They were known as the Magnificent Seven,
an unlikely group of men thrown together,
who created one of Britain's best loved comedies, Dad's Army.
Don't tell him, Pike. Pike. It appeals to everybody
and it was a part of the time where everyone was working together,
part of England. You're a stupid boy!
Don't panic!
Together, they shared a unique camaraderie,
but behind the laughs lay stories of sadness...
He'd really seen the dark side of the War
and that probably gave a bit of an edge, playing Lance Corporal Jones.
..of bizarre scandals... It was a great relationship, until she
found somebody else and we all lived under the same roof.
I took the blame of Hattie's marriage,
but I didn't take him away. It was the other way round.
..and of hidden rivalries.
There was this real tension on set, which they somehow miraculously
managed to not bleed into what they were doing, professionally.
Through behind the scenes home movies and the stories
of those who knew them best, this is the Secret Life Of Dad's Army.
They were very naughty boys and getting a lot drunker than
they ought to have done and having a wonderful time.
We reveal how one of the cast's most loved members fought a long
battle with money... Throughout my childhood,
it was very much a hand to mouth existence, constantly worried about
whether or not we could pay the gas or electricity bill, or the rent.
..how a life of excess led to tragedy in the ranks...
I knew him quite well, actually. It was very, very sad when he went.
Far too young.
..and how for some, fame was bittersweet.
He once said to Jimmy Perry, "You know, Jimmy,
"it's an extraordinary thing.
"I've played all the great classic roles and now,
"I've become a household name doing this old rubbish of yours!"
I'm all right, I'm all right... Dad's Army has kept us laughing
for the last 50 years... Whoa!
..with its blend of memorable characters...
Are you bringing that gravy, or aren't you?
..and iconic catchphrases. You stupid boy!
I think those characters are universal and of course,
they've now become totally burnt into our national psyche really.
I think that everybody can see their own granddad,
their own uncles, their own fathers in there.
They were butchers and they were bakers and they were bank managers.
These were sort of ordinary people,
doing an extraordinary job.
The Dad's Army story started in the summer of 1967.
Actor and theatre manager Jimmy Perry was struggling to make
a name for himself on television,
so he decided to turn his hand to writing.
Jimmy was working primarily as an actor,
but he was desperate to write for TV and create a good part for himself.
Perry decided to write a sitcom based on his time
serving in the Home Guard during the War.
Made up of volunteers, their role was to act as a last
line of defence in the event of a Nazi invasion.
With resources scarce, the Home Guard were poorly equipped
to fight a rearguard action against the Germans.
There was no equipment, they had a little armband and they were making
their own weapons up, pepper sprays, Molotov cocktails
with a bit of petrol in a glass jar.
The lack of military equipment led the Home Guard to be dubbed the
Broomstick Army and inspired this classic scene in the pilot episode
when Captain Mainwaring tries to commandeer Private Godfrey's weapon.
Er, excuse me. Mr Mainwaring would rather like to have your rifle.
Who would like to have it? Er, Captain Mainwaring.
Well, he can't have it.
Now, look here, Godfrey. Hand over that gun at once!
I don't see why I should.
Are you refusing to obey an order on active service?
You realise we could have you shot for this.
That'll be a bit tricky, since he's the only one with a gun!
However, Dad's Army might never have made it to the screen,
but for a fortuitous introduction.
Jimmy Perry's agent, Ann Callender, put him
up for a role in a sitcom called Beggar My Neighbour,
being produced by her husband, David Croft.
David Croft was a sweetie.
He was very quiet, very charming, and he was one of the nicest
directors you could have ever worked with.
When Jimmy Perry showed David Croft his script,
he immediately saw its potential,
as Perry explained in this 1989 interview for
the BBC's Daytime Live. I was fortunately on one of David's shows
and I chatted it over with him and he was very enthusiastic, unlike
a lot of directors, they always put you down and say,
"Oh, I don't think so."
He was marvellous and he said, "Oh, this is fantastic! Wee!"
And we got together and we sold it to the BBC in four days
and it's one of those marvellous stories and it all came together.
The BBC initially commissioned six episodes,
but they didn't like Perry's title, The Fighting Tigers
and insisted it be changed to Dad's Army.
In a revealing interview for BBC Two's You Have Been Watching
in 2011, Jimmy Perry explained how he
and David Croft went about writing the show.
The first series we wrote more or less together
and then they got me to write some and he wrote some
and a bit of a mess actually, so we finally got to a situation,
I said, "Dave, there's only one way to do this.
"Face to face."
So, we both wrote by hand, with a lovely felt tip pen and then
we'd have the rough script and then we'd sit there and then we'd act it.
But if Dad's Army was going to be a success,
casting the lead parts was crucial.
The story of how the Magnificent Seven ended up in their roles
is full of surprising twists and turns.
I think with most sitcoms, they really arrive on the screen with
as much down to luck as judgement and with quite a few of the roles,
there was some doubt in terms of who they wanted and who they could get.
One of the most critical casting decisions was finding someone
to play the part of the platoon's second in command, Sergeant Wilson.
The BBC were keen on John Le Mesurier.
His son, Robin, says he revelled in his reputation as one
of Britain's busiest character actors.
There was no question of, you know, earning lots of money. It was that
John liked to be working,
basically take any work that was offered to him.
But according to Le Mesurier's third wife, Joan, initially,
he was lukewarm on the part.
He didn't see the point in it. It seemed rather dull.
He just thought it was going to be a boring old thing
and it wouldn't last.
He thought it was going to be a flop.
His agent negotiated a higher fee and Le Mesurier eventually agreed.
Croft and Perry gave him free rein to make the role his own
and the rest is comedy history.
You've got all that? Yes, I have.
