1 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:32,520 Welcome to Saluting Dad's Army. 2 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:35,880 A celebration of a unique, truly brilliant comedy show that's 3 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,200 been keeping Britain laughing pretty much non stop since 1968. 4 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,040 In this edition we'll focus on the years when Dad's Army 5 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,400 established itself as more than a hit television show and 6 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,480 became a national institution. 7 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,880 No wonder Dad's Army cemented its place in the hearts of 8 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,880 viewers when the platoon were having some of their most dangerous 9 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:01,120 and entertaining adventures. 10 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,800 Mr Mainwaring, how did you get there? 11 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:05,920 Quick, stop the van. What? 12 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,480 Stop the van, there's a live grenade in the back! 13 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:10,640 What, sir, what, sir, a live grenade? 14 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:12,200 A live grenade! Don't panic! 15 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,680 Don't panic! 16 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:18,640 Stop it first, you idiot! 17 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,040 These were years of award winning success, 18 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,520 when the show brought national popularity to its stars. 19 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:31,040 Doom mongering. 20 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,840 He always saw Dad's Army as a gift, 21 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,560 he felt lucky that he'd ended up in this series. 22 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:38,520 While in a rarely seen sketch, 23 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,680 we'll show the men of Dad's Army gaining royal approval. 24 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:43,680 Advance and be recognised. 25 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:45,560 Advance and be recognised. 26 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,240 And providing a wartime guard for the residents of Buckingham Palace. 27 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,000 Plus we'll show how a generation of young viewers 28 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:54,720 fell in love with Dad's Army. 29 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,680 They would walk around the countryside like this... 30 00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:59,320 I used to copy them with my 31 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,200 grandmother's Victorian sink plunger. 32 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:04,840 But these were also years when Dad's Army 33 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,080 suffered an unexpected and tragic loss. 34 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:10,560 Right wheel! 35 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:12,760 In autumn 1969, Dad's Army 36 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,120 marched onto the screen for its third series. 37 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,920 Come on, Godfrey! Godfrey, pick 'em up, pick 'em up! 38 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:21,920 I'm afraid they won't go any higher. 39 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:24,000 Jimmy Perry and David Croft's scripts 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,760 featured many memorable scenes, such as when Mainwaring and Wilson 41 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,160 grappled with an unexploded bomb... 42 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:31,920 Easy, easy! 43 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:33,480 All right. 44 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,000 And the series featured several innovations. 45 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,320 Always somebody ready to interfere, isn't there? 46 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,520 For one thing, now the men of Number One Platoon B Company 47 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:46,440 Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard were 48 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,040 taking the fight to the Nazis in glorious colour. 49 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,160 THEY SHOUT 50 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:53,720 GUNFIRE 51 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,800 And we had our first sight of a truly magnificent vehicle. 52 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,880 Adapted to become a mighty weapon of war. 53 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,000 Range 100 yards, five rounds of rapid fire. 54 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:07,080 HE BLOWS WHISTLE 55 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,840 LAUGHTER 56 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:18,960 And the nation was introduced to a character who would become a 57 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:23,240 familiar face in Walmington-on-Sea, the Reverend Timothy Farthing. 58 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:25,920 May I ask what you're doing here? 59 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,040 Based here at St Aldhelm's Church in Mortimer Road, 60 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,720 the vicar has a lot to put up with. 61 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,720 I came in here to be very cross with you, Mr Mainwaring, someone has 62 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,920 written something very rude on the back of my spare harmonium. 63 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:41,160 The vicar leads an action packed life, 64 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:43,880 often in the company of his verger Mr Yeatman 65 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:46,400 and Mr Hodges the air raid warden. 66 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:47,920 But the vicar always makes time to 67 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:50,280 take an interest in his parishioners. 68 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:52,880 Now don't you worry, Mrs Pike, 69 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:55,520 after a while he'll come back to you and he'll say, 70 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,320 "all these weeks I've longed for the moment when I can take you in 71 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:03,480 "my arms and tell you how much I've missed you." 72 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,440 A touch impatient, the vicar isn't necessarily the best example 73 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,920 to his flock, but in the 1970s he had at least one devoted fan. 74 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:16,240 The vicar in Dad's Army, who is a guy called Frank Williams, 75 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:18,840 was a member of the congregation at the church 76 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,560 of which my dad was the vicar. 77 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:24,320 So, it was very strange. 78 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,640 Despite his busy life, the vicar always supports local events. 79 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:30,560 Thank you for making up the darts team, Vicar. 80 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:32,240 Oh, that's all right, Mr Mainwaring. 81 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,880 I'm always ready and eager to help cement Anglo American relations. 