

218
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Then I thought an old butcher who'd been in all those campaigns, he would say that.

219
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He'd say, "They don't like it up 'em."

220
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There's no substitute for the cold steel. They don't like it up 'em!

221
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I might have mentioned that before.

222
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The British love that sort of humour so I gave it the full works. "They don't like it up 'em, sir!"

223
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You do that again and you'll get this up you and you will not like it!

224
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I wanted to make sure that I got what we used to call Joey Joeys.

225
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The Joey Joeys were a short term for the obvious gag -

226
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the red-hot poker up the bum.

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Attention!

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Captain Mainwaring was very frustrated by Jones,

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although he admired him in a way.

230
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He was such a silly man, and making silly suggestions.

231
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- Any suggestions? - What about a tunnel, sir?

232
00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,440
- A tunnel? - Yes, sir!

233
00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:38,760
We all go round behind that wall and dig the hole in a downwards direction, sir.

234
00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:43,920
Down, down - and then suddenly you start digging sideways, sideways.

235
00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:50,720
When we think we're under the mill, we dig upwards, upwards! God willing, we'd be in the mill.

236
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:52,840
Or Australia!

237
00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:57,800
I think you're in the realms of fantasy again here, Jones.

238
00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:01,600
It was a time of great hardship

239
00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:04,280
and, yet, you know...

240
00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:10,680
it showed how resourceful people are in those times,

241
00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:15,880
and that hardship was obviously great raw material for comedy.

242
00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:21,000
You know, Corporal Jones being able to do sausages for people.

243
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:23,640
- Got any sausages? 
- Hold on.

244
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,440
EXCITED CHATTER

245
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:37,080
'When war's on, butchers are the kings of the area. Everybody's got to keep going nicely with the butcher.'

246
00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:43,240
And Jack Jones sort of...rather enjoyed that situation, I think.

247
00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,680
- I bought that for you. 
- What's this?

248
00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:51,760
- Your favourite tobacco. 
- Thank you, madam. 
- I'll be in later in the week.

249
00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,640
'He was quite romantic in a way.'

250
00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,600
And he was mad about Mrs Fox,

251
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,400
played by Pamela Cundell so deliciously.

252
00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:08,120
Well, she was a flirt. There's no getting away from it.

253
00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:13,120
She made a play for Mr Jones because she wanted sausages and kidneys.

254
00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:18,240
I'm only a humble butcher. Is it true affection she feels for me?

255
00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:23,080
Does she love me for myself or does she love me for my meat?

256
00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,440
'They decided, Jimmy and David,'

257
00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:32,200
that we should get married. That was a lovely episode.

258
00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:34,680
'Oh, it was gorgeous!'

259
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:39,240
# ..Faint hearts don't win fair ladies, A lady's love... #

260
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,000
No confetti! No confetti!

261
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,240
I'M going to throw confetti!

262
00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:55,080
It's not only Jonesy who has wonderful one-liners. The whole show is full of them.

263
00:20:55,080 --> 00:21:01,720
We first became aware it was becoming very popular when people, workmen on a roof, said,

264
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:06,920
"Oi, Jonesy! They don't like it up..." Or, "Don't panic!"

265
00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:09,160
- Don't panic! - Stupid boy!

266
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,480
- Permission to speak! - He's doomed!

267
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:14,880
You stupid boy.

268
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:22,360
We never thought of catch phrases. "Oh, we'll put these in and they'll catch on." They just happened.

269
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,520
You stupid boy!

270
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:34,040
Things crept in and the public picked them up.

271
00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:38,800
- I'm all wet, Mr Mainwaring! 
- You stupid boy!

272
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,440
The fact is they do not like it up them.

273
00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,280
Can't stand it, they really can't.

274
00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:57,160
It's hard to decide if a catch phrase is intrinsically funny out of context

275
00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:03,840
because what we know of those catch phrases is people repeating themselves now

276
00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:07,400
in the light of it having been on Dad's Army.

277
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:11,680
So when someone says, "Don't panic" or "Stupid boy",

278
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:19,880
it's loaded with all the comedy baggage of being in a very, very successful sitcom.

