0:00:02 > 0:00:07'Ere, want to find out about Dad's Army? Meet me behind Jones's van.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14# Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler
0:00:14 > 0:00:19# If you think we're on the run?
0:00:19 > 0:00:24# We are the boys who will stop your little game
0:00:24 > 0:00:29# We are the boys who will make you think again
0:00:29 > 0:00:33# Cos who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler
0:00:33 > 0:00:37# If you think old England's done? #
0:00:40 > 0:00:43AIR-RAID SIREN, GUNFIRE
0:00:54 > 0:00:59Dad's Army is the most affectionately regarded comedy programme ever on TV.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03We want to find out why it's so wonderful.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08This could be the only documentary made entirely in second gear.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18I was sitting in my office with a stack of Dad's Army videos and a cup of tea
0:01:18 > 0:01:21and I watched 40 programmes.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25I think I know now what makes it so wonderful.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31I'm going into fourth gear now.
0:01:31 > 0:01:32YES!
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Dad's Army's on!
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Don't panic! Don't panic!
0:01:38 > 0:01:42It's still popular. People really do love it.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45We're doomed...doomed.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51It was definitely one of those shows where it was a family event.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Excuse me, Uncle Sergeant.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58I was part of something important in the history of television.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Stupid boy!
0:02:00 > 0:02:05When comedy really works well, you know, the secret ingredient is magic.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22It was a miracle. The cast was right, the time was right,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26the script was right, the tunes were right
0:02:26 > 0:02:30and the whole situation was right. It's as simple as that.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34# Don't let's be beastly to the Germans
0:02:34 > 0:02:36# When our victory is ultimately won... #
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Dad's Army ran from 1968-1977 - nine years.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44World War II was only six. It's never been repeated!
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Like all good sitcoms, it's based on a very simple idea -
0:02:47 > 0:02:51a bunch of blokes in a church hall defending their country.
0:02:51 > 0:02:59But it's about a vanished England, class, relationships, war.
0:02:59 > 0:03:05To me, the linchpin of the whole thing is the relationship between Mainwaring and Wilson,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09and the performances of John Le Mesurier and Arthur Lowe.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Stupid boy.
0:03:11 > 0:03:19- You both went to public school. - Can't help feeling, sir, you have a chip on your shoulder about that.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24No. What IS on my shoulder, though - three pips and don't you forget it!
0:03:24 > 0:03:29'Captain Mainwaring loved being in charge. He made himself in charge.'
0:03:29 > 0:03:35When it all started, everybody was volunteering for everything,
0:03:35 > 0:03:40and he decided to volunteer to himself to become a captain.
0:03:40 > 0:03:47- First, we have to appoint a properly appointed commander.- A what, sir? - A properly appointed commander. Me!
0:03:47 > 0:03:50- All right?- ..All right.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55People say, "Was Arthur Lowe really pompous?"
0:03:55 > 0:03:59He wasn't, but he didn't suffer fools gladly.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04Mainwaring was the best example of pomposity ever.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10- I don't think I gave you permission to sit.- I'm sorry, sir.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15He got carried away with his own importance, or sense of importance.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19He could fight the Germans single-handed.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24You kind of have an empathy for... You do feel for him.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28There were episodes where he showed himself to be a good person.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33- We rarely get a chance to meet as equals.- No, we don't.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38- However, tonight, you may call me George.- Thanks awfully, sir.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42- I shall call you Arthur. - Will you really? Good.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46The change over Arthur Lowe as the aggressive captain...
0:04:46 > 0:04:51and he has, from time to time, to speak to his wife on the phone.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56"Get them to do so and so and so and so!"
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Then a complete change... "Hello? Elizabeth?"
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Hello? Elizabeth?
0:05:02 > 0:05:07You've taken a long time to answer, dear. Where have you been?
0:05:07 > 0:05:08..Oh, I see.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14- ..She's been down in the air-raid shelter.- Oh...
0:05:14 > 0:05:17..I might have a little surprise for you tonight.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20..No, no...
0:05:25 > 0:05:29'They wanted her to appear in an episode. Arthur didn't.'
0:05:29 > 0:05:37I agree. We all got this different idea of what Elizabeth was like.