Right, stand by. All right.
Standing by. Fire!
GUNFIRE
All right, Sergeant. It's all over.
Sergeant!
Exciting, wasn't it?
Yes, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing, yes.
There's no need to snatch it like that. Don't snatch.
He turned to Jimmy Perry and said, "James, how would you like me
"to play this part?" And Jimmy Perry said, "Well, just play it like you."
And that's what happened.
There was something so refined and suave about him.
He used to have the buttons slightly undone on his dress shirt
and he used to have his sleeves
slightly turned up and every time he gave an order,
it was sort of like an invitation, as if he was at a drinks party.
And he generally assumed this sort of wonderful,
benign air of helplessness, which was absolute perfection.
But just as he was beginning his time
in Dad's Army, John Le Mesurier was enduring one of the most
painful periods of his extraordinarily turbulent life.
Joan had embarked on an affair with comedy legend Tony Hancock, Le
Mesurier's close friend and one of the biggest TV stars of the 1960s.
He never got angry.
When I had an affair with Tony Hancock,
he understood totally because he was a friend of Tony Hancock's
and he loved him and I can't ever remember him being cross,
except once in a pub.
Somebody called me a tart because I had been with Tony Hancock
and John, for the first time in his life, stood up and gave this
man a really rousting of, "How dare you talk to my wife like that!"
And I was very proud of him.
Incredibly, it wasn't the first time Le Mesurier had been forced
to take a backseat in his own marriage.
His second wife was Hattie Jacques,
famous for appearing in the Carry On films,
often as a no nonsense matron, as seen in this memorable
encounter with Kenneth Williams in Carry On Doctor.
Matron, please! I'm not that kind of doctor!
Don't deny yourself, Kenneth. We've wasted so many years.
This is our moment of fulfilment. I don't want to feel full. Full feel.
I... I mean, you don't understand.
In real life, Hattie Jacques had embarked on a passionate
extramarital affair
with a car salesman. John Le Mesurier was a very stoical man.
When he discovered she was having an affair with a younger
and very handsome man, he just tried to put up with it.
There were no tantrums, there were no rows, there were no clashes,
he just got on with his work and left her to get on with hers.
Astonishingly, Le Mesurier even let the other man
move into the family home, while he moved into the spare room.
Their son Robin became accustomed
to the unconventional domestic arrangements.
It was a great relationship until she found somebody else,
who became kind of like a second father to us
and we all lived under the same roof, which was kind of...
Some people can't understand how that could work,
but it did, somehow.
When Hattie Jacques was chosen as the subject
of one of the BBC's most popular shows, This Is Your Life, Le
Mesurier glossed over their private arrangement with a public tribute.
So there's never a dull moment with Hattie, in fact? No.
No, there isn't, really.
I would like to... I would like to say that I...
I am eternally grateful to the way she runs the home,
looks after the children, looks after me.
Home comes first really, I think I'm right in saying.
I mean, when he was saying that,
my mother's lover at the time was staying at the house and in fact,
he even drove her to Shepherd's Bush Empire, where I think it was shot.
Thank you, John Le Mesurier.
In another stranger than fiction twist to their story,
Le Mesurier found love again with one of Hattie Jacques' best friends.
When Jacques and Le Mesurier divorced,
he showed the gentlemanly qualities he was known for on screen.
He agreed to be named the adulterer to protect Hattie's career
and image, but in the eyes of the public, new love, Joan,
was the home wrecker.
I took the blame of Hattie's marriage,
that I had taken John away from his family.
But it was not true...
..I was very good friends with her.
But I didn't take him away from her.
It was the other way round.
When it looked liked Le Mesurier's marriage to Joan was also
destined to fail, he was determined it would succeed.
In June 1968, just a month before Dad's Army was due to air
for the first time, a tragic series of events led to a reconciliation.
Joan was patient and waited, and waited and waited.
And then after Handcock committed suicide in Australia...
Joanie went back to John.
Coming up, the onset differences that were kept
a closely-guarded secret.
The thing that is so fascinating about the Arthur Lowe
and Clive Dunn relationship,
was that Arthur Lowe was a signed-up Tory,
and Clive Dunn was an avowed socialist.
And a cast member with a reputation for being as pompous
as his on-screen character.
A lot of people came out asking for autographs and somebody said,
"No good asking him, he's a miserable old toad, he is."
More than 50 years since it first appeared on our screens,
Dad's Army remains one of Britain's most-loved sitcoms.
Put that gun down and listen to me.
LAUGHTER
In early 1968, most of the so-called Magnificent Seven
still hadn't been cast.
While John Le Mesurier, who'd been chosen to play Sergeant Wilson,
was seen as natural BBC material, Jimmy Perry's pick for the role
of Captain Mannering, Arthur Lowe, was tainted by his association
with ITV's Coronation Street.
However, the popular soap had allowed him to display his talent
for playing officious characters with a variety of accents,
as seen in this stand off with legendary Corrie character,
Ina Sharples.
The committee feels that it is unseemly for the caretaker
of the Glad Tidings Hall to be seen entering licensed premises.
What?
They started to hire what was called at that time, regional actors.
And of course, Arthur was from Lancashire and he got the part
of Leonard Swindley, the Draper, and played some immense
number of episodes.
Arthur Lowe's Swindley went on to have his own
Coronation Street spin-off, Pardon The Expression,
and his co-star was John Le Mesurier.
But unlike the future Home Guard, John's character was clearly
the one in charge.
I don't think I know Mr Clauson, sir.
I think you'd know him if you saw him, he's a little bit eccentric
for my point of view, and he twitters a bit from time to time.
This scene from 1966 shows the natural on-screen rapport
between the two future Dad's Army stalwarts.