279
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:24,240
- 'Number, please!' 
- Walmington-on-Sea...

280
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:28,080
- I've forgotten the number. 
- You stupid boy.

281
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,040
It's Walmington-on-Sea... Just a moment.

282
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:36,080
All the main characters have the thing that they do,

283
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:41,080
which is the thing the original audience would have latched onto -

284
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:46,120
Godfrey always wanting to be excused - but they did much more than that.

285
00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:50,520
So you can watch the programmes a lot and they don't pall.

286
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:52,320
Attention!

287
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,880
It wasn't awfully good, was it?

288
00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,400
'You'd start every programme with a line-up.'

289
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,040
It's a useful way of introducing everybody.

290
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,640
What's in your pockets, Walker?

291
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:10,520
A pound of granulated and a pound of sultanas.

292
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:16,760
- You must check this sort of thing before I inspect the troops. 
- This is disgraceful!

293
00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:21,560
- You'll have to throw it in the bin. 
- OK, but you paid for 'em.

294
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:28,080
Jimmy Bett's character of Private Walker, they were called spivs then.

295
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:34,520
He could get you anything - he could get you your nylons or lipstick or whatever.

296
00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:40,400
He was able to make a few bob out of the war, as people were then.

297
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,200
But it was still part of that community.

298
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:49,400
Walker wasn't selling something huge to an outside country.

299
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:53,040
It was all done within that framework.

300
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:58,040
He always got the girl. But he's the kind of character who'd say he did!

301
00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:03,560
It's up to you to decide. He was the only one who COULD get the girl!

302
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:07,160
This is a friend of mine - Edith Parish.

303
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:11,360
Miss Parish. Have you an occupation, Miss Parish?

304
00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:14,720
Yes. I'm an usherette.

305
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,920
'I was Private Walker's girlfriend.'

306
00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,680
She wasn't a good-time girl, but she liked fun.

307
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:33,880
There was never anything SEXUAL. That would be totally wrong.

308
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:41,240
The Second World War brought out the best in us. We could make a sponge cake with carrots and a hair net.

309
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:48,680
While Dad's Army is about that war, what adds a layer is you're watching people who fought in that war.

310
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,720
As a setting for a comedy, war is brilliant.

311
00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:57,440
You don't have to have really nasty characters

312
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:03,280
because you've got the biggest baddie - Hitler...and his Nazis,

313
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:09,120
who hold the platoon captive by putting a bomb down Jones's trousers

314
00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:11,680
in The Deadly Attachment.

315
00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:15,920
JIMMY PERRY: It WAS going down Arthur Lowe's trousers.

316
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:20,920
It wasn't till we were setting up in the street, he said,

317
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:25,440
"I've just read the script. I have a bomb in my trousers."

318
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:31,240
He wouldn't have it. Anyway, they decided to put it down my trousers.

319
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,800
One of the cleverest rewrites ever.

320
00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:38,720
David and Jimmy just crossed out Mainwaring and put Jones.

321
00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:43,560
He was hoist with his own petard and had to go along with it.

322
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:47,600
I was very happy to have a bomb put down my trousers.

323
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,960
ALL: Aaaaaaargh!

324
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:58,360
Save yourself, sir! I'll cut it out.

325
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,600
It should have gone off by now.

326
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,120
So it should.

327
00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:08,240
I've been saved! I've been saved!

328
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:12,760
'He was very strange about what he would and would not do.'

329
00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:17,120
Apparently, he had an agreement with David Croft,

330
00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:22,160
when he started to arrange what he was going to do in the show.

331
00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:27,000
They wouldn't do any scenes where he had to remove his trousers.

332
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:34,360
Now that the crisis is past, would you mind asking Frazer to take his hand out of my trousers?

333
00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:37,880
That's as near to pornography as it got.

334
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,480
The Deadly Attachment was a favourite episode with us.

335
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:48,720
I suppose when you get a really strong situation and a crisis like that,

336
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:51,600
it's very easy to play it through.

337
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,840
< He's surly. Watch him.

338
00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:58,840
I played the U-boat commander.

339
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,440
Myself and my crew had been captured.