0:05:37 > 0:05:43I think the only time we had a possible glimpse of her body
0:05:43 > 0:05:48was when her great big bum was in the top bunk
0:05:48 > 0:05:52and Arthur was underneath, Mainwaring was underneath!
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Are you awake, Elizabeth?
0:05:57 > 0:06:03Stuck on the bottom bunk of a joyless marriage - no wonder Mainwaring was tempted elsewhere.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Oh, I shouldn't have eaten all that cheese.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Far too rich.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14'Only Mainwaring doesn't have anybody,'
0:06:14 > 0:06:20except his wife that's never seen, until this one episode
0:06:20 > 0:06:23where Miss Fiona comes into his life.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28It was out of character for Mainwaring to drop his guard,
0:06:28 > 0:06:33if you'll pardon the pun, and go chasing after Carmen's character.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37But it just showed another side of his character.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- Captain Mainwaring?- Yes?
0:06:41 > 0:06:45I heard you need women helpers for the Home Guard.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Yes, quite correct.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51'I played a character called Fiona Grey,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54'who'd gone down to Walmington-on-Sea'
0:06:54 > 0:07:00to take her mother away from the bombs in London. He falls for her.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Fiona?
0:07:02 > 0:07:05What a pretty name.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Do you think so?
0:07:07 > 0:07:13- Yes, it's always been one of my favourites.- Oh, thank you.
0:07:13 > 0:07:19She says, "Would you mind taking your glasses off? It gets in the way of the warmth of the eyes."
0:07:19 > 0:07:21He blossoms!
0:07:26 > 0:07:31'It's so sweet that he grows... He wishes he didn't need the glasses.'
0:07:41 > 0:07:45'She realises he has a wife,'
0:07:45 > 0:07:48so she decides to go back to London.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Stand clear, sir! ..And pull those blinds down!
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Promise you'll write.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59- Very well. I promise. - WHISTLE BLOWS
0:07:59 > 0:08:02- Make it soon.- Goodbye, George!
0:08:04 > 0:08:07FRANK WILLIAMS: 'I'd say something like the Brief Encounter thing
0:08:07 > 0:08:11'actually was not out of character for Mainwaring.'
0:08:11 > 0:08:14It added a new dimension to his character.
0:08:14 > 0:08:20This was the other wonderful thing that happened in so many episodes.
0:08:20 > 0:08:27You suddenly found a facet of a well-loved character that you hadn't seen before.
0:08:27 > 0:08:33You've got to have light and shade, really, for the comedy to work.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38If it's gag, gag, gag, gag, gag, it doesn't work.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44You've got to have that... not tears of a clown, crying on the inside and all that,
0:08:44 > 0:08:49but you've got to strike the balance for the comedy to work.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56It's a wonderfully complicated relationship between Mainwaring and Wilson.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Wilson is upper class with a way with the ladies.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06Mainwaring despises the upper class, but might like to be part of it.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11The other complication is Wilson is only the chief clerk at the bank
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and Mainwaring is the bank manager.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19You're right. I'm the manager and you're the chief clerk.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25I'm the officer and you're the sergeant. Pull your socks up and get about your business.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30'The relationship between Mainwaring and Wilson in the bank'
0:09:30 > 0:09:35was a very strange one. The manager in those days was God.
0:09:35 > 0:09:42John Le Mesurier's character obviously came from a good family,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44upper class,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48and Arthur was made good from the ranks.
0:09:48 > 0:09:54- Being a member of the aristocracy explains a lot about your character. - Really?- Oh, yes.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56'Wilson didn't care.'
0:09:56 > 0:09:59This worried Captain Mainwaring.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Wilson?
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- What are you doing?- So sorry, sir.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09As it was such a beautiful day, I thought, while you were chatting,
0:10:09 > 0:10:14I'd take advantage of this glorious sun
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and try and get myself a tan.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20'Wilson wouldn't want to be in charge.'
0:10:20 > 0:10:26He was only really there because Mainwaring told him to be.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31He was actually in control, more in control than Mainwaring, really.
0:10:31 > 0:10:37Is it the Honourable Sergeant Wilson or Sergeant The Honourable Wilson?
0:10:37 > 0:10:42I don't want any fuss. I just want to be like an ordinary sergeant.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46I'm sure that would suit us all, Wilson.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53'John Le Mesurier was wished on me by Michael Mills, the Head of Comedy.'