I think he'll be back in a moment, sir.
Back from where? From the rear entrance, sir.
I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid there's been a little
misunderstanding, I regret to say that I've just had ejected
from the premises. Swindley, I think I've been doing you an injustice.
I never believed all the things the Brigadier told me about you,
but by heavens, I believe them now.
That very nice of him...
In fact, the BBC's preferred option for Captain Mannering
was John Pertwee, now best known as the third Doctor Who.
But when he turned it down, Arthur Lowe was finally
offered the role.
I think it actually came down to availability in the end.
It's funny how these things happen.
And so John Le Mesurier and Arthur Lowe were reunited,
but now, with the roles reversed.
One of the most famous comedy double acts in history was born.
In view of the fact that your platoon was the first
to be formed in this area, you have been chosen
to act as the Guard of Honour.
Oh, that's wonderful, sir, that's wonderful news.
You see, in the end, real leadership will always be recognised, Wilson.
Yes. Excuse me, sir, it says here, that we have been chosen
because we were the first platoon to be formed in the area, you see.
That will be all, Wilson, thank you.
Mannering always feels slightly...
..inferior to his Sergeant.
His Sergeant...better educated and has got this very plummy voice.
So mentoring always can lord it over Wilson through his rank.
But Wilson, obviously can lord it over Mannering just with kind
of a perfectly crafted aside.
I don't want to take up too much of your time.
After all, you're a very important man.
Oh, I wouldn't say I was all that important.
LAUGHTER
Would you, Wilson?
No, I don't think so.
With the two linchpins of the cast in place, attention turned
to the rest of the ensemble.
Experienced, Shakespearean actor, John Laurie, was approached
to play dour, wild-eyed Scotsman, Private Frazer.
However, when he first saw the script, he wasn't impressed.
His reaction was apparently the inspiration for his character's
most famous catchphrase.
We're doomed.
Doomed.
The very first script meeting that the actors had,
John Laurie was going around to the writers saying,
"This is a load of rubbish.
"This is not going to get past a first series."
And that sense of being doomed, they just built that into Frazer.
And as a result, it really built up the part.
The role of Lance Corporal Jones went to Clive Dunn.
At just 48, he'd already made a career of playing doddery old men.
I remember one make-up lady, you know, she said, "I'm saving
"ever such a lot of money on Clive Dunn, because he's getting
"older and older, I don't have to use quite so much
"make-up on him."
He was also very good at physical comedy.
He loved music hall and he loved slapstick.
But Clive Dunn nearly didn't end up playing Corporal Jones at all.
He didn't really want to do it.
But John Le Mesurier, he also didn't want to do it unless
Clive Dunn did it, and Clive Dunn didn't want to do it
unless John Le Mesurier did it.
27-year-old David Jason was lined up as a potential replacement.
In this appearance on BBC One's long running chat show, Wogan,
Clive Dunn revealed how he came around to accepting the part.
Did you say yes to that part immediately?
I'd just been in a show that I wasn't very good in, and I thought,
"I don't want to go on another show I'm not very good in."
So I waited a minute and asked me wife, because she tells me
what to do, and then I asked John Le Mesurier, and he said,
"I think I'm going to do it."
And when he said he'd do it, I did it, and we all done it.
With the addition of a baby faced Ian Lavender as Private Pike,
Arnold Ridley as Godfrey...
and James Beck as Walker, the Magnificent Seven were complete.
Bill Pertwee was also added to the cast as Captain Manning's
nemesis, Warden Hodges.
If you're not careful, I'll requisition this hall for
military purposes. You're too late, mate.
It's already been requisitioned for the Civil Defence for my purposes,
so get this lot out, so I can carry on with my lecture.
Are you asking the army to retreat?
Why not? You've had plenty of practice lately.
Bill Pertwee, in real life was a really pleasant, amiable,
engaging sort of individual, a real cheerer-upper, which was one
of the reasons he was brought into the cast in the first place.
And he wasn't really anything like Hodges.
The first series of Dad's Army was shot over the course
of just a few weeks between April and May 1968.
But the BBC still had last-minute reservations about its prospects.
When the pilot episode was shown to a test audience,
the feedback was largely negative.
As accurately captured in BBC drama, We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story.
I thought it was just daft.
I didn't really follow it from the start.
Was that supposed to now?
I didn't laugh out loud once.
I thought it was rubbish.
I quite liked it.
I think it'll be a hit.
Some thought that a group of old men or primarily older men in a comedy
series, would it really attract a big audience?
The BBC top brass also had other worries.
There was a little bit of hesitancy at the BBC as to whether the series
would be a success.
Some people felt that perhaps it was taking the mickey
out of Britain's finest hour.
The BBC were worried that people would interpret
it as the efforts of the Home Guard being
laughed at or derided.
Despite the concerns, on July 31st 1968,
the first episode was broadcast, including the now
instantly recognisable theme tune, sung by popular wartime
entertainer Bud Flanagan.
LAUGHTER
In the opening few episodes,
the on-screen rapport between the cast was immediately evident,
as shown in this classic scene where Clive Dunn's Corporal Jones
is seen handing out uniforms.
A small one, please.
There we are, Mr Godfrey. Which side you put them on?
You put them on the right side, like, you see.
Yeah, does it suit me.
Well, if you're retreating, you've got it on back to front.
You don't expect me to that thing on my head, do you?
You can stick it where you like.
I'm just the man that gives them out, see.
Right, gather round.
But while the cast was gelling on screen behind the scenes,
there were rumours of personality clashes.
There was this real tension on set which they somehow miraculously
managed to not bleed into what they were doing professionally.
Bumbling Lance Corporal Jones often found himself the target
of Captain Manning's impatience.