340
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:06,080
They found out immediately, early on in the programme,

341
00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:12,320
that Dad's Army have to look after us until the official Army arrive the next day.

342
00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,280
I'm warning you...Captain.

343
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,840
Just do as you're told.

344
00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:27,560
HE COUGHS

345
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:35,360
It wasn't easy to bring the platoon face to face with the Germans.

346
00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:42,240
In reality, they never were, virtually, so we couldn't use that much. When we did, we revelled in it!

347
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,920
I am making notes, Captain!

348
00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,480
Your name will go on the list.

349
00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:54,440
And when we win the war, you will be brought to account. You're not going to win this war.

350
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:59,080
Oh, yes, we are. Oh, no, you're not. Oh, yes, we are!

351
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:02,280
# Whistle while you work Hitler is a twerp

352
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,120
# He's half barmy So's his army... #

353
00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:10,040
Your name will also go on the list. What is it?

354
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,640
Don't tell him, Pike! Pike...

355
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,920
'We knew we'd got the funny moment there.'

356
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:22,040
This was one line, one episode, that went out once.

357
00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:28,600
The next day, in the street, people shouted, "Don't tell him, Pike!" Extraordinary.

358
00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,360
# ..Couldn't be nicer Couldn't be sweeter

359
00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:37,640
# Couldn't be better Couldn't be smarter... #

360
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:44,360
This is Walmington-on-Sea. All right, it isn't - there's no such place.

361
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,000
- I 
- know that. I work in television.

362
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:53,160
This is Thetford, where the team came for two weeks every year to do location filming.

363
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:57,560
I can't show you Stead and Simpson or Timothy White's,

364
00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,120
but Walmington-on-Sea wouldn't have those places now either.

365
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:15,360
There's still an undertaker's and a butcher's. Is there a bank still?

366
00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:22,760
Pikey would be 70! He'd be ordering a kebab, nipping into Sue Ryder. ..He's not real! Stupid boy!

367
00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:29,680
A tip. If you want your comedy show to be watched and enjoyed 30 years after it was written,

368
00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:35,120
set it in the past. Then it's already dated and it can't date.

369
00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:41,120
Mr Mainwaring, it went jidder-judder and tore me trousers off.

370
00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,200
Are you all right?

371
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:47,280
- I've lost what I hold most dear. - Oh, no.

372
00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:50,000
My pocket book and discharge papers.

373
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:55,480
'I remember Thetford well cos we went there year after year.'

374
00:29:55,480 --> 00:30:01,440
People were pleased to see you. The typical English town, really.

375
00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:03,800
We liked it.

376
00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:09,960
Arthur Lowe used to come up by coach. He could lord it a bit on the coach.

377
00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:14,840
"Very nice. A bit of countryside. Dry..." All this sort of thing.

378
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:21,360
And working out if they'd got the message at the tobacconist's for his special fags.

379
00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:26,960
Never mind what we were going to do filming. That was another world.

380
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:31,680
I used to drive up with John Le Mesurier. He was my mate.

381
00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:38,000
The Bell Hotel, there was plenty of booze in the Bell. We all met at meal times.

382
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,840
An extraordinary situation. Fun.

383
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:52,960
FRANK WILLIAMS: Jimmy and David always had extraordinary luck with the weather.

384
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:59,800
Plan your summer holidays when Dad's Army is on location. It's lovely.

385
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:08,560
WENDY RICHARD: It was like being allowed into a gentlemen's club.

386
00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:12,120
They were all sweethearts in their own way.

387
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:16,120
BILL PERTWEE: We worked hard during the day's filming.

388
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:18,200
No question.

389
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,320
FRANK WILLIAMS: We'd get up and go down to breakfast.

390
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:26,840
Arthur would complain about the kippers or something.

391
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:33,240
"Have you got a little ham this morning?" He said, "Off the bo-one, off the bo-one."

392
00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:37,240
Clive wandering about, looking for his boots.

393
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:42,120
"Somebody put my boots somewhere." "Probably in your room." "I'll look."

394
00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:49,880
Some of them were middle-aged and over.

395
00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,440
The wives came to look after them.

396
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:57,640
We'd have a break in the morning and the wives would be fussing around.