82 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,160 Have a drink? Oh, thank you, scotch please, large one. 83 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,800 Above all, the vicar's always on hand to provide spiritual guidance. 84 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:47,800 I should have been killed. I was spared. 85 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,280 Why me? Why me, answer me that, why me? 86 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:51,920 Why, why, why? 87 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:53,840 I can't think. 88 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,800 And now I get to meet a man who made comedy history as the Dad's Army 89 00:04:57,960 --> 00:04:59,920 vicar, the great Frank Williams. 90 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:01,120 Frank. 91 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,760 Now the Reverend Timothy Farthing, probably the most famous 92 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,760 vicar in television history, how did you get your calling, would you say? 93 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,960 I knew Jimmy Perry when he was running the repertory theatre 94 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,160 at Watford and he said to me, 95 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,960 "Frank, the very first thing I wrote down when I thought of 96 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,480 "Dad's Army was, Frank Williams, Vicar", which was very 97 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,960 flattering, but it's very odd that I didn't appear till Series Three. 98 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:26,120 He probably didn't find the bit of paper, 99 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:28,160 maybe he'd lost the piece of paper. 100 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:29,960 So when you appeared in Series Three, 101 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:31,960 it wasn't a big part really to start with. 102 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,400 No, it was only a couple of lines and I mean, 103 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,160 as far as I knew, it was just a week's work and I thought, well this 104 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,200 is quite nice so you know, do it, went home, took the money and, and 105 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,880 then they asked me to go back on one or two others and it gradually grew. 106 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:47,480 By the last series I was in every episode. 107 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:49,720 Here, here, here, have you heard the 108 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,240 scandal about Frazer, the undertaker? 109 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,360 Is there a woman involved? Be quiet, Mr Yeatman, 110 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:57,280 you shouldn't listen to gossip. 111 00:05:57,480 --> 00:05:58,960 What's he done? 112 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,320 In any part you play, you have to find some sort of affection 113 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:04,920 of some kind or another for a character. 114 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,760 I don't think he was a terribly nice character in some ways, 115 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,560 I mean, he was tetchy and irritable... Yes. 116 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:13,680 ..and of course he was the sworn enemy of Captain Mainwaring. 117 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,040 Sometimes I think he hated me as much as Hitler. 118 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:18,520 Now look here, Vicar, you know perfectly well that you can work 119 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:20,240 here all day while I'm busy at the bank. 120 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,720 I'm sorry, Captain Mainwaring, but nothing is going to make me 121 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:24,800 get up out of this chair and that is that. 122 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:30,920 THE NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS 123 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:41,120 LAUGHTER 124 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,600 Well, I suppose actually it's not just the characters in 125 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:47,560 Dad's Army, it's the relationships. 126 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:50,040 The fact that he has to share his church hall 127 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,240 with Mainwaring and his platoon... 128 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,640 Well, you see there was this unholy trinity 129 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,600 of the vicar, the verger and the warden... Yes. 130 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:02,840 ..and of course the verger was very loyal to me, but also a bit of a 131 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,800 trial on occasions, so it was a very sort of... 132 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,320 ..strange relationship in many ways. 133 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:11,760 This really is a beastly nuisance, Mr Hodges, 134 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:13,320 are you sure it's necessary? 135 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,240 Well, what has to be, has to be, Vicar. 136 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,200 You should know that, you say it often enough in your boring sermons. 137 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:19,960 The vicar's sermons are not boring, 138 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,440 there's several good bits in each one. 139 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,960 There was an episode where Mainwaring says he'll buy me a drink 140 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:30,000 and I say, "I'll have a scotch, a large one" and Mr Yeatman said, 141 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,640 "better make it a single, his reverence is a martyr to the whisky" 142 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:36,360 and I say, "be quiet, Mr Yeatman." 143 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:39,760 So, you know, there was some fun. 144 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,720 I must say you're a much braver man than I am, Mr Yeatman. 145 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,480 Well, there's all sorts of courage, I don't know how you have the 146 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,200 nerve to get up and give those sermons every Sunday. 147 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,640 The Reverend Timothy Farthing first appeared in Series Three of 148 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:56,360 Dad's Army, and this footage shows the cast rehearsing 149 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,600 for Big Guns, one of the 14 shows in the run. 150 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,760 Pull, up, feather. 151 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:06,920 The series ended in December 1969 152 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,280 with this episode, Sons of the Sea. 153 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:11,720 Out on a river patrol, 154 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:14,320 the platoon somehow gets lost in the English Channel. 155 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,400 It's getting a bit foggy, you know, sir. 156 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,080 Nonsense, only a bit of sea mist. 157 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:26,080 Believe me, I know this stretch of water like the back of my hand. 158 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,280 We're just going to row down to the mouth of the river 159 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,200 and then turn back. No, sir, it's getting awfully thick you know, 160 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:32,800 I mean, I can hardly see to read. 161 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,440 13.3 million viewers watched the platoon 162 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,040 believe they'd landed in Nazi occupied France. 