So on the ground strip off, we all strip off together, right?
Permission to speak, sir. What's the problem?
It's a bit chilly out here, couldn't we strip off inside, sir?
Certainly not.
If you're cold, start running on the spot. Yes, sir.
Right...Strip.
In real life, Arthur Lowe and Clive Dunn also
had their differences.
The thing that is so fascinating about the Arthur Lowe
and Clive Dunn relationship, was that Arthur Lowe was a signed-up
Tory and Clive Dunn was an avowed socialist.
Arthur was very political and very right wing.
He had been introduced to Ted Heath and introduced to Margaret Thatcher.
These are things he was massively proud of.
Where other members of the cast, of course, did not necessarily
share his politics.
In fact, Clive Dunn was as left wing, as Arthur was right wing.
The two men avoided talking about politics on set,
but when Clive Dunn was awarded an OBE in 1975,
Lowe felt personally snubbed.
I think he was absolutely furious that Clive Dunn
got an OBE and he didn't.
I would think he was absolutely crushed by that.
Arthur Lowe and Clive Dunn weren't the only members
of the Magnificent Seven with their differences.
John Laurie had a reputation for occasionally being as prickly
as his on screen character.
John Laurie was a lot like Frazer.
He was cantankerous.
He was rather mischievous.
He was someone who enjoyed playing a kind of professional pessimist.
I used to be a dab hand at this stuff when I was a boy.
Yes, that's rather a long time ago, Frazer.
But sir, I just hit my target just know at 100 yards.
Belisha beacon, smashed to smithereens.
Well, keep the thing out of sight, you'll be using conkers next.
Did I hear you say, sir, we'll be getting our weapons soon?
I hope so, Frazer, I hope so.
Oh, thank God for that.
Laurie and Arnold Ridley, who played Private Godfrey,
were very different characters.
There was a bit of rivalry between them, because John Laurie
was very fit.
If he ever saw Arnold Ridley sit down, he would rush off and try
and pick something up and lug it past Ridley saying,
"Don't you worry, son, you just sit there, I'll get on with this."
But Arnold Ridley's son, Nicholas, thinks they learned
to tolerate each other.
I think they had very different attitudes to being older.
I think that John Laurie probably had a little bit of fun
at my father's expense, and my father didn't worry
about that at all.
By September 1968, the first series of Dad's Army had come to an end.
Around eight million people had tuned in each week, a hit
by today's standards, but merely respectable viewing
figures for the time.
However, the BBC had already commissioned a second series.
If you were able to get into the BBC and make a series, unlike today,
where ratings are everything, it was very likely that you would
make a minimum of two or three series which allowed
stuff to bed in.
The BBC's decision to stick with Dad's Army proved wise.
During series two, ratings climbed to around 14 million viewers,
and the characters had become firm favourites with the public.
Croft and Perry were absolute geniuses.
They absolutely nailed it, they got every aspect of it right.
They got the characters right, but more importantly than that,
they got the right actors to play the right character.
There isn't a single person playing a character in Dad's Army
that is miscast.
After the BBC's initial reluctance to use Arthur Lowe,
he had proven himself perfect for the role.
Like the other senior cast members, he'd served in the Second World War.
He also adopted a regimental approach to his personal life.
Arthur Lowe in real life was probably...
..as naturally pompous as Captain Mannering.
And, you know, writers aren't stupid.
They will see a person and they will see what they are like,
and they will write to type.
This behind-the-scenes home footage was shot by a member of the public
during location filming in Norfolk.
While the rest of the cast happily signed autographs for the locals,
Frank Williams, who played the vicar, recalls
Arthur Lowe, refusing.
A lot of people came out asking for autographs,
and Arthur would say, "No, no, I don't do that sort of thing,
"not while I'm working."
Well in the afternoon, a lot of other people came out asking
for autographs, and somebody who'd been in the morning said,
"No good asking him, he's a miserable old toad, he is."
Even Arthur Lowe son, Stephen, saw this self-important side
of his father's personality.
I'd like to be able to say...
..Arthur was a character actor and he created the characters
and he was himself, an empty shell at home, you know,
waiting for a new character to be poured into him.
But this is not true.
He had a little bit of a pompous side.
I mean, there are certain aspects of Dad's character
that are definitely in the Mannering character.
Every great sitcom has at its heart,
a character that has a fatal flaw.
And everybody that watches Dad's Army knows how absolutely useless
in a leader capacity, Captain Mannering is.
And that underpins everything.
Coming up, the secret clause that Arthur Lowe insisted
was in his contract.
There was just one thing that Dad said,
"No, I don't take my trousers off.
"I just don't do those sorts of jokes."
And the real life wartime story of one of
the cast's best-loved actors.
Must have been awful,
but he always used to say that going to public school
was the most perfect training for being a prisoner of war.
When Dad's Army first appeared on our screens in the late 1960s,
it emerged from a golden age for British comedy.
Shows like Hancock's Half Hour had helped launch the careers
of several of Dad's Army's stars.
John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn were both in Hancock's Half Hour,
and that was a comedy about a man
who craved this acceptance to be middle class,
and we saw some of that was creeping into Dad's Army
when it came along as well,
with that relationship between Wilson and Mainwaring.
Dad's Army seemed to have a lot of the BBC values in there.
If you kind of think of the BBC as being quite middle class,
quite gentle, sophisticated and intelligent humour.
Over on ITV,
it was sort of much more smutty.
You know, you had On The Buses,
Butler always chasing the birds and giving the hapless Blakey
a hard time over there.
That was very much more slapsticky.
But the TV comedy landscape was changing fast.
It was quite an interesting time, because obviously you've got
Monty Python, you have this new wave
of sort of edgy, Oxbridge educated comedians who were all coming up.