397
00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:00,720
I mean, this was a film in itself!

398
00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,280
Arnold Ridley was the funniest.

399
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:08,880
His wife, she used to drive him to Thetford.

400
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:14,320
And she used to have to go and get the food from the wagon.

401
00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:18,240
And she... He did boss her about a lot.

402
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:24,720
"You sit there and I'll get you a cup of tea." "Yes, dear," he said, "Mmmm!"

403
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:27,640
Godfrey! Can I be of assistance, sir?

404
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:32,120
Look to the front. Don't wear your hat straight like that.

405
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,760
You look like George Formby. >

406
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:37,200
'Godfrey was a wonderful invention,'

407
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:43,240
and perfectly cast with Arnold Ridley cos he was so gentle and sweet.

408
00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:46,840
< GODFREY! Did someone call?

409
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:54,440
Godfrey was the nurse. If anyone needed medical attention, it was him!

410
00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:59,640
We got enormous comedy out of the way they had to help him into the van.

411
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:04,960
His disabilities were an advantage from a comedy point of view.

412
00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:09,840
Did he ever do anything? He always had his Red Cross box on.

413
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:13,360
I don't think he ever opened it. Did he? Did he?

414
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:20,360
Jones has got a bout of malaria. Got anything we can give him? Yes, sir, I've got some aspirins...

415
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:25,080
bicarbonate of soda... some ointment for wasp stings.

416
00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:29,040
This is a fighting unit, not a Girl Guides' outing!

417
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:34,040
I said, "Arnold are you up to this?" He was 73 or 74 at the time.

418
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:38,760
"I don't think I can protect you from having to run occasionally."

419
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:42,680
He said, "Yes, I think so. I think I'll manage."

420
00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:47,880
We had to rush across a field with fixed bayonets, or whatever.

421
00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:52,000
It was quite hard work. We did it quite a lot.

422
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:56,840
He used to let Arnold Ridley off and that annoyed John Laurie.

423
00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:59,600
They were more or less the same age.

424
00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:06,520
While we're rushing about, running the flag up the pole, Godfrey will still be climbing out of the van.

425
00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:12,840
There's no doubt about it, they were genuinely out of breath from time to time.

426
00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:17,720
Again, it added to the pathos of the fact that, poor old duffers,

427
00:34:17,720 --> 00:34:21,720
they were trying to keep up, trying to do it.

428
00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,840
I'm sure it isn't good for the heart.

429
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:31,400
JIMMY PERRY: 'They thought their careers were finished.'

430
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:33,360
Don't give up!

431
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:40,400
'They thought it was curtains for them. Suddenly, they had this terrific new lease of life.'

432
00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:42,960
He's taken leave of his senses!

433
00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:46,200
'John Laurie was in his mid 70s.'

434
00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:51,200
He'd worked at the Old Vic with Gielgud, Olivier and all the greats

435
00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:54,680
and was a fine classical actor.

436
00:34:54,680 --> 00:35:00,480
He'd tell you he was the greatest Lear they'd had there. Very modest!

437
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,280
This is Private Frazer. Howdy.

438
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:08,360
Noo's the day and noo's the hoor, see the front of battle lour

439
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,560
and see if proud Hitler's wanton tour thraves on slavery.

440
00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:17,360
Wha would be a traitor knave?! Wha sae base as be a slave?!

441
00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:20,000
Wha would fill a coward's grave?!

442
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,560
Let him turn and flee!

443
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:28,320
'I can remember him once saying to Jimmy Perry,'

444
00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:34,360
"You know, Jimmy, I played all the great Shakespearian roles

445
00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:40,200
"and now I've become a household name doing this rubbish of yours!"

446
00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:45,200
He said to Jimmy Perry, "I think this is a load of r-rubbish!

447
00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:52,920
"I get a cheque at the end of the week, but I don't think it'll be a success. Mark my words."

448
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:59,520
And then when it was, he went up to Jimmy, after the second series, I think,

449
00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:03,520
"I never had any doubt it would be a success."

450
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,120
'Great, great, laddie, great.'

451
00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:08,680
Captain Mainwaring...