163 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:44,920 Captain Mainwaring sir? 164 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:47,520 What is it, Godfrey? Do you think I might be excused? 165 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:53,440 With such consistently huge viewing figures, surely Dad's Army would 166 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:57,800 be fighting in the front line of the ratings battle for years to come? 167 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,360 The show's producer and co-writer had other ideas. 168 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,040 In October 1969, David Croft told reporters 169 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,000 Dad's Army would finish with its third run. 170 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:22,280 So after just three series, was this the end of the road for Dad's Army? 171 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:24,800 Don't worry about that, just leave everything to me. 172 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:28,160 After all, I've never let you down yet, have I? 173 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:29,840 LAUGHTER 174 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:32,520 Coming up, in part two, 175 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,560 the Walmington platoon marches onto the big screen. 176 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:38,600 How Dad's Army changed the lives of its cast... 177 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:40,880 ..and the perils of location filming. 178 00:09:50,460 --> 00:09:53,900 Welcome back, with a reminder that when the third series of 179 00:09:54,180 --> 00:09:58,140 Dad's Army was yet to air, producer and co-writer, David Croft, told the 180 00:09:58,380 --> 00:10:02,500 press that the show had reached the end of its life on television, but 181 00:10:02,740 --> 00:10:08,140 that wasn't because Dad's Army was a flop, it was because it was a hit. 182 00:10:08,260 --> 00:10:10,420 Like millions of wartime Britons, 183 00:10:10,700 --> 00:10:12,860 the platoon spent hours at the cinema. 184 00:10:13,020 --> 00:10:13,980 Rubbish. 185 00:10:14,140 --> 00:10:16,020 LAUGHTER 186 00:10:16,260 --> 00:10:19,460 And, of course, the biggest film fan in Walmington was Private Pike. 187 00:10:21,100 --> 00:10:23,060 Mr Mainwaring, I saw that film, erm, 188 00:10:23,300 --> 00:10:26,500 Petrified Forest, you know, with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart, 189 00:10:26,780 --> 00:10:29,580 well, in that Humphrey Bogart had got Leslie Howard prisoner, 190 00:10:29,740 --> 00:10:31,060 you see, and he's holding him 191 00:10:31,300 --> 00:10:33,380 prisoner in a cabin overnight, by gunpoint. 192 00:10:33,620 --> 00:10:36,260 Now, Leslie Howard kept on quoting poetry at him 193 00:10:36,540 --> 00:10:39,420 and using long words and sneering at him and he got him all annoyed you 194 00:10:39,580 --> 00:10:41,060 see, Leslie Howard did. 195 00:10:41,220 --> 00:10:42,580 You could do that. 196 00:10:42,820 --> 00:10:44,540 What actually happened to Leslie Howard? 197 00:10:44,740 --> 00:10:45,580 He got shot. 198 00:10:45,780 --> 00:10:47,180 LAUGHTER 199 00:10:49,100 --> 00:10:52,740 In 1970, the cinema goers of Walmington were heading onto the 200 00:10:52,980 --> 00:10:56,660 big screen themselves, as shooting began on a Dad's Army feature film. 201 00:10:59,180 --> 00:11:00,900 Dad's Army... 202 00:11:01,100 --> 00:11:03,980 Men of valour, men of courage. 203 00:11:04,260 --> 00:11:07,020 As this typical 1970s trailer suggests, 204 00:11:07,260 --> 00:11:10,620 the film featured the key members of the platoon and their enemies. 205 00:11:10,860 --> 00:11:13,500 Who do you think you are? They're the local defence volunteers, 206 00:11:13,740 --> 00:11:15,860 and I'm their appointed commander, Captain Mainwaring, 207 00:11:16,100 --> 00:11:18,220 and I must ask you to keep your hands off my privates. 208 00:11:18,500 --> 00:11:21,460 The trailer tempted film goers with new action but also 209 00:11:21,700 --> 00:11:24,380 highlighted scenes familiar to fans of the TV show. 210 00:11:24,540 --> 00:11:25,740 What's that supposed to be? 211 00:11:25,980 --> 00:11:27,300 You said if we hadn't got anything else 212 00:11:27,540 --> 00:11:29,260 we were to tie a carving knife to a broom handle. 213 00:11:29,420 --> 00:11:30,780 I didn't mean that you were to leave 214 00:11:31,060 --> 00:11:32,980 the broom on the end of the handle, you stupid boy. 215 00:11:33,260 --> 00:11:36,220 Even though the film represented "well-trodden ground" 216 00:11:36,460 --> 00:11:39,620 according to one review, and "produced no belly laughs" in the 217 00:11:39,900 --> 00:11:44,980 words of another, it made the top five at the UK box office for 1971. 218 00:11:45,220 --> 00:11:47,380 There was even brief talk of a sequel, 219 00:11:47,620 --> 00:11:50,340 Dad's Army and the Secret U-boat Base. 220 00:11:50,580 --> 00:11:55,020 As it was, long before the feature film opened in March 1971, 221 00:11:55,260 --> 00:11:58,260 Jimmy Perry and David Croft had changed their minds about 222 00:11:58,540 --> 00:12:01,100 making another Dad's Army television series. 223 00:12:01,340 --> 00:12:05,220 Here's the cast shooting its first episode, The Big Parade. 224 00:12:09,460 --> 00:12:12,860 LAUGHTER 225 00:12:13,100 --> 00:12:15,460 Left, right, left, right, left, right. 226 00:12:15,700 --> 00:12:19,820 In its fourth series, Dad's Army remained a runaway success. 227 00:12:19,980 --> 00:12:21,020 Attention! 228 00:12:21,260 --> 00:12:24,500 The show was entertaining millions of viewers and changing the lives 229 00:12:24,740 --> 00:12:28,500 of stars such as Arnold Ridley, the gentile private Charles Godfrey. 230 00:12:28,660 --> 00:12:30,340 Good evening. Good eve... 231 00:12:31,620 --> 00:12:33,820 What's that piece of white paper doing in your hat? 232 00:12:34,020 --> 00:12:35,620 Oh, uh... 233 00:12:35,860 --> 00:12:39,020 ..oh, uh... Oh, yes, that's for the sun. 234 00:12:39,180 --> 00:12:40,860 For the sun? Uh, yes, you see, 235 00:12:41,140 --> 00:12:44,700 Sergeant Wilson won't let me wear my Panama and my nose is very sensitive 236 00:12:44,940 --> 00:12:47,260 so I thought this is the next best thing. 237 00:12:48,940 --> 00:12:52,100 LAUGHTER 238 00:12:54,860 --> 00:12:58,340 Arnold Ridley was a decorated hero of World War I and a 239 00:12:58,620 --> 00:13:02,660 successful playwright, notably of the hit thriller, The Ghost Train. 240 00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:07,020 And his error, if it was an error, was to start a film company, 241 00:13:07,260 --> 00:13:13,180 which duly went bust, lost all his money and that was the end of 242 00:13:13,460 --> 00:13:18,180 all his wealth, really, and then in 1968 Dad's Army came along. 243 00:13:18,460 --> 00:13:20,620 I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know you'd started. 244 00:13:20,820 --> 00:13:22,380 LAUGHTER 245 00:13:22,620 --> 00:13:26,340 Dad's Army restored my father's confidence in himself as well 246 00:13:26,620 --> 00:13:29,860 as giving him a modicum of financial security, which he and my 247 00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:33,580 mother hadn't known throughout my childhood. 248 00:13:33,740 --> 00:13:34,980 Hurry up, Godfrey. 249 00:13:35,180 --> 00:13:36,660 Sir, it's these trousers, sir, 250 00:13:36,900 --> 00:13:39,020 doesn't seem to be any buttons for my braces. 251 00:13:39,220 --> 00:13:40,500 Well, can't you wear a belt? 252 00:13:40,660 --> 00:13:42,580 I always think trousers hang so much 253 00:13:42,860 --> 00:13:44,820 better from braces, don't you think so? 254 00:13:44,980 --> 00:13:46,740 It's not a fashion parade, Godfrey. 255 00:13:48,900 --> 00:13:51,740 Another actor, grateful for the success of the series, 256 00:13:51,980 --> 00:13:54,820 was Bill Pertwee, who gained national fame playing 257 00:13:55,060 --> 00:13:57,900 Captain Mainwaring's arch enemy, Warden Hodges. 