You had The Likely Lads, which was sort of very current
and rough around the edges,
and then sitting slap bang in the middle of it
is Dad's Army?
By 1969, the BBC had largely switched to colour.
Dad's Army, now into its third series, followed suit
and it breathed new life into the show.
Corporal, stay where you are. They're taking this net off.
Don't worry, I won't let it beat me. Stay where you are.
Clive Dunn's Lance Corporal Jones had become one of the most important
characters, and he'd been given the show's most iconic catchphrase.
All right, don't panic. Don't panic.
Where are they? I'll get them. I'll get them.
Don't panic. Don't panic.
While Jones was the very opposite of soldierly efficiency,
in real life, Clive Dunn had a distinguished war record.
When fighting in southern Europe,
he was captured by the Nazis and spent four years in labour camps,
as his wife Priscilla recalls.
He was caught actually in Greece.
They were hoping to get to the south
and be picked up by a British boat,
but it never happened.
It must have been awful,
but he always used to say that going to public school
was the most perfect training for being a prisoner of war.
Dunn had become a committed pacifist.
His portrayal of Corporal Jones may have been influenced
by his wartime suffering at the hands of the Germans.
It was very tough, sometimes very harrowing,
and he had many bitter memories, really, of wartime.
And that gave a bit of an edge when it came to his playing
of Lance Corporal Jones, because he'd really seen the dark side
of the war.
As one of only three members of the Magnificent Seven under 50,
the writers, Croft and Perry,
made the most of Clive Dunn's relatively young age.
Go get some help.
Yes, I will, sir. I will.
Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic.
You're all right.
One of the stipulations before he accepted the role
was to say he wanted all of the Joey Joeys,
which meant all of the slapstick, all of the pratfalls.
All of the physical comedy, he wanted to monopolise.
And Croft and Perry were quite happy to let him do that
because they realised that he was very good at it.
Clive was great fun.
He was in for anything, would do anything.
He was happy to do it.
"I should like to do that, sir."
And he would volunteer, literally,
so we had to write a lot of stuff for Clive. Extra stuff.
While shooting the 1971 Dad's Army feature film,
Clive Dunn's comic gifts were called on again.
Priscilla remembers one scene that would have had today's
health and safety inspectors sweating.
Hold on, Jones! We're coming. I am holding on, Captain Mainwaring.
I am holding on.
He was on a horse that was on a raft going down the river
and the horse kept backing up.
It'd never been on a raft on a river
and he was terrified it was going to back up.
But luckily an overhanging branch was there
and Clive grabbed it and got off the horse
and that was kept in the film.
I got the branch but didn't seem to stop the boat, sir.
I'll catch you up later, sir. We'll meet you further down the back.
I just can't imagine anybody else would have brought to that part
what Clive Dunn was able to do.
And it is an absolute masterclass in comedy character acting.
While Clive Dunn was cementing his reputation as the cast's resident
stuntman, during shooting for the film, Arthur Lowe
pushed his reputation for self-importance to new heights.
At his insistence, a clause was inserted in his contract
that specified he would never have to appear without his trousers.
There was just one thing that Dad said,
"No, I don't take my trousers off.
"I just don't do those sorts of jokes."
To the point where he actually had it written into the contract.
He just said, "You don't need to get a cheap laugh that way."
There's a scene where they're marching down the road
and you see them changing from their civvies
into their Home Guard uniforms.
But in between, it shows you the platoon basically in their
long johns and their vests.
Mainwaring is missing from that.
The Dad's Army film was a hit,
and by 1972, the TV series was still attracting huge audiences.
The Magnificent Seven had become household names.
For one member of the cast,
the show's success rescued him from a lifetime
of financial hardship.
Arnold Ridley brought a kindly air to his portrayal
of retired shop assistant Godfrey.
Mr Godfrey's waking up. Ah.
Oh, hello.
I must have dozed off for a moment.
Ridley's son Nicholas remembers the years before Dad's Army
being a struggle.
He was a hugely successful playwright.
He made a great deal of money as a playwright and managed to lose
it all, which was, I think, unfortunate, to say the least.
Ridley's best-known play, The Ghost Train,
about a haunted railway station, was a huge hit in London's West End,
but then he made a disastrous decision to go
into the film business.
He became very interested in the movies
and set up his own film company.
Unfortunately, his backers went bust and he found that he was ruined.
He had no money at all.
Arnold Ridley was forced to sell off the rights
to some of his work to pay his debts.
Throughout my childhood, it was very much a hand-to-mouth existence,
constantly worried about whether or not we could pay
the gas or electricity bill or the rent.
Ridley's financial problems meant he had to keep working well
into old age, despite still suffering from injuries he received
fighting in the First World War.
I think everybody had a terrible time on the western front.
I think it was horrific, really beyond words.
He didn't talk about it very much.
Very little, in fact.
At the Battle of the Somme,
he was wounded three times in hand-to-hand combat.
He had a bayonet in the groin,
he had a wound to his left hand, which meant that he could never use
three fingers of his left hand,
and he had shrapnel in his back,
which troubled him all his life.
When he auditioned for the part of Private Godfrey at the age of 72,
producer David Croft was worried the rigours of filming
might prove too strenuous.
David said to him,
"Well, you do know that this show will involve
"quite a lot of trotting about.
"Do you think you'll be up to trotting about?"
And my father said, "Well, I've survived two world wars.
"I think I can probably survive a television series."
Despite Croft's reservations, Ridley got the part,
but allowances for his age were written into the script.
He was excused carrying a rifle and made the platoon's medic,
as this episode from series three shows.
I never doubted you for a single minute.
Perhaps Godfrey could be our future medical orderly.