452
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:15,400
..did you ever hear the story of the auld empty barn?

453
00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,200
No.

454
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:23,640
Would you like to hear the story of the auld empty barn?

455
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,600
I dished up all that "We're doomed!"

456
00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:32,720
He was doing that in Will Hay films 40 years beforehand.

457
00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:37,360
The story of the auld empty barn.

458
00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:40,920
Well...

459
00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:45,600
There was nithing in it.

460
00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:49,280
# There's something about the soldier

461
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:51,680
# Something about the soldier

462
00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:55,720
# Something about the soldier that is fine, fine, fine... #

463
00:36:55,720 --> 00:36:59,920
DAVID CROFT: 'It did the cast a lot of good -

464
00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:02,840
'they were all getting on, quite old -'

465
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:06,560
to wave them about in the fresh air every spring.

466
00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:08,640
'We had fun.'

467
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:20,880
CLIVE DUNN: 'We were all let off the leash at nine, wandering about the pubs, bumping into one another.'

468
00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:27,440
The ones that pretended they didn't drink, they'd look furtive. You got to know the cast.

469
00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:32,240
We'd all go down to the bar and Arthur would be on the stool,

470
00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:36,560
immaculately dressed, slightly red in the face,

471
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:39,640
and with what he called "an amazon",

472
00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:47,440
which was a gin with ginger ale and one - not two - one slice of cucumber in it.

473
00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:52,400
He'd be propped up against the bar and we'd all drift in -

474
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:56,960
I don't know why we all dressed up, we did - and we'd yarn.

475
00:37:56,960 --> 00:38:02,920
BILL PERTWEE: I remember Arthur said to David Croft one day, about me,

476
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:05,480
"Where did you get this fellow from?"

477
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:10,840
David said, "Well, he's been in variety..." "Hmm, really?"

478
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:14,400
Why don't you pick on someone your own size? Come on!

479
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:16,880
Hold my glasses, Wilson.

480
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,440
'I was an outsider to start with.'

481
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:25,640
Don't you tangle with him in your crippled state. I'll do it for you, sir.

482
00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:29,360
'It was as if I was somebody looking in,'

483
00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:32,280
looking into this group of seven.

484
00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:36,760
Bill Pertwee, bless his heart, who played Hodges,

485
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:40,000
is a sort of villain of the piece.

486
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:42,480
I became Mainwaring's private Hitler.

487
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:48,760
I suppose it was with great pleasure that the writers wrote it if there was any water, he'd get it.

488
00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:53,120
BILL PERTWEE: 'I took the brunt of a few stunts.'

489
00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:58,120
He was terribly good natured about it.

490
00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:00,640
Oh! Here we go again!

491
00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:04,920
One of the situations was alarming.

492
00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:08,680
There's an object in the water. Won't be long now.

493
00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:13,000
'We were doing late-night filming at Lowestoft, 2am,

494
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:16,160
'and my boat overturned with me

495
00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:20,680
'and the water got underneath the strap of my helmet.'

496
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:25,440
I was all right. I gurgled a bit and spat a bit of water out.

497
00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:29,320
Everybody had gone. There was only one person left.

498
00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:31,920
They'd all gone to the next shot!

499
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:37,120
I said, "Where is everybody?" "Gone." Never mind about me!

500
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:43,400
Then we couldn't chuck him in the water because we were filming in rivers with rats in them.

501
00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:49,320
Health and Safety don't like comedy.

502
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:53,440
Then, you could chuck somebody in a river - usually Bill.

503
00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:57,600
As long as I got the cheque at the end of the week.

504
00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:00,320
# The very thought of you... #

505
00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:05,680
That summer, the show reached its highest viewing figures yet.

506
00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:11,320
Firmly established as a hit comedy, the platoon seemed unstoppable.

507
00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:17,360
DAVID CROFT: The first person to die was Jimmy Beck. That was a shock.

508
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:20,400
He became ill on location, I think,

509
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:26,400
and he was hovering for about a fortnight, at death's door, as it were.

510
00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:31,440
Jimmy dying so young, at 39, presented a lot of difficulties

511
00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:35,360
because no way would we have recast that part.