258 00:13:58,140 --> 00:14:01,140 Now I've had instructions that you and I are supposed to cooperate, so 259 00:14:01,340 --> 00:14:03,780 I'll just tell this once, I shall want that all every Wednesday 260 00:14:04,060 --> 00:14:06,420 evening for an ARP lecture. Oh, I'm afraid that's quite out of the 261 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:09,060 question. What are you talking about? I have a parade there every 262 00:14:09,300 --> 00:14:11,860 Wednesday evening. Oh, well that's your bad luck, mate. I have a long 263 00:14:12,020 --> 00:14:13,580 standing arrangement with the vicar. 264 00:14:13,860 --> 00:14:17,700 What goes on between you and the vicar is entirely your affair. 265 00:14:17,980 --> 00:14:20,260 The thing was that Bill came from variety, 266 00:14:20,540 --> 00:14:24,140 he came from music hall and so he thought it was a fantastic 267 00:14:24,340 --> 00:14:27,380 chance just to get a few episodes and see what happened. 268 00:14:27,620 --> 00:14:32,020 Whereas the established actors that were in it, they probably saw the 269 00:14:32,260 --> 00:14:38,180 series as well, this is just a kind of TV show and it's nothing special. 270 00:14:38,500 --> 00:14:40,820 That wasn't a view shared by Arnold Ridley. 271 00:14:41,060 --> 00:14:43,620 When he first received the scripts he thought they were 272 00:14:43,860 --> 00:14:47,060 absolutely excellent and he thought that they would appeal 273 00:14:47,300 --> 00:14:51,540 enormously to everyone who could remember the Second World War, 274 00:14:51,820 --> 00:14:55,700 who'd lived through it, but in his view, at the time, 275 00:14:55,980 --> 00:14:59,340 he thought it wouldn't have much appeal for the younger generation. 276 00:14:59,620 --> 00:15:02,260 My sister Dolly won't have drink in the house, 277 00:15:02,540 --> 00:15:05,340 except the parsnip wine she makes herself. 278 00:15:05,540 --> 00:15:06,900 I tried it once, I... 279 00:15:07,060 --> 00:15:08,340 ..I fell over. 280 00:15:08,540 --> 00:15:10,060 LAUGHTER 281 00:15:10,220 --> 00:15:11,940 He was so pleased to be wrong. 282 00:15:12,180 --> 00:15:16,740 I don't think we need quite as much first aid kit as that, Godfrey. 283 00:15:16,980 --> 00:15:18,780 That's not first aid, sir, that's my picnic. 284 00:15:18,940 --> 00:15:21,180 LAUGHTER 285 00:15:21,420 --> 00:15:24,260 Picnic? You said we could bring some food, sir. 286 00:15:24,500 --> 00:15:27,140 I said you were to bring haversack rations, that means sandwiches. 287 00:15:27,340 --> 00:15:29,740 Oh, I'm afraid that such things are very indigestible to me, sir. 288 00:15:29,980 --> 00:15:32,700 So, my sister has made me up a vegetable flan 289 00:15:32,900 --> 00:15:35,300 and some rice pudding. Rice pudding! 290 00:15:35,580 --> 00:15:39,300 Much as he loved the Dad's Army scripts, 72-year-old Arnold 291 00:15:39,540 --> 00:15:42,860 had some doubts about accepting a role in the series. 292 00:15:43,100 --> 00:15:45,980 He was slightly worried about playing Godfrey, this is at 293 00:15:46,220 --> 00:15:50,500 the age of 70 something, because he didn't want to be type cast. 294 00:15:50,740 --> 00:15:52,740 You ought to get glasses, Mr Godfrey. 295 00:15:52,980 --> 00:15:55,460 Oh, I had a pair once you know, but I didn't get on with them, 296 00:15:55,660 --> 00:15:57,140 they made me look rather old. 297 00:15:57,300 --> 00:15:59,340 LAUGHTER 298 00:15:59,620 --> 00:16:02,580 Bill Pertwee had been the warm up man on early recordings of 299 00:16:02,820 --> 00:16:06,260 Dad's Army, now he embraced his new-found fame as the 300 00:16:06,540 --> 00:16:09,180 resident baddie of Walmington-on-Sea. 301 00:16:09,380 --> 00:16:10,780 Some kids or people would 302 00:16:11,020 --> 00:16:13,540 occasionally in the street shout, you know, "put that light out." 303 00:16:13,780 --> 00:16:16,500 Put that light out! Put that light out! 304 00:16:16,660 --> 00:16:18,140 But Dad loved all that. 305 00:16:18,380 --> 00:16:20,940 I think he felt that that was a recognition of the show to 306 00:16:21,220 --> 00:16:23,460 have Mainwaring's own private Hitler, 307 00:16:23,700 --> 00:16:25,300 that was a great part to have really. 308 00:16:25,460 --> 00:16:27,820 Now then, Napoleon! 309 00:16:28,020 --> 00:16:30,180 What's this, mothers' meeting? 310 00:16:30,420 --> 00:16:32,620 Do you mind not barging into my office without knocking? 311 00:16:32,860 --> 00:16:35,060 What do you mean "your office?" It's my office as well, mate. 312 00:16:35,220 --> 00:16:37,420 But he did fall in the water a lot. 313 00:16:37,580 --> 00:16:38,980 Back up. Oh, just clear off. 314 00:16:39,140 --> 00:16:40,380 HE SCREAMS 315 00:16:40,580 --> 00:16:42,340 LAUGHTER 316 00:16:44,380 --> 00:16:46,940 David Croft actually said, "thing about Bill is..." 317 00:16:47,220 --> 00:16:49,740 ..he said "we could throw anything at him, he didn't mind a bit, 318 00:16:49,980 --> 00:16:52,460 "we'd pick him up, we'd throw him in the sea, 319 00:16:52,700 --> 00:16:55,900 "we'd throw him in a canal", Dad was just, he thought it was all fun. 320 00:16:56,180 --> 00:16:59,380 Bill Pertwee was also involved in real life drama when filming 321 00:16:59,540 --> 00:17:01,580 big action sequences for the show. 322 00:17:01,860 --> 00:17:04,300 As his friend and colleague, Frank Williams remembers. 323 00:17:04,580 --> 00:17:06,300 I want to ask you about the Battle of the Giants! 324 00:17:06,540 --> 00:17:09,220 because there's that wonderful motor bike sequence 325 00:17:09,380 --> 00:17:10,580 on Hodges' motorcycle. 326 00:17:10,740 --> 00:17:12,700 Oh, I remember that! 327 00:17:12,980 --> 00:17:17,020 The motorcycle arrived and so he got on and we set off down 328 00:17:17,260 --> 00:17:20,940 the road towards the camera crew and I could see the camera crew 329 00:17:21,220 --> 00:17:23,620 looking, "Oh, yes this is really good, nice shot here". 330 00:17:23,900 --> 00:17:27,260 Then suddenly they went like that, parting, because it was quite 331 00:17:27,500 --> 00:17:30,820 clear Bill was not going to stop because he hadn't found the brake, 332 00:17:31,020 --> 00:17:32,700 and I think we ended up in a ditch. 333 00:17:38,940 --> 00:17:42,540 We didn't have Health and Safety in those days, 334 00:17:42,780 --> 00:17:45,740 so I mean, Bill was for ever falling in the water. 335 00:17:45,980 --> 00:17:47,860 Nobody thought of going down to make sure 336 00:17:48,100 --> 00:17:50,740 it was all safe down there before he did it. 337 00:17:50,940 --> 00:17:52,860 I mean, you just got on with it. 338 00:17:53,100 --> 00:17:56,620 Spectacular sequences like this became a hallmark of Dad's Army 339 00:17:56,860 --> 00:17:59,860 in its pomp, setting the show apart when most comedy was 340 00:18:00,140 --> 00:18:02,980 studio bound and revolved around domestic life. 341 00:18:03,260 --> 00:18:06,460 We do something I don't think many people do, that is adventure comedy. 342 00:18:06,700 --> 00:18:09,700 We're like a bunch of idiots, but real people and put them in a 343 00:18:09,940 --> 00:18:12,620 difficult situation and see how they'll get out of it. 344 00:18:12,900 --> 00:18:16,740 In The Royal Train, Jimmy Perry and David Croft created just that 345 00:18:16,980 --> 00:18:20,620 kind of difficult situation with unforgettable results. 346 00:18:20,820 --> 00:18:22,700 A brilliantly inventive plot, 347 00:18:22,980 --> 00:18:25,980 leaves the platoon on the footplate of a runaway locomotive. 348 00:18:26,260 --> 00:18:28,460 Stupid boy, you said that you knew how to drive this thing. 349 00:18:28,700 --> 00:18:30,500 I can't stop it without a brake, can I? 350 00:18:30,780 --> 00:18:33,180 Don't you use that tone of voice to me. 351 00:18:33,380 --> 00:18:35,020 The vicar, the verger, 352 00:18:35,300 --> 00:18:38,220 the warden and Walmington's mayor give chase to hand over a 353 00:18:38,460 --> 00:18:42,860 vital brake key, but before long, the train is chasing them. 354 00:18:44,660 --> 00:18:47,980 They have, they've used reverse. 355 00:18:48,220 --> 00:18:51,020 They're coming towards us! Are you sure? 356 00:18:51,220 --> 00:18:53,100 Of course, I'm sure! 357 00:18:53,340 --> 00:18:56,020 Well, don't just stand there gawping, get pumping. 358 00:19:04,940 --> 00:19:07,260 Tell me about The Royal Train episode. 359 00:19:07,460 --> 00:19:08,780 My favourite of all time. 360 00:19:09,060 --> 00:19:11,900 I mean, that was very hazardous in a way as well. 361 00:19:12,140 --> 00:19:14,620 And I can remember Bill Pertwee saying, 362 00:19:14,860 --> 00:19:17,540 "You know, Pike is supposed to be driving the train. He's the only one 363 00:19:17,780 --> 00:19:20,380 "who can see what's happening, the real driver can't see what's going 364 00:19:20,620 --> 00:19:23,660 "on and it's gaining on us, I think we'll have to jump." 365 00:19:23,940 --> 00:19:26,860 I said, "Bill we're going at about 40mph, we'll break our legs." 366 00:19:27,100 --> 00:19:29,740 He said, "But if the train crashes into us, it'll break our necks." 