0:10:53 > 0:10:58You must have John Le Mesurier. He suffers so beautifully.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02Sometimes you'd see him do that before he answered
0:11:02 > 0:11:06or while he was answering.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Mainwaring would have a go at him about something and he'd say,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13"Yes, I think you're right, sir."
0:11:13 > 0:11:16He gets wise and he'd wait,
0:11:16 > 0:11:21and I realised he was waiting for that light on the camera.
0:11:21 > 0:11:28He gave this wonderful vagueness, which was important to the show. We took advantage of that.
0:11:28 > 0:11:35- Listen, Arthur.- Yes.- Tell Captain Mainwaring I'm not having Frank going on any more marches.- I can't.
0:11:35 > 0:11:41Well, if you don't and Frank wakes up in the night again, you won't be there to hear it!
0:11:41 > 0:11:47We knew he was having a long-standing affair with Pike's mother,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49but we never mentioned anything.
0:11:49 > 0:11:55She used to say, "Oh, Arthur - he's a wonderful man. So strong!"
0:11:55 > 0:11:58We used to put in all this innuendo!
0:11:58 > 0:12:02- Will you be round later, Arthur, for your usual?- Maybe.
0:12:02 > 0:12:08The clever part of the writing was that it wasn't a classy lady,
0:12:08 > 0:12:13which you'd expect because Wilson was supposed to come from that class.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17But here was a lady who was ordinary, almost working class.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Gin and tonic - there we are!
0:12:20 > 0:12:24And don't get all Nellie Dean like last week!
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Excuse me... Oh, cor blimey, how do you do?
0:12:27 > 0:12:33Uncles and aunts were part of people's lives.
0:12:33 > 0:12:38It did keep things moving very smoothly in family circles.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43And...unquestioned. It was Uncle!
0:12:43 > 0:12:47I never hear you leave and I never hear you come back in the morning.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Well, you see, I let myself in and out very quietly.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56You never do anything else quietly!
0:12:56 > 0:12:58'After we'd finished,'
0:12:58 > 0:13:04I said to David, "Was John my father?" He said, "Of course he was, yes."
0:13:04 > 0:13:11- I'm going to have this out with Captain Mainwaring. - I feel a fool!- I can't help that.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Evening!
0:13:14 > 0:13:19Pike was based probably on me and the rest of us boys in the Home Guard.
0:13:25 > 0:13:26- Uncle Arthur?- Yes?
0:13:26 > 0:13:29- I've got an idea.- I'm delighted.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31'Jimmy very kindly told me'
0:13:31 > 0:13:34after about ten episodes
0:13:34 > 0:13:37that Pike was him. "Thanks, Jim(!)"
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Suddenly, you're playing the writer.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Jimmy was that age in the war and he was in the Home Guard.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51- What do you want now, Pike? - I'm sorry, but Mrs Mainwaring's on the phone again.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55I said you were having coffee with Mrs Fox...
0:14:02 > 0:14:04You stupid boy.
0:14:04 > 0:14:11He was the main foil for nearly every ambition Mainwaring had.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17- Why don't we wrap something round the pipe?- Pike, take off your tunic.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- Why me?!- Because you're wet already.
0:14:20 > 0:14:27Arthur came to me and said, "Ian, don't worry about not having a lot of lines. They'll come.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31"For now, get yourself a funny costume and stand near me."
0:14:31 > 0:14:37Pike? You must not wear a coloured scarf with your uniform. Take it off.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Mum says I mustn't take it off. I get croup.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46# When Britain is in danger When trouble's in the air
0:14:46 > 0:14:51# We all forget our squabbles It's trespassers beware
0:14:51 > 0:14:56# A nation is united When danger looms in sight... #
0:14:57 > 0:15:02The world of Walmington-on-Sea is pre-war.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07Even in the war, things were pre-war because they didn't have time to be post-war till after the war
0:15:07 > 0:15:08because there was a war on.
0:15:08 > 0:15:14The society Mainwaring was a pillar of was very rigid.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Nobody liked Hodges. He was only a greengrocer.
0:15:17 > 0:15:24# United we shall stand Whatever may befall... #
0:15:24 > 0:15:27There's a wonderful variety of ages within the main group.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31You've got the spiv Walker, who is old enough to fight but has got out of it,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35and Pike, who is too young to fight.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40Jones enlisted in 1880-something and gave the fuzzy-wuzzies a seeing to.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44The cold steel, they don't like it up 'em!