What a good idea, Wilson. Thank you.
He didn't take full part in some
of the more physical activities.
It was after the episode Branded that he was excused
the duty of carrying a rifle and was made first aid orderly,
which was, I think, exceptionally kind
and made life a lot easier on set.
The money he earned from Dad's Army also made life a lot easier
for Ridley and his family.
It was very tough and it's very tough, I think, as a child,
to see your parents always anxious about money,
which was very much my experience,
and that to some extent came to an end with Dad's Army,
not that it was brilliantly well paid or anything like that,
but finally they had something like a regular income
and that made a huge difference to their lives.
And I think Dad's Army restored his self-confidence.
Coming up, the secrets of the Magnificent Seven's
nights of partying.
They were very naughty boys and getting a lot drunker than
they ought to have done and having a wonderful time.
And how Ian Lavender became the young star of the show
and nailed one of Dad's Army's greatest ever scenes, eventually.
Don't tell him, Pike! Pike.
It's a very difficult job, that,
to play someone stupid but not be stupid yourself.
You've got to tread a very fine line and he did that very well.
In the summer of 1972, the cast and crew of Dad's Army
made their regular trip to Norfolk to film the outdoor shots
for series five.
As this behind the scenes home movie footage shows,
everyone was in a holiday mood.
There would be two buses going from Television Centre
and then also obviously the caravans for make-up and wardrobe
for on-location.
Sometimes we wives were invited to go, but they loved it.
We were all friends, it was like a family and it was great fun.
The scenes being shot here were for an episode
titled Brain Versus Brawn, which got Dads Army's highest ever ratings
of over 18.5 million viewers.
There we are, that's it. Let's go and help.
No sign of any foreign body there.
Turn the valve on, Frazer!
Occasionally, extras were needed for a scene, so a call went out
to the local drama society.
As its chairman, Keith Eldred was in charge
of rounding up people keen to take part.
I was incredibly popular because I think anybody in the town
would like to have been in the show.
They did it for free to start off with,
but I think by the time we'd gone colour, they'd persuaded the BBC
to give them a small fee.
Away from set, the locals also enjoyed mixing
with the Dad's Army cast.
John Le Mesurier was particularly popular.
Drove him to a village and he got out of the
car and suddenly a front door opened and a lady shouted,
"John, John, come and have a drink," you see.
Well, John shot off to this house
and wasn't seen for about another hour or so.
Le Mesurier wasn't the only Dad's Army star who enjoyed a drink.
After filming, the whole cast usually retired to the hotel bar,
a chance to cement friendships and put aside any rivalries.
Oh, of course, they all drank.
They used to meet in the bar when they were rehearsing
and always had a good drink...
A good drink and a good evening together.
They were very naughty boys and getting a lot drunker
than they ought to have done, and having a wonderful time.
Keith Eldred remembers one late night party
that ended up in his house.
John Le Mesurier decided to play the piano,
which was a bit unfortunate because it was a very old piano
and he was very cross because it was out of tune.
So I had to ply him with gin and tonics to keep him happy.
The trouble was, they all drank quite a lot.
We very quickly ran out of drink and had to sort of send people off
to the pub or wherever it was to provide more drinks for the party.
1973 and the beginning of series six
saw the most famous scene in Dad's Army history,
when the platoon have to guard the crew of a sunken German U-boat
with hilarious consequences.
It was also the making of the youngest of the seven -
27-year-old theatre school graduate, Ian Lavender.
And when we win the war, you will be brought to account.
Write what you like, you're not going to win this war.
Oh, yes, we are. Oh, no, you're not.
Oh, yes, we are.
# Whistle while you work
# Hitler is a twerp
# He's half barmy, so's his army
# Whistle while you work. # Your name will also go on the list.
What is it? Don't tell him, Pike.
Pike.
Half a century since it was filmed, Ian Lavender still remembers
how difficult it was to keep a straight face when shooting the scene.
We never knew that was going to go into the sort of folklore,
to sit on top of that stepladder and try and keep my face straight,
because even after a week's rehearsal and a day in the studio
and asking David, "Please, David, can you go somewhere else
"for the reaction shot?"
And David said to me, "Ian, if I can go somewhere else, I will,
"but you'll have to tell me where it is, so any ideas?"
And I said, "No, I will do my best."
And he cuts away just as my face starts to go into a terrible rictus
of a smile.
And I had to bite the inside of my mouth and drew blood
to try not to laugh because Arthur
and Philip just made me laugh every time they did it.
It's a very difficult job, that, to play someone stupid,
but not be stupid yourself.
You've got to tread a very fine line and he did that very well.
Dad's Army creator Jimmy Perry originally based the character
of mollycoddled teenager Pike on himself and his wartime experience
in the Home Guard.
Jimmy Perry started out in the Home Guard as a teenager,
and his mother sent him out each evening with a scarf
and usually with some hot soup.
And one of the memories that Jimmy Perry used to write
the characters was really of himself.
While the other members of the Magnificent Seven
had long acting careers behind them,
Ian Lavender was a relative newcomer when he was picked as Private Pike.
As the youngest member of the cast, he relied on old hands
like Arthur Lowe for advice, as he revealed to Channel Five
chat show, 5's Company.
So I hadn't got much to do in the first couple of series
and I remember Arthur saying to me at the end,
end of the second series, "Don't worry..."
I can't do his voice.
"Don't worry about the words.
"They'll come, just get yourself a funny costume and stand near me."
Ian Lavender was the new boy and they accepted him because,
I mean, they had all got careers behind them, hadn't they?
And he said he learnt a lot from them
and he was quite close to John Laurie.
They used to sit together and John would tell him all about his,
you know, Shakespearean roles and everything,
and Ian would lap it up.