367 00:19:29,980 --> 00:19:32,100 But that's very genuine, the pumping on... 368 00:19:32,340 --> 00:19:34,780 Oh, that was very genuine pumping, we were trying to get faster and 369 00:19:35,060 --> 00:19:40,060 faster and faster because we were aware the train was gaining on us. 370 00:19:40,340 --> 00:19:43,260 The Royal Train was broadcast in 1973, 371 00:19:43,540 --> 00:19:46,580 when Dad's Army was firmly established as one of Britain's 372 00:19:46,820 --> 00:19:50,260 favourite television shows, packed with popular characters such 373 00:19:50,500 --> 00:19:53,580 as the likeable rogue, Private Walker, played by James Beck. 374 00:19:53,860 --> 00:19:55,980 Excuse me, sir, about the ammunition. I think it can get it 375 00:19:56,220 --> 00:19:58,620 for you, under the counter you know what I mean. No, no, no, that's 376 00:19:58,860 --> 00:20:01,260 quite out of the question. How much will it cost? Well, about a bob a 377 00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:03,860 round? No, no, no, I wouldn't allow it. And where would you get it 378 00:20:04,140 --> 00:20:06,260 anyway? Well, there's an Irish battalion up at Gawshead. 379 00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:08,220 Well, surely they don't sell their ammunition? 380 00:20:08,460 --> 00:20:10,460 You get up at that boozer at 10:00 on a Saturday night, 381 00:20:10,700 --> 00:20:13,020 they'd sell you the Pope. All right, go on. 382 00:20:13,220 --> 00:20:15,100 It's very hard for people like me, 383 00:20:15,340 --> 00:20:17,020 that have to work with their brains all day. 384 00:20:17,260 --> 00:20:19,420 Your brain, what are you talking about your brains? 385 00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:22,060 All you gotta do is give a couple of wallops with your chopper and 386 00:20:22,220 --> 00:20:24,860 keep your fingers out of the way. 387 00:20:25,100 --> 00:20:28,180 And, Walker, if you've been up to any monkey business, 388 00:20:28,420 --> 00:20:31,100 I shall be down on you like a tonne of bricks. 389 00:20:31,300 --> 00:20:33,100 LAUGHTER 390 00:20:37,140 --> 00:20:41,060 Ever cheerful, and hugely talented, James Beck was a highly 391 00:20:41,340 --> 00:20:44,660 popular figure with his Dad's Army colleagues, but during studio 392 00:20:44,940 --> 00:20:49,780 recordings for Series Six, he fell seriously ill at a charity event. 393 00:20:50,060 --> 00:20:53,900 James Beck died on the sixth of August 1973. 394 00:20:54,100 --> 00:20:55,940 He was just 44 years old. 395 00:20:58,940 --> 00:21:01,260 I think Jimmy was a wonderful actor. 396 00:21:01,500 --> 00:21:05,860 Had he lived he'd probably have been one of our leading character actors. 397 00:21:06,020 --> 00:21:07,660 A lovely man, too. 398 00:21:07,900 --> 00:21:11,260 Jimmy Perry and David Croft made no attempt to recast the part of 399 00:21:11,540 --> 00:21:14,140 Walker for subsequent television episodes. 400 00:21:14,380 --> 00:21:17,180 They knew that James Beck was irreplaceable. 401 00:21:17,420 --> 00:21:21,820 Here, listen, I tell you what, £2.10 apiece, £4.10 for the pair. 402 00:21:22,060 --> 00:21:24,340 I'm not paying that sort of money! whoever heard of £2.10 403 00:21:24,580 --> 00:21:26,340 for a cricket ball?! Sh, don't... 404 00:21:27,860 --> 00:21:31,340 LOUDER: Listen, two quid apiece, I'm robbing meself. 405 00:21:31,580 --> 00:21:33,860 You'd sell your own grandmother, wouldn't you? 406 00:21:35,060 --> 00:21:36,500 No, there's no market for her. 407 00:21:39,060 --> 00:21:44,020 Coming up after the break, Dad's Army's royal seal of approval... 408 00:21:44,220 --> 00:21:46,740 ..Lance Corporal Jones goes Dutch... 409 00:21:46,980 --> 00:21:49,780 ..and Captain Mainwaring bursts into song. 410 00:21:59,130 --> 00:22:01,490 Welcome back to Saluting Dad's Army, 411 00:22:01,770 --> 00:22:04,570 and a step back in time to April 1970, 412 00:22:04,810 --> 00:22:08,290 as the men of Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard receive 413 00:22:08,450 --> 00:22:09,890 a royal seal of approval. 414 00:22:10,090 --> 00:22:11,050 Squad, halt! 415 00:22:12,890 --> 00:22:15,010 All right Jonesy, that's enough, that's enough. 416 00:22:15,250 --> 00:22:17,530 Sentries will at all times be alert... 417 00:22:17,690 --> 00:22:19,090 ..watchful... 418 00:22:19,250 --> 00:22:20,770 ..vigilant. 419 00:22:21,050 --> 00:22:25,530 This specially written and rarely seen sketch sees the platoon 420 00:22:25,770 --> 00:22:28,050 on guard duties at Buckingham Palace. 421 00:22:28,330 --> 00:22:30,170 AIR-RAID SIREN Halt! Who goes there? 422 00:22:30,330 --> 00:22:31,810 Yes, halt! Who goes there? 423 00:22:32,010 --> 00:22:33,570 Uh, who is it? 424 00:22:35,170 --> 00:22:36,970 Advance and be recognised! 425 00:22:37,170 --> 00:22:38,770 Advance and be recognised. 426 00:22:39,050 --> 00:22:42,210 And the punch line of the sketch sees Frazer, Jones and Godfrey 427 00:22:42,490 --> 00:22:45,970 receiving their evening cocoa from two young royal residents. 428 00:22:46,130 --> 00:22:48,730 LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE 429 00:22:50,530 --> 00:22:54,810 The press speculated that the Queen was a devoted fan of Dad's Army, 430 00:22:55,090 --> 00:22:58,410 while any number of articles fed the wider public's appetite 431 00:22:58,650 --> 00:23:01,250 for information about the show and its stars. 432 00:23:01,530 --> 00:23:04,730 Many of the images used to promote Dad's Army in its heyday were 433 00:23:05,010 --> 00:23:08,210 captured by a man who followed the show for nine years and 434 00:23:08,450 --> 00:23:10,850 joined me to share some of the stories behind his pictures - 435 00:23:11,010 --> 00:23:14,010 Radio Times photographer, Don Smith. 436 00:23:14,370 --> 00:23:19,010 Well, Don, how lovely to have you here. What a... It's good to be here. ..treat it is to meet you. 437 00:23:19,250 --> 00:23:21,810 So I'm going to call you the official photographer to Dad's Army. 438 00:23:22,090 --> 00:23:24,530 Well, that's flattering, but I wasn't the only one. 439 00:23:24,850 --> 00:23:27,090 Shall we have a look at some of these? We're going to start with this one. 440 00:23:27,330 --> 00:23:30,330 This is where Arthur Lowe gets invited away for the weekend, 441 00:23:30,490 --> 00:23:33,330 and there's a lot of hard drinking. 442 00:23:33,610 --> 00:23:37,570 SLURRED: Here's to the health of the Duchess of York... 443 00:23:37,810 --> 00:23:41,450 ..who is a friend of Cardinal Puff-Puff-Puff-Puff! 444 00:23:42,970 --> 00:23:47,290 Arthur Lowe suddenly emerged. Unknown to me, he comes out drunk. 445 00:23:48,490 --> 00:23:50,130 Damn revolving doors! 446 00:23:52,010 --> 00:23:53,730 Well, I wasn't expecting it. 447 00:23:53,970 --> 00:23:56,570 Suddenly he staggers out like this and I thought, 448 00:23:56,730 --> 00:23:58,250 "Goodness me, that's a picture!" 449 00:23:58,570 --> 00:24:02,250 whipped the camera up quickly, and that's why it might even be a bit blurred, or something. 450 00:24:02,570 --> 00:24:05,370 A slight blur, you see his hands. Yeah, but that's probably his movement, and not mine. 451 00:24:05,610 --> 00:24:07,210 What are your memories of Arthur Lowe? 452 00:24:07,490 --> 00:24:10,970 A bit bumptious, you know? In his nature, but lovely with it. 453 00:24:11,250 --> 00:24:14,450 The relationship between him and John Le Mesurier, Sergeant Wilson, 454 00:24:14,610 --> 00:24:16,570 is just perfection. 455 00:24:16,770 --> 00:24:19,130 What was THEIR chemistry on set? 456 00:24:19,410 --> 00:24:22,370 In all the episodes I did, I never saw them arguing, 457 00:24:22,610 --> 00:24:25,530 having differences of opinion about anything. 458 00:24:25,770 --> 00:24:28,650 Do be quiet, Wilson. Sorry, I'm only trying to help. Well, don't do that, 459 00:24:28,890 --> 00:24:31,450 don't do that sort of thing. All right, all right, all right! 460 00:24:33,490 --> 00:24:36,610 Let's have a look at our next one. Look, here we are. Here's John Laurie. 461 00:24:36,930 --> 00:24:39,490 I mean, he was a tremendous actor wasn't he, John Laurie? He was wonderful. 462 00:24:39,850 --> 00:24:42,410 Had a Shakespearean background. Yes, yes indeed. He said "you know, 463 00:24:42,690 --> 00:24:46,050 "I've been a Shakespearean actor all my life and I've made feature films 464 00:24:46,250 --> 00:24:50,890 "and this, that and the other." He said, "And then I become famous 465 00:24:51,170 --> 00:24:53,770 "for this kind of rubbish," sitcom rubbish, you know? 466 00:24:54,010 --> 00:24:58,610 On November 6th, 1940, you wasted thr-r-ree hours giving us 467 00:24:58,890 --> 00:25:01,610 a lecture on why the Germans don't play cricket. 