0:15:44 > 0:15:48JONES: I've been struck by something deadly.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54I look at it this way - we're now all in possession of secret information.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Supposing we was captured by an enemy agent, sir,
0:15:57 > 0:16:02how long could we stand out against torture before we revealed ourselves?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05I spent four years in a POW camp,
0:16:05 > 0:16:09working for Hitler, of course -
0:16:09 > 0:16:13up a mountainside, digging and God knows what else.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18So when I had this part, it was like a sort of revenge for me.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21I could be aggressive.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25It was like a wonderful happy revenge for that.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30I signed on as a drummer boy in 1884. Later, I saw service in the Sudan.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35Fought the fuzzy-wuzzies. They come at you with a knife and slit you right open!
0:16:37 > 0:16:39They soon find out if you have guts!
0:16:39 > 0:16:42'The part of Corporal Jones'
0:16:42 > 0:16:47was based on a real character, an old soldier with me in the Home Guard.
0:16:47 > 0:16:53They don't like the cold steel, sir. They don't like it up 'em. They...
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Get him a chair, Wilson.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01This instructor we had - he'd been in the 1914-18 war - used to say,
0:17:01 > 0:17:06"Look at the bayonet, you've got to understand the cold steel.
0:17:06 > 0:17:12"They don't like it up 'em. They can't abide the cold steel. So show 'em the cold steel."
0:17:12 > 0:17:15You'd think, "Who wants it up 'em?"
0:17:15 > 0:17:22When I saw it in the script, "They don't like it up 'em", I thought it was offensive.
0:17:22 > 0:17:29Then I thought an old butcher who'd been in all those campaigns, he would say that.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32He'd say, "They don't like it up 'em."
0:17:32 > 0:17:37There's no substitute for the cold steel. They don't like it up 'em!
0:17:37 > 0:17:40I might have mentioned that before.
0:17:40 > 0:17:47The British love that sort of humour so I gave it the full works. "They don't like it up 'em, sir!"
0:17:47 > 0:17:53You do that again and you'll get this up you and you will not like it!
0:17:55 > 0:18:01I wanted to make sure that I got what we used to call Joey Joeys.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06The Joey Joeys were a short term for the obvious gag -
0:18:06 > 0:18:08the red-hot poker up the bum.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Attention!
0:18:13 > 0:18:17Captain Mainwaring was very frustrated by Jones,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20although he admired him in a way.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25He was such a silly man, and making silly suggestions.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29- Any suggestions? - What about a tunnel, sir?
0:18:29 > 0:18:32- A tunnel? - Yes, sir!
0:18:32 > 0:18:38We all go round behind that wall and dig the hole in a downwards direction, sir.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43Down, down - and then suddenly you start digging sideways, sideways.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48When we think we're under the mill, we dig upwards, upwards! God willing, we'd be in the mill.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Or Australia!
0:18:52 > 0:18:57I think you're in the realms of fantasy again here, Jones.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01It was a time of great hardship
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and, yet, you know...
0:19:04 > 0:19:10it showed how resourceful people are in those times,
0:19:10 > 0:19:15and that hardship was obviously great raw material for comedy.
0:19:15 > 0:19:21You know, Corporal Jones being able to do sausages for people.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23- Got any sausages?- Hold on.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28EXCITED CHATTER
0:19:29 > 0:19:37'When war's on, butchers are the kings of the area. Everybody's got to keep going nicely with the butcher.'
0:19:37 > 0:19:43And Jack Jones sort of...rather enjoyed that situation, I think.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45- I bought that for you.- What's this?
0:19:45 > 0:19:51- Your favourite tobacco.- Thank you, madam.- I'll be in later in the week.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55'He was quite romantic in a way.'
0:19:55 > 0:19:58And he was mad about Mrs Fox,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02played by Pamela Cundell so deliciously.
0:20:02 > 0:20:08Well, she was a flirt. There's no getting away from it.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13She made a play for Mr Jones because she wanted sausages and kidneys.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18I'm only a humble butcher. Is it true affection she feels for me?
0:20:18 > 0:20:23Does she love me for myself or does she love me for my meat?