512
00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:41,520
And I'm afraid he was a very, very heavy drinker. It just got him in the end.

513
00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:46,200
The next episode, Jimmy was not going to be in it,

514
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:51,160
in that last episode of the series.

515
00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:53,720
It was very sad, very poignant.

516
00:40:53,720 --> 00:40:58,440
The camera goes along the line and comes to a gap.

517
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:03,240
'And there's a note where he would have been standing.'

518
00:41:03,240 --> 00:41:05,880
Captain Mainwaring - personal.

519
00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:08,480
Personal? Give it to me!

520
00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:17,000
Unusual perfume.

521
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,120
Petrol.

522
00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:23,280
"Dear Cap,

523
00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,720
"Thanks for letting me off.

524
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:33,200
"Had to go up to the smoke for a few days to do a deal."

525
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:37,960
CLIVE DUNN: 'The shock. From a selfish point of view, I thought,'

526
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:44,000
"What will happen to the programme? Are we still going to be able to do it?"

527
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:49,720
So it was awful for his wife and for all his friends.

528
00:41:49,720 --> 00:41:52,760
It was a bad time, a bad time. Hmm.

529
00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:56,240
Yeah, something went... most certainly.

530
00:41:56,240 --> 00:42:01,680
Despite the success of the four or five series we did without Jim,

531
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:05,960
something wasn't there, no doubt about that.

532
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:09,280
# ..The very thought of you, my love. #

533
00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:14,880
There was an effort to replace Jimmy. It was an impossible task.

534
00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:20,120
You couldn't take over from somebody like him.

535
00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:27,080
The next series, a lovely Welsh actor called Talfryn Thomas - had teeth like that - Mr Cheeseman.

536
00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:31,560
He was on the local newspaper, the Walmington Bugle.

537
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:34,080
He was war correspondent.

538
00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:38,080
He had an armband with "WC" on the side.

539
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:42,880
What's that? Oh, that's so everyone knows what I do.

540
00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:50,080
What DO you do? Well, WC - war correspondent.

541
00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:55,960
John Laurie came to me once and said, "James, can I have a word, please?"

542
00:42:55,960 --> 00:43:01,520
He said, "Is yon Welsh fella going to be in the next series?"

543
00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:08,400
I said, "I don't know." He said, "Well, make sure he isn't. He's getting far too many laughs."

544
00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:10,640
Totally ruthless.

545
00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:16,640
Talfryn was not in the next series, and he was SO funny, very, very funny.

546
00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:21,120
Thirty years on, the show remains as fresh as ever.

547
00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:26,040
Inevitably, many of that wonderful cast are no longer with us.

548
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:40,360
I think it's rather sad that Arthur and John

549
00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:45,640
and some of the other actors never lived to see the extent of the fame

550
00:43:45,640 --> 00:43:48,240
that Dad's Army reached.

551
00:43:48,240 --> 00:43:53,240
I never mind watching it when I turn it on. My children like it.

552
00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:58,320
My two oldest children are seven and five-and-a-half. They find it funny.

553
00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:05,480
I think one of the things they like about it is it's grown-ups being silly and trying to be serious

554
00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:08,280
and coming undone as a result.

555
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:11,160
They enjoy that side of it.

556
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:18,080
I met a little boy the other day in a shop and his daddy said, "Mrs Fox, can you meet my son?"

557
00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:21,120
So he came up and we shook hands.

558
00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:26,840
We had a little talk and I said to him, "Why do you like Dad's Army?"

559
00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:30,960
He said, "Because it's funny and not rude."

560
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:33,560
Now, out of the mouths of babes...

561
00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:36,200
It was absolutely wonderful.

562
00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:38,760
What do you think of this?

563
00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:44,000
- It's awful... 
- What?

564
00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:48,480
No, no, no, it's awfully good.

565
00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:52,320
Oh, dear. Ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, dear, oh, dear.

566
00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:58,560
LAUGHTER GETS LOUDER >

567
00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:02,520
Watch it, Wilson. You might snap your girdle.

568
00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,400
'A few years ago,'

569
00:45:05,400 --> 00:45:10,640
at a charity event at St James's Palace, I met the Queen Mother.