468 00:25:04,210 --> 00:25:08,410 On January 28th, 1941, you gave us a lecture telling us how Hitler, 469 00:25:08,690 --> 00:25:11,250 when he's in a rage, bites the carpet. 470 00:25:12,930 --> 00:25:14,210 It's a well-known fact that he does. 471 00:25:14,450 --> 00:25:17,610 Maybe, but you then proceeded to waste two hours working out a 472 00:25:17,770 --> 00:25:20,210 plan on how to send him 473 00:25:20,370 --> 00:25:21,930 a poisoned hearth rug. 474 00:25:24,410 --> 00:25:27,730 As well as shooting publicity pictures, the stars of Dad's Army 475 00:25:27,970 --> 00:25:30,930 were in demand to make personal appearances, in character. 476 00:25:31,170 --> 00:25:34,730 Here they are turning on Blackpool's famous illuminations. 477 00:25:36,650 --> 00:25:40,570 And the soldiers of Walmington-on-Sea platoon were enlisted for a real-life campaign... 478 00:25:40,730 --> 00:25:43,090 Get your eyes tested, Napoleon! 479 00:25:43,330 --> 00:25:44,970 Can't you see the lights have changed? 480 00:25:45,130 --> 00:25:46,090 ..to improve road safety. 481 00:25:46,330 --> 00:25:48,690 You're not meant to edge forward and harass the pedestrians! 482 00:25:48,850 --> 00:25:50,250 Who says so? The vicar? 483 00:25:50,450 --> 00:25:52,970 Actually, sir, no. I say so. 484 00:25:53,250 --> 00:25:56,010 The public had fallen in love with Dad's Army, 485 00:25:56,250 --> 00:26:00,290 right from the off in 1968, and the show's success soon brought 486 00:26:00,530 --> 00:26:02,610 its stars some interesting opportunities. 487 00:26:02,890 --> 00:26:05,810 First to show off his musical talents was Arthur Lowe, 488 00:26:06,090 --> 00:26:09,130 who released an album in 1969, Bless 'Em All! 489 00:26:09,290 --> 00:26:11,330 # Bless 'em all... # 490 00:26:11,530 --> 00:26:14,130 Dad did some work that was 491 00:26:14,370 --> 00:26:16,850 definitely a spin-off from Dad's Army. 492 00:26:17,090 --> 00:26:20,290 One thing that sticks in one's mind is the album of wartime songs. 493 00:26:20,530 --> 00:26:24,610 # You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean 494 00:26:24,890 --> 00:26:27,770 # So cheer up, my lads bless 'em all. # 495 00:26:28,010 --> 00:26:30,690 But he never actually did that well with that, 496 00:26:30,850 --> 00:26:32,610 it wasn't his finest hour. 497 00:26:32,850 --> 00:26:36,890 Even so, Arthur could still be seen performing wartime hits on BBC One. 498 00:26:37,130 --> 00:26:43,090 # 'Twas there that you whispered tenderly, that you loved me 499 00:26:45,010 --> 00:26:50,970 # You'd always be my Lili of the lamp light 500 00:26:52,410 --> 00:26:56,570 # My own Lili Marlene. # 501 00:26:56,810 --> 00:27:00,330 Hot on Arthur's heels in 1970, Clive Dunn, 502 00:27:00,610 --> 00:27:03,570 aka Lance Corporal Jones, released his own album. 503 00:27:03,770 --> 00:27:06,050 Permission to sing, sir. 504 00:27:06,330 --> 00:27:08,770 # If you will give me permission to sing, sir... # 505 00:27:09,010 --> 00:27:12,570 Clive then enjoyed a huge hit single, with Grandad. 506 00:27:12,810 --> 00:27:18,770 # Every day I find thoughts of when I was a boy 507 00:27:22,930 --> 00:27:27,770 # Grandad, Grandad you're lovely... # 508 00:27:28,010 --> 00:27:32,250 Grandad was number one for three weeks in January 1971, 509 00:27:32,530 --> 00:27:36,930 and it remained in the UK top 40 for an incredible 22 weeks. 510 00:27:37,170 --> 00:27:40,970 The success of Dad's Army and his records meant Clive appeared 511 00:27:41,130 --> 00:27:43,250 on countless TV shows, even abroad, 512 00:27:43,450 --> 00:27:45,930 as with this Dutch game show. 513 00:27:46,130 --> 00:27:47,770 Dank je. 514 00:27:49,130 --> 00:27:52,290 THEY CONTINUE TO SPEAK DUTCH 515 00:28:05,170 --> 00:28:07,770 In fact, the cast of Dad's Army popped up in character in 516 00:28:07,930 --> 00:28:10,330 any number of programmes, 517 00:28:10,570 --> 00:28:13,050 including this BBC salute to Noel Coward. 518 00:28:13,330 --> 00:28:17,290 # We'll have to hide that armoured car when marching to Berlin 519 00:28:17,530 --> 00:28:21,010 # We'd almost be ashamed of it in Rome 520 00:28:21,250 --> 00:28:25,250 # So if you can't oblige us with a Bren gun 521 00:28:25,490 --> 00:28:28,610 # The Home Guard might as well The Home Guard might as well 522 00:28:28,890 --> 00:28:31,730 # The Home Guard might as well go home. # 523 00:28:34,250 --> 00:28:37,130 And, of course, Arthur Lowe and company also appeared on 524 00:28:37,290 --> 00:28:38,330 The Morecambe & Wise Show. 525 00:28:38,610 --> 00:28:41,330 Ah, well, there are a few more of the rabble, sir, bring them on! 526 00:28:43,370 --> 00:28:45,130 Sir! Attention! 527 00:28:45,290 --> 00:28:47,450 APPLAUSE 528 00:28:51,130 --> 00:28:55,210 He was old pals with Eric and Ernie, he'd known them for ever, and 529 00:28:55,450 --> 00:28:58,970 when they invited him on his show, he was delighted to go on there. 530 00:28:59,130 --> 00:29:02,410 THEY HUM THE THEME TO DAD'S ARMY 531 00:29:06,450 --> 00:29:09,850 Oh no, no, no please. You sure? Not here. Oh, I see. 532 00:29:10,050 --> 00:29:11,570 It's very good, though, isn't it? 533 00:29:15,050 --> 00:29:16,650 Playing the leader of the platoon, 534 00:29:16,890 --> 00:29:20,970 Arthur Lowe was front and centre of a show with truly broad appeal. 535 00:29:21,250 --> 00:29:24,450 We were walking along Knightsbridge one time in front of Harrods, 536 00:29:24,690 --> 00:29:29,090 and we were stopped by an Arab Sheikh who had just come out 537 00:29:29,330 --> 00:29:33,210 of the shop, and wanted to talk to my father and tell him 538 00:29:33,370 --> 00:29:35,970 how much his wives enjoyed the show. 539 00:29:36,170 --> 00:29:37,970 I had to pop into the chemist for Mrs Mainwaring. Ah, yes. 540 00:29:38,250 --> 00:29:39,810 Of course, he kept me waiting. Yes, of course, yes. 541 00:29:40,010 --> 00:29:41,610 Nothing serious, I hope, sir. 542 00:29:41,890 --> 00:29:44,450 No, no, no, she just can't sleep, it's these air raids, you know. 543 00:29:44,690 --> 00:29:46,770 Mm, well, there haven't been any lately, have there? 544 00:29:47,050 --> 00:29:49,050 Oh, she imagines them, even if they're not there. 545 00:29:49,330 --> 00:29:52,330 Very highly strung woman. Yes, sir, so you said, sir. 546 00:29:52,610 --> 00:29:55,370 Slightest noise, she tosses and turns till sunrise. 547 00:29:55,610 --> 00:29:59,050 Dustbin lid blew off last night, and before you could say 548 00:29:59,290 --> 00:30:02,730 "Jack Robinson," she was under my bunk with a gas mask on. 549 00:30:02,970 --> 00:30:07,170 In the 1970s, as well as recording up to 13 episodes a year of 550 00:30:07,410 --> 00:30:10,490 Dad's Army for television, Arthur was busy making films 551 00:30:10,770 --> 00:30:14,050 alongside Peter O'Toole, and playing everyone from Mr Micawber 552 00:30:14,290 --> 00:30:17,930 to Louis Pasteur for the BBC, amid a huge body of work. 553 00:30:18,170 --> 00:30:21,650 Nonetheless, he was fixed firmly, immovably, 554 00:30:21,930 --> 00:30:24,610 in the public mind as Captain Mainwaring. 555 00:30:24,930 --> 00:30:28,090 Sometimes it was a little bit of a disappointment for him, but 556 00:30:28,330 --> 00:30:32,650 you know, he really only cared what the profession thought, and he was 557 00:30:32,890 --> 00:30:35,530 very happy for the public to think of him as Captain Mainwaring and 558 00:30:35,810 --> 00:30:38,690 he attended a lot of charity events in character as Captain Mainwaring. 559 00:30:38,930 --> 00:30:42,610 No, I'd no trouble at all, except from the warden who, I mean, 560 00:30:42,770 --> 00:30:44,130 we expect trouble from anyway, 561 00:30:44,370 --> 00:30:46,370 and he's not one of my men in the first place. 562 00:30:46,650 --> 00:30:50,050 So long as the profession realised he was doing other work than 563 00:30:50,290 --> 00:30:55,250 just being in a television comedy show, yeah, he was happy. 564 00:30:55,490 --> 00:30:58,770 Though stories endured about Arthur's reluctance to learn his 565 00:30:59,050 --> 00:31:02,090 lines for Dad's Army, his brilliant performance was a reflection 566 00:31:02,330 --> 00:31:05,410 not only of his talent, but of a deep-seated professionalism. 