Coming up, cigarettes and alcohol - the dark side of Dad's Army
and how tragedy threatened to bring it to a premature end.
We didn't think we'd get over it.
We were very unsure about doing the next series without him.
In July 1973, filming series six of Dad's Army
was close to being completed when tragedy suddenly struck the cast.
James Beck, who played Private Walker, was taken seriously ill
after opening a school fete.
That was a terrible blow to the company
because the character was such a wonderful character,
a lovely, cheeky charm and so on.
Private Walker was the quintessential World War II spiv.
He regularly got himself into trouble with Captain Mainwaring
for supplying black market goods.
Oi. I've got your cheese.
Got what? I've got your cheese. Oh, yes.
It isn't for me, of course.
No, no, of course not. You know I don't approve of that sort of thing.
In that case I'll take it back.
Jimmy Perry had originally written Dad's Army
and the part of Walker to give himself a role
when he was struggling to get work.
Jimmy wanted to play the part of Walker the spiv.
But unfortunately, David Croft didn't agree.
David wanted his co-writer to be in the production box,
the control room with him.
He was furious when he was told by the BBC bosses
that he couldn't play Walker because there would be too much resentment
by the other actors,
it was claimed, who they'd think he was giving
the best lines to himself.
David Croft turned to James Beck, who'd ironically made a name
for himself playing police officers in Z Cars and Coronation Street.
James Beck had that charm about him
and a certain kind of mischievous quality that David Croft recognised
and thought that he'd be ideal to play the spiv, Private Walker.
Beck made the part of wheeler dealer Walker his own,
as this classic clip shows.
Close the door, Pike. No, no, don't do that. Hang on.
Get hold of that one, will you?
Are you at the bottom of this, Walker? Yes, sir.
You see, this friend of mine was a pigeon fancier,
only he don't fancy them no more.
I thought you might be able to train them to take messages.
Where are they coming from? The boiler house next door.
Off screen, father of three Beck lived life to excess.
on screen, he was a silver tongued charmer, as shown in this clip
with a young Wendy Richard.
You going to give me a kiss or not?
Oh, yeah, well, I suppose so. I mean, I'm sitting here, ain't I?
James Beck was also a heavy drinker
and found a kindred spirit in John Le Mesurier.
They were renowned for going off and being big boozers
and they'd go and hang out at Ronnie Scott's
and live the life and head into Soho,
famous, famous '60s Soho,
and quite frankly have the time of their lives.
John and him used to come home from work every night
and sit at the table
and have a lovely evening.
They were great friends and he was a very naughty boy.
But James Beck's lifestyle eventually caught up with him.
After being taken ill, he was rushed to hospital
where he was diagnosed with pancreatitis.
As Beck fought for his life, his character, Private Walker,
had to be written out of the final episode of the series.
This scene is an example of a moment of great comic acting,
hiding the sadness of the entire cast.
It's one of the... Oh, what can I say, sad, poignant.
It's a sort of "oh..." moment.
There's a letter on the floor.
"Dear Cap..."
"Thanks for letting me off.
"Had to go up to the smoke for a few days to do a deal."
They'd done a quick rewrite saying he's gone up to the smoke,
meaning to London.
Got some business to do up there.
"On the other hand, I may cop it for a bit under the odds,
"in which case I'll have to sweeten him with a monkey."
And I can remember seeing Clive's face just standing there.
He suddenly wasn't Corporal Jones at all,
where everyone was absolutely so upset.
How dare he try to bribe me?
Just three weeks after he was taken ill,
James Beck passed away.
At the age of just 44, he was the second youngest member of the cast.
I knew him quite well, actually.
It was very, very sad when he went. Far too young.
James Beck's premature death put the future of Dad's Army in doubt.
There were sad times along the way.
The saddest, obviously, was the death of Jimmy. Jimmy Beck.
And we didn't think we'd get over that, quite honestly.
We were very unsure about doing the next series without him.
But Dad's Army did go on for another three series,
which included some of its most well known and loved episodes.
No alcoholic beverages will be sold without my permission.
Uh-uh! Ah, no, no.
That is undemocratic.
You, Frazer, will be in charge of all liquor permits.
I'm right behind you, captain.
The Magnificent Seven were down to six
and most were now well into old age.
They don't like it up 'em, sir. They don't like it up 'em.
Worth a try, sir. After all, what have we got to lose?
For John Laurie, who played irascible undertaker Private Frazer,
achieving fame in his twilight years was bittersweet.
He once said to Jimmy Perry, "You know, Jimmy,
"it's an extraordinary thing.
"I played all the great classic roles of Stratford between the wars,
"and now I've become a household name doing this rubbish..."
Like the other older members of the cast,
Laurie had seen real life-military, service spending World War I
as a member of the Honourable Artillery Company.
In the 1920s, he became a prolific Shakespearean actor.
His roles included a critically acclaimed performance as Hamlet.
His daughter Veronica says his passion was being on stage.
He was, I suppose, very fortunate to get onto the roster
at the Stratford Shakespeare Company,
and he certainly did enjoy it
because it was a chance to play so many great parts
and he really had developed a great love of Shakespeare.
I think theatre was his great love.
Laurie also worked with some of the greatest names
in British film.
Alfred Hitchcock cast him as a miserly crofter in his landmark
1935 movie, The 39 Steps.
He brought out a dourness in the character that hinted
at how he would play Private Frazer in Dad's Army.
Hurry up, don't let them catch you.
All right. I'll never forget you for doing this for me.
Which way do I go? I'll show you.
Aye. I might've known.
Making love behind my back.
Get out. Just a minute... Aye, and you too.
Get out of my house before... Aye, go, go.