570
00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:15,720
She likes people to stand in a semicircle, not a straight line.

571
00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:22,760
I said, "I do believe, Ma'am, I was in a programme which is a favourite of yours - Dad's Army."

572
00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:27,680
She went, "Oh, yes!" She addressed the whole ensemble and said,

573
00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:34,040
"You know, after a bad day and you come home, put your feet up and pop on a video,

574
00:45:34,040 --> 00:45:36,600
"and there you are, laughing again."

575
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:54,080
There is a nostalgic thing about Dad's Army which people value,

576
00:45:54,080 --> 00:46:00,640
and it is looking back on something which one sort of, in a way, longs for -

577
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:07,000
not the horrors of war, but the feeling of community and belonging to one another.

578
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:09,560
I think that's important.

579
00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:21,360
DAVID CROFT: The British public behaved very well at that time. We took advantage of that.

580
00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:25,240
That's one of the appeals of the programme.

581
00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:29,800
WENDY RICHARD: It showed the spirit - which is lacking today -

582
00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:35,080
that people had, pulling together and keeping our country safe.

583
00:46:35,080 --> 00:46:40,280
That is an aspect of it, but I don't relate to that at all.

584
00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:46,760
I had, like a lot of people, a foul war and wouldn't want to go back to that, no.

585
00:46:52,160 --> 00:46:57,360
It's 60 years since the real Dad's Army, the Home Guard, was formed,

586
00:46:57,360 --> 00:47:02,200
30 years since Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier recorded episode one.

587
00:47:02,200 --> 00:47:06,880
It's two different lifetimes away, but we're still watching them.

588
00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:13,440
Mainwaring struggling to maintain his dignity, Wilson rarely losing his, Godfrey having to be excused

589
00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:18,800
and all the other brave soldiers marching across yet another field

590
00:47:18,800 --> 00:47:21,440
to make us laugh again and again.

591
00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:29,040
I think there are some wonderful comedy shows around now.

592
00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:33,960
I don't think all old comedy is good, but what Dad's Army has got is

593
00:47:33,960 --> 00:47:38,520
it's celebratory and it's positive and it's innocent.

594
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:42,240
It's got some fantastically wonderful performances.

595
00:47:42,240 --> 00:47:48,440
It's full of wit, pathos, character, slapstick, farce, overplaying, underplaying.

596
00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:54,480
It's stuffed full. It's like a draught excluder. What? You know what I mean.

597
00:47:58,240 --> 00:48:01,160
# Keep young and beautiful

598
00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:04,400
# It's your duty to be beautiful

599
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:08,560
# Keep young and beautiful If you want to be loved... #

600
00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:13,240
CAPTAIN MAINWARING: We'll stick together, you can rely on that.

601
00:48:13,240 --> 00:48:19,800
If anybody tries to take our homes or our freedom, they'll find out what we can do. We'll fight.

602
00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:23,280
There are thousands of us all over England...

603
00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:25,920
FRAZER: And Scotland!

604
00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:28,440
MAINWARING: And Scotland.

605
00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:33,440
Men who'll stand together when their country needs them.

606
00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:39,480
- It would be a nice idea if we were to pay our tribute to them. 
- For once, I agree.

607
00:48:39,480 --> 00:48:42,080
To Britain's Home Guard.

608
00:48:42,080 --> 00:48:45,440
ALL: To Britain's Home Guard.

609
00:48:47,600 --> 00:48:52,080
# ..The lack of one is wounding to our pride

610
00:48:52,080 --> 00:48:56,560
# Last night we saw the cutest Little German parachutist

611
00:48:56,560 --> 00:49:01,040
# Who looked like it and giggled a bit and laughed until he cried

612
00:49:01,040 --> 00:49:05,160
# We'll have to hide that armoured car when marching to Berlin

613
00:49:05,160 --> 00:49:09,000
# We'd almost be ashamed of it in Rome

614
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:13,240
# So if you've caught the blighters with a Bren gun

615
00:49:13,240 --> 00:49:17,440
# The Home Guard might as well The Home Guard might as well

616
00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:21,400
# The Home Guard might as well go home! #