567 00:31:05,690 --> 00:31:09,090 He used to say that it was no different to being a bus driver - 568 00:31:09,330 --> 00:31:12,290 if it was a Monday to a Friday and there was work going, 569 00:31:12,570 --> 00:31:14,370 he should get out of the house and go and do it. 570 00:31:14,610 --> 00:31:18,450 So if he was made an offer and he could do it, he would go and do it. 571 00:31:18,690 --> 00:31:22,650 And for 80 television episodes of Dad's Army on radio, on stage 572 00:31:22,890 --> 00:31:25,570 and film, Arthur Lowe was ready to get up, 573 00:31:25,810 --> 00:31:29,450 go to work and bring an immortal comic character to life. 574 00:31:29,690 --> 00:31:32,810 In the name of the King, I demand to examine your chicken. 575 00:31:34,410 --> 00:31:37,850 This is a war, Wilson, not a Rotary Club dance. 576 00:31:38,130 --> 00:31:41,330 Now, the reason I've taken all these pains 577 00:31:41,490 --> 00:31:43,970 to keep this matter a secret... 578 00:31:44,210 --> 00:31:48,170 ..is because nobody must see this dance until it's perfect. 579 00:31:48,450 --> 00:31:51,330 Otherwise, we might look like a bunch of idiots. 580 00:31:54,850 --> 00:31:57,090 Coming up, in part four of Saluting Dad's Army, 581 00:31:57,330 --> 00:32:00,330 how the platoon captured the hearts of a young generation. 582 00:32:09,570 --> 00:32:12,930 Welcome back to Saluting Dad's Army, where it's time to talk about 583 00:32:13,210 --> 00:32:16,770 the people who were crucial to the show's huge and enduring success. 584 00:32:16,970 --> 00:32:18,730 The viewers. 585 00:32:18,970 --> 00:32:22,530 In the 1970s, Dad's Army was required viewing for families up and 586 00:32:22,690 --> 00:32:24,690 down the land. 587 00:32:24,930 --> 00:32:28,290 I remember watching it as a family, with my sister and my mum and dad 588 00:32:28,570 --> 00:32:31,370 and that being such a focal part of my childhood 589 00:32:31,650 --> 00:32:34,210 and such a defining part of my childhood, actually. 590 00:32:34,410 --> 00:32:36,210 Uncle Arthur. What is it, Frank? 591 00:32:36,370 --> 00:32:38,050 Have you seen Mr Snuggly? 592 00:32:41,170 --> 00:32:42,250 Mr who? 593 00:32:42,490 --> 00:32:45,290 Mr Snuggly, my teddy. No, I haven't. 594 00:32:48,850 --> 00:32:52,410 Dad's Army was probably the most popular viewing in the Dennis 595 00:32:52,690 --> 00:32:55,090 household, cos it was one of those series, wasn't it, 596 00:32:55,370 --> 00:32:59,730 that you could watch with your mum and dad, and it wasn't embarrassing. 597 00:33:00,010 --> 00:33:05,930 Well, I was having a bath, going to have a bath and I got one foot in, 598 00:33:06,210 --> 00:33:10,610 and I heard this voice telling me I'd gotta have a permit. 599 00:33:10,810 --> 00:33:12,970 Right, I really don't think... 600 00:33:13,170 --> 00:33:14,610 Of course he's gotta have a permit - 601 00:33:14,850 --> 00:33:17,850 what do you think I've been shouting me mouth off about all the time?! 602 00:33:18,090 --> 00:33:21,050 This whole thing is assuming ridiculous proportions. 603 00:33:21,290 --> 00:33:24,770 Well, make your mind up cos the water's getting cold. 604 00:33:25,050 --> 00:33:28,370 The sort of very funny, very interesting world 605 00:33:28,530 --> 00:33:31,490 of really different characters 606 00:33:31,770 --> 00:33:34,370 that I was in love with sort of every single one of them. 607 00:33:34,530 --> 00:33:37,290 "I hereby give you permission 608 00:33:37,450 --> 00:33:38,810 "to take a bath. 609 00:33:40,290 --> 00:33:44,530 "Yours sincerely Jack Jones, Lance Corporal." 610 00:33:44,690 --> 00:33:46,610 Here you are. Ta. 611 00:33:46,730 --> 00:33:49,730 Oh, er, who do I give it to? 612 00:33:52,730 --> 00:33:54,770 Well, that's a point, isn't it? 613 00:33:54,970 --> 00:33:56,290 I think you better give it to me. 614 00:33:58,090 --> 00:33:59,810 My dad had served in World War II, 615 00:34:00,090 --> 00:34:04,370 he'd been in the Royal Engineers, disposing bombs, 616 00:34:04,610 --> 00:34:08,130 and I used to love watching my dad's reaction to Dad's Army, 617 00:34:08,410 --> 00:34:12,210 seeing how he related to it and the glow that this gave 618 00:34:12,410 --> 00:34:13,770 to the whole house. 619 00:34:14,050 --> 00:34:17,730 There was this other kind of glow that came from the programmes 620 00:34:17,850 --> 00:34:20,730 as well as the comedy itself. 621 00:34:20,970 --> 00:34:26,450 You know, sir, I don't think I can stand very much more of this. 622 00:34:26,610 --> 00:34:29,330 Oh, come on, Wilson, cheer up. 623 00:34:31,490 --> 00:34:36,090 There is a destiny that shapes our ends, rough hue them as we will. 624 00:34:40,170 --> 00:34:43,410 I'm reminded of the tale of the Australian soldier. 625 00:34:43,650 --> 00:34:46,970 He arrived up at the front and was met by a British officer who 626 00:34:47,210 --> 00:34:50,610 said, "Ah, my man, have you come to die?" 627 00:34:50,850 --> 00:34:53,810 And he said, "No, sir, I came yester-die." 628 00:34:58,490 --> 00:35:00,530 It did strike a chord with my family. 629 00:35:00,770 --> 00:35:03,530 I think there was a, it sounds a strange phrase, but sort of 630 00:35:03,770 --> 00:35:06,210 a nostalgia for the war among a lot of people. 631 00:35:06,450 --> 00:35:08,890 You know, some of you chaps will be heartbroken when this war's over. 632 00:35:09,170 --> 00:35:11,290 You just love the Home Guard, don't you? 633 00:35:11,530 --> 00:35:13,570 Gives you every opportunity you want for dressing up 634 00:35:13,770 --> 00:35:15,010 and strutting about in uniform. 635 00:35:15,250 --> 00:35:17,930 For your information, Mr West, I never strut. 636 00:35:18,170 --> 00:35:21,330 It was the moment that they kind of felt most alive. 637 00:35:21,570 --> 00:35:24,050 Good grief! What's that damn great gun doing there? 638 00:35:24,290 --> 00:35:26,730 That is a Lewis machinegun mark I. 639 00:35:27,010 --> 00:35:29,730 We keep it there during the daytime because it covers the 640 00:35:30,010 --> 00:35:32,530 high street from Stead & Simpson's to Timothy Whites. 641 00:35:32,770 --> 00:35:34,890 Do you mean to tell me you'd use that to shoot at Germans? 642 00:35:35,130 --> 00:35:38,050 It they were coming out of Timothy Whites, yes. 643 00:35:39,450 --> 00:35:42,330 Here was a situation that everybody in the country knew about, 644 00:35:42,610 --> 00:35:44,610 that everyone had the legacy of behind them, 645 00:35:44,850 --> 00:35:47,170 their parents or their grandparents, certainly. 646 00:35:47,410 --> 00:35:50,930 I think it resonated with that generation because I think 647 00:35:51,210 --> 00:35:54,690 the thing they remembered really strongly was that feeling, 648 00:35:54,930 --> 00:35:58,930 that memory of that moment in the war, where it felt like it was 649 00:35:59,090 --> 00:36:01,690 Britain on its own facing disaster. 650 00:36:01,930 --> 00:36:04,730 But what it did was somehow take that world and make it an 651 00:36:05,010 --> 00:36:08,170 OK world to be in, and a safe world and a reassuring world. 652 00:36:08,410 --> 00:36:14,050 Well, now, see, Hitler and his lackey Mussolini are here, 653 00:36:14,210 --> 00:36:15,370 across the Channel... 654 00:36:15,570 --> 00:36:19,170 We are guarding our strong points, which are the 655 00:36:19,330 --> 00:36:20,930 Stones Amusement Arcade here 656 00:36:21,090 --> 00:36:24,050 and the Novelty Rock Emporium here, 657 00:36:24,210 --> 00:36:26,730 with our advanced headquarters 658 00:36:27,010 --> 00:36:30,090 in the middle here at the Marigold Tea Rooms. 659 00:36:30,330 --> 00:36:35,170 My parents were both born in 1931. Really it should have been a comedy 660 00:36:35,450 --> 00:36:39,090 for them, they sort of remembered the war, knew what the Home Guard 661 00:36:39,370 --> 00:36:42,770 was, but it, you know, my brother and I really had no idea at all. 662 00:36:43,090 --> 00:36:45,770 That was the brilliant thing about it, it just seemed to work for everyone. 663 00:36:46,050 --> 00:36:49,050 When young viewers wrote to the stars of the show at the BBC, 664 00:36:49,290 --> 00:36:52,690 the kind and gentle Private Godfrey was a particular favourite. 665 00:36:52,930 --> 00:36:56,690 My father received one letter from a child who said, um... 666 00:36:57,930 --> 00:37:00,250 "My sister was very upset last night 667 00:37:00,490 --> 00:37:03,330 "when the bank manager was rude to you. 668 00:37:03,570 --> 00:37:08,730 "He shouldn't have been, because although you are very stupid, 669 00:37:08,890 --> 00:37:10,490 "you do try." 670 00:37:10,770 --> 00:37:13,690 Children saw the stars of Dad's Army making guest appearances 671 00:37:13,890 --> 00:37:15,490 on programmes such as Blue Peter. 