And leave you like this? No fear.
VERONICA LAURIE: I think he was a great admirer of Hitchcock,
who he regarded as a genius, in a way.
During World War II, Laurie served in the real Home Guard.
Perfect preparation for his role in Dad's Army.
But when Croft and Perry offered him the part of Private Frazer,
he was worried it would spell the end of his career
as a serious actor.
When he was first approached and told about it, he said,
"Oh, no, that'll never go.
"No, I don't want to get involved in something that's
"never going to take off," and was fairly downbeat
about the possibility of the whole thing being a success.
But I think his agent persuaded him to take it.
Laurie finally accepted the part and became known for his famously
pessimistic catchphrase, as shown in this classic 1972 episode
We're trapped.
Aye. We're doomed!
Doomed!
Everybody would always go, "We're doomed! We're doomed!"
But he was great.
He had the most fantastic face that sort of looked as if it was hewn
from Scottish granite.
You could smell the heather on him.
He was absolutely brilliant.
In 1975, John Laurie was one of the few original cast members
not to take part in a stage show version of Dad's Army.
One day we were all summoned to Jimmy Perry's room
and he said, "Well, I've got some good news for you all.
"We're going to do a stage show."
This rare behind-the-scenes footage
shows the cast were all in high spirits.
When they did their stage show, when they were on tour,
it was really pretty much like it was on location.
It was one big family.
They tended to socialise together, have meals together.
In this touching and little seen footage of the show,
John Le Mesurier demonstrates his talents as a singer.
# The streets of town were paved with stars... #
They all enjoyed it enormously, and during the season
that he was there doing it, he had to sing
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
and there was never a dry eye in the theatre.
And as we kissed
And said goodnight
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square...
He loved doing it.
He was a happy man then.
Coming up, as the cast of Dad's Army grew ever more frail,
the end was in sight.
Everybody got really drunk and they all stood up and spoke
their minds about it and moaned and groaned and had a laugh.
And everybody staggered out drunk as skunks
and that was the end of Dad's Army.
After nine series and 80 episodes,
in November 1977, the final instalment of Dad's Army
aired on BBC One.
Croft and Perry wanted to pay tribute to those who volunteered
for the Home Guard during the war,
so they took the decision to have the cast speak
directly to camera.
It worked perfectly.
Men who stand together when their country needs them.
Excuse me, sir, don't you think it might be a nice idea
if we were to pay tribute to them?
For once, Wilson, I agree with you.
To Britain's Home Guard.
ALL: To Britain's Home Guard.
I think when they hold up their drinks and they toast
the real Home Guards, it's a great moment.
It's poignant
and it feels pitch perfect.
Love that.
Shortly after filming the final episode,
the cast assembled for a gala dinner.
Priscilla Dunn, wife of Clive, remembers the evening well.
When the company were finally gathered together
and told that was the last series, that's it, we're not doing any more,
and we're all having a lovely drink and rejoicing
on what a wonderful success it has all been.
And John Laurie stood up and said, "A minute here. Can I say something?
"Can I say something? And they said, "Yes."
He said, "We've been brought here to be told we're out of work.
"I don't see what we're celebrating."
And all the other actors all laughed and laughed.
Everybody got really drunk and they all stood up and spoke
their minds about it and moaned and groaned and had a laugh.
And everybody staggered out drunk as skunks.
And that was the end of Dad's Army.
The evening marked the end of an era
and, inevitably, time was catching up with the elderly cast.
Just three years later, John Laurie passed away at the age of 83.
Arthur Lowe and Arnold Ridley would follow in the next few years.
My father used to read The Daily Telegraph,
he said, for three reasons.
One was the sports coverage,
the second was theatre reviews, and the third was obituaries.
And he used to say, "I always read the obituaries first
"to see if I'm dead or not."
By the early 1980s, John Le Mesurier was also increasingly plagued
by ill health.
His heavy drinking had led to him developing cirrhosis of the liver.
He was a sick man, but he realised he had...
SHE LAUGHS
..he had brought it on himself, if you don't mind saying so.
In fact...his last words were,
"I'm fed up of it now."
And he died that night.
Dad's Army's incredible success inspired a whole new generation
of ensemble sitcoms, including two more iconic series
written Croft and Perry -
It Ain't Half Hot, Mum and Hi-de-Hi.
The partnership between David Croft and Jimmy Perry was something
that just got stronger and stronger.
If you look at Dad's Army and then It Ain't Half Hot, Mum
and then Hi-de-Hi,
they were semiautobiographical,
that they did know about the Home Guard,
that they did serve in the war in India,
and then after the war, they did both work in terms
of seaside coastal clubs.
Today, Ian Lavender is the only surviving member
of the Magnificent Seven.
He's enjoyed a long career on stage and screen,
including a stint as Derek Harkinson on EastEnders.
I haven't stopped working until I reached the age
that John Laurie and Arnold Ridley had reached
when they started in Dad's Army.
It was all a bit of fun at the time, and we loved it.
50 years since it first hit our screens,
Dad's Army is as loved as ever by the British public.
There's a brilliance there which is unsurpassed,
and that, combined with the situation
and with the range of characters
and with the comic spirit that's there,
I think it's the reason why this show
remains such a remarkable example of great entertainment.
For the cast and crew who worked on it for so many years,
Dad's Army changed their lives.
If I go back to that first morning
at Television Centre in Wood Lane
and you'd said that all this was going to happen,
that all this had happened to me,
that my life had happened because of it, it's not been bad.
The mug's more than half full all the way along.
I feel very proud, really, really very proud.
Everybody that worked on it felt very proud.
It appeals to everybody,
and it was a part of the time where everyone was working together,
a part of England.
Subtitles by Red Bee Media