672 00:37:15,770 --> 00:37:18,050 That's an awfully, awfully good picture of you, sir, 673 00:37:18,290 --> 00:37:20,010 very good likeness. It is good, isn't it? 674 00:37:20,330 --> 00:37:22,610 I would have thought that you could have had a shave before this was drawn. 675 00:37:22,850 --> 00:37:25,690 Well, at least I bothered to do up my battle-dress blouse, sir. 676 00:37:25,930 --> 00:37:30,170 So you did. Board games, comics and toys gave young viewers a chance to 677 00:37:30,450 --> 00:37:33,850 express their enthusiasm for Dad's Army but, above all, 678 00:37:34,090 --> 00:37:37,930 there was the show itself to enjoy, year after year. 679 00:37:38,130 --> 00:37:39,770 Walker was my first love. 680 00:37:40,010 --> 00:37:43,690 Here, do you want any clothing coupons? Bob a piece? 681 00:37:44,930 --> 00:37:47,090 No, thank you. I tell you what I'll do, 682 00:37:47,370 --> 00:37:49,570 special price, ten bob a dozen. No, thank you! 683 00:37:51,890 --> 00:37:53,090 Petrol coupons? 684 00:37:53,250 --> 00:37:54,290 I haven't got a car. 685 00:37:54,450 --> 00:37:55,930 Ah, now, I can help you there. 686 00:37:56,210 --> 00:37:58,930 I just thought he was brilliant and hilarious and, 687 00:37:59,210 --> 00:38:00,810 because he's basically like a naughty boy. 688 00:38:01,090 --> 00:38:04,170 Here, Jonesy, come here, all your problems are over, I've got 'em. 689 00:38:04,410 --> 00:38:06,810 Got what? The off the ration meat. 690 00:38:06,970 --> 00:38:09,890 Pigeons. About two dozen of 'em. 691 00:38:10,050 --> 00:38:12,090 Pigeons? Where are they? 692 00:38:12,330 --> 00:38:14,290 In the boiler house, next to Mainwaring's office. 693 00:38:14,610 --> 00:38:17,690 We'd better put 'em in my cold room. If we keep 'em in the boiler house they'll go off. 694 00:38:17,850 --> 00:38:19,290 No, they won't. Why? 695 00:38:19,450 --> 00:38:20,570 They're not dead yet. 696 00:38:22,170 --> 00:38:23,650 I think my dad liked it. 697 00:38:23,930 --> 00:38:26,730 He particularly liked Captain Mainwaring. 698 00:38:26,890 --> 00:38:28,410 Just notice this, will you? 699 00:38:28,650 --> 00:38:32,050 You get a lot better purchase on it if you wrap the pull-through 700 00:38:32,290 --> 00:38:36,770 round your hand like this, and give it a good sharp tug, and... 701 00:38:38,930 --> 00:38:41,330 He was such a trier, and such a ridiculous trier, 702 00:38:41,570 --> 00:38:44,490 I just couldn't help but laugh every time I saw him. 703 00:38:44,770 --> 00:38:47,450 I remember a little wrinkle that I picked up in the last conflict. 704 00:38:47,610 --> 00:38:48,730 Now, watch this. 705 00:38:50,170 --> 00:38:54,290 You tie it to an immovable object, like this. 706 00:38:54,530 --> 00:38:57,010 Like Roy Rogers ties his horse. Trigger. 707 00:38:57,170 --> 00:38:59,090 Like that, you see. 708 00:38:59,250 --> 00:39:03,850 Now, all we want is a sharp jerk. 709 00:39:08,010 --> 00:39:10,890 There was a character there for everybody to relate to. 710 00:39:11,170 --> 00:39:14,210 There was that tall, rude Scots one, the mummy's boy, 711 00:39:14,410 --> 00:39:16,250 Grandad and the clever-dick one. 712 00:39:16,490 --> 00:39:20,330 I related to Pike when I was a lad, you know, the teachers would 713 00:39:20,570 --> 00:39:23,090 call me a stupid boy, and I'd get similar things wrong. 714 00:39:23,250 --> 00:39:24,450 Excuse me, Mr Mainwaring, 715 00:39:24,690 --> 00:39:27,490 Mr Jones has had his van done up, it looks nice, doesn't it? 716 00:39:27,730 --> 00:39:29,810 Don't interrupt, Pike, you'll be sent home. 717 00:39:30,090 --> 00:39:33,730 I always say I was aware from a very early age, really, just how 718 00:39:33,970 --> 00:39:37,290 brilliant the cast were. That brilliance comes to the fore 719 00:39:37,570 --> 00:39:39,690 as the platoon members digest dramatic news. 720 00:39:39,930 --> 00:39:43,130 Mr Wilson has become the Honourable Arthur Wilson. 721 00:39:43,330 --> 00:39:44,970 Hasn't changed a bit, you know. 722 00:39:45,210 --> 00:39:48,530 Still calls me Frank, just like he was an ordinary common person. 723 00:39:50,490 --> 00:39:52,530 It won't change him. 724 00:39:52,770 --> 00:39:54,570 He was a fool before and he's a fool now. 725 00:39:56,130 --> 00:39:59,210 You know, I used to serve one or two honourables when I was in the 726 00:39:59,490 --> 00:40:02,050 Army and Navy stores, they were quite ordinary people, 727 00:40:02,210 --> 00:40:03,890 just like any other customer. 728 00:40:04,090 --> 00:40:05,250 The only difference was 729 00:40:05,410 --> 00:40:06,810 you couldn't get the money. 730 00:40:09,050 --> 00:40:12,890 Visually, there was plenty for young viewers to latch onto in Dad's Army. 731 00:40:13,130 --> 00:40:16,650 Bits of foliage and grass stuck to their clothes, 732 00:40:16,970 --> 00:40:18,970 that was very appealing to me as a child - 733 00:40:19,130 --> 00:40:20,290 just the absurdity of it. 734 00:40:22,490 --> 00:40:26,610 Ludicrous camouflage and my sister Dolly and all these 735 00:40:26,850 --> 00:40:30,570 things that just moved into sort of family language. 736 00:40:30,810 --> 00:40:34,570 I remember I saw that film with my sister, Dolly, but she made me 737 00:40:34,770 --> 00:40:36,410 take her out before the end, 738 00:40:36,610 --> 00:40:37,730 she thought it was rather near. 739 00:40:40,530 --> 00:40:43,290 Children had always responded to Dad's Army, 740 00:40:43,530 --> 00:40:47,210 but as young viewers became teenagers, some realised that 741 00:40:47,490 --> 00:40:50,490 life in Walmington-on-Sea was more complicated than they'd thought. 742 00:40:50,730 --> 00:40:53,570 I sort of remember as a kid being very puzzled by the whole 743 00:40:53,770 --> 00:40:56,130 Pike's mum and Wilson. 744 00:40:56,490 --> 00:40:59,170 I want to speak to Captain Mainwaring, Arthur. I'm afraid he hasn't arrived yet. 745 00:40:59,370 --> 00:41:02,130 Have you seen Frank's feet? I really haven't noticed them recently, no. 746 00:41:02,370 --> 00:41:04,050 Ooh, they're in a terrible state. Are they? 747 00:41:04,250 --> 00:41:06,250 He woke up screaming in the night. 748 00:41:06,490 --> 00:41:08,730 Really? I didn't hear him. Arthur! 749 00:41:08,890 --> 00:41:09,930 Sorry. 750 00:41:12,570 --> 00:41:15,570 At sort of 16, I was, or 15, going, "Yeah, what's going on now?" 751 00:41:15,730 --> 00:41:17,970 Mum? Hmm? 752 00:41:18,210 --> 00:41:21,130 Uncle Arthur lives miles away - how could he hear me in the night? 753 00:41:22,570 --> 00:41:25,930 I was 14 and I was of that generation who was kind of a 754 00:41:26,210 --> 00:41:30,090 little bit fed up with hearing the older generation bang on 755 00:41:30,370 --> 00:41:33,210 about the war, so initially I was a bit resistant to it but 756 00:41:33,410 --> 00:41:34,770 I think the thing that 757 00:41:35,050 --> 00:41:37,170 first turned me onto it was the interaction 758 00:41:37,410 --> 00:41:39,970 between Mainwaring and Wilson, and that beautiful portrait of, 759 00:41:40,210 --> 00:41:43,530 sort of, how class works in this country. 760 00:41:43,810 --> 00:41:47,010 Reminds me of the time when I was at school and we used to have... 761 00:41:47,170 --> 00:41:49,730 ..midnight feasts in the dorm. 762 00:41:49,890 --> 00:41:52,090 Really? Yes. 763 00:41:52,370 --> 00:41:55,610 School I went to, we didn't have any midnight feasts, 764 00:41:55,850 --> 00:42:00,210 we had to manage with a few aniseed balls in a corner of the playground. 765 00:42:00,450 --> 00:42:04,690 Though ultimately, perhaps the appeal of Dad's Army to a generation 766 00:42:04,930 --> 00:42:07,650 growing up in the 1970s was really very straightforward. 767 00:42:07,810 --> 00:42:10,850 It's old men being funny. 768 00:42:15,090 --> 00:42:16,570 Left turn! 769 00:42:18,770 --> 00:42:20,250 That's about it for now. 770 00:42:20,530 --> 00:42:23,530 Do join me next time on Saluting Dad's Army, but in the meantime, 771 00:42:23,770 --> 00:42:26,890 I leave you with another brilliant example of old men being funny. 772 00:42:27,050 --> 00:42:29,730 You just can't beat that, can you? 773 00:42:29,890 --> 00:42:31,210 Let go your end, Jones! 774 00:42:32,610 --> 00:42:34,050 All clear this end, sir. 775 00:42:36,530 --> 00:42:37,570 Right. 776 00:42:41,170 --> 00:42:42,530 Round the front for safety. 777 00:42:42,690 --> 00:42:45,090 Right, sir. Jump to it! Hup! 778 00:43:05,570 --> 00:43:08,650 Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring! Don't panic! 779 00:43:08,810 --> 00:43:11,010 Next time on Saluting Dad's Army, 780 00:43:11,290 --> 00:43:14,730 we go behind the scenes to discover how the magic was made.