0:20:24 > 0:20:27'They decided, Jimmy and David,'
0:20:27 > 0:20:32that we should get married. That was a lovely episode.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34'Oh, it was gorgeous!'
0:20:34 > 0:20:39# ..Faint hearts don't win fair ladies, A lady's love... #
0:20:39 > 0:20:42No confetti! No confetti!
0:20:42 > 0:20:45I'M going to throw confetti!
0:20:48 > 0:20:54It's not only Jonesy who has wonderful one-liners. The whole show is full of them.
0:20:54 > 0:21:01We first became aware it was becoming very popular when people, workmen on a roof, said,
0:21:01 > 0:21:06"Oi, Jonesy! They don't like it up..." Or, "Don't panic!"
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- Don't panic! - Stupid boy!
0:21:09 > 0:21:12- Permission to speak! - He's doomed!
0:21:12 > 0:21:14You stupid boy.
0:21:14 > 0:21:22We never thought of catch phrases. "Oh, we'll put these in and they'll catch on." They just happened.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28You stupid boy!
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Things crept in and the public picked them up.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38- I'm all wet, Mr Mainwaring! - You stupid boy!
0:21:41 > 0:21:45The fact is they do not like it up them.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Can't stand it, they really can't.
0:21:50 > 0:21:57It's hard to decide if a catch phrase is intrinsically funny out of context
0:21:57 > 0:22:03because what we know of those catch phrases is people repeating themselves now
0:22:03 > 0:22:07in the light of it having been on Dad's Army.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12So when someone says, "Don't panic" or "Stupid boy",
0:22:12 > 0:22:19it's loaded with all the comedy baggage of being in a very, very successful sitcom.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24- 'Number, please!' - Walmington-on-Sea...
0:22:24 > 0:22:28- I've forgotten the number. - You stupid boy.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31It's Walmington-on-Sea... Just a moment.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36All the main characters have the thing that they do,
0:22:36 > 0:22:41which is the thing the original audience would have latched onto -
0:22:41 > 0:22:46Godfrey always wanting to be excused - but they did much more than that.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50So you can watch the programmes a lot and they don't pall.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Attention!
0:22:53 > 0:22:56It wasn't awfully good, was it?
0:22:56 > 0:23:00'You'd start every programme with a line-up.'
0:23:00 > 0:23:04It's a useful way of introducing everybody.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06What's in your pockets, Walker?
0:23:06 > 0:23:10A pound of granulated and a pound of sultanas.
0:23:10 > 0:23:16- You must check this sort of thing before I inspect the troops. - This is disgraceful!
0:23:16 > 0:23:21- You'll have to throw it in the bin. - OK, but you paid for 'em.
0:23:22 > 0:23:28Jimmy Bett's character of Private Walker, they were called spivs then.
0:23:28 > 0:23:34He could get you anything - he could get you your nylons or lipstick or whatever.
0:23:34 > 0:23:40He was able to make a few bob out of the war, as people were then.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44But it was still part of that community.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49Walker wasn't selling something huge to an outside country.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53It was all done within that framework.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58He always got the girl. But he's the kind of character who'd say he did!
0:23:58 > 0:24:03It's up to you to decide. He was the only one who COULD get the girl!
0:24:03 > 0:24:07This is a friend of mine - Edith Parish.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Miss Parish. Have you an occupation, Miss Parish?
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Yes. I'm an usherette.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16'I was Private Walker's girlfriend.'
0:24:16 > 0:24:20She wasn't a good-time girl, but she liked fun.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33There was never anything SEXUAL. That would be totally wrong.
0:24:33 > 0:24:41The Second World War brought out the best in us. We could make a sponge cake with carrots and a hair net.
0:24:41 > 0:24:48While Dad's Army is about that war, what adds a layer is you're watching people who fought in that war.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52As a setting for a comedy, war is brilliant.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56You don't have to have really nasty characters
0:24:56 > 0:25:03because you've got the biggest baddie - Hitler...and his Nazis,
0:25:03 > 0:25:09who hold the platoon captive by putting a bomb down Jones's trousers
0:25:09 > 0:25:11in The Deadly Attachment.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15JIMMY PERRY: It WAS going down Arthur Lowe's trousers.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20It wasn't till we were setting up in the street, he said,
0:25:20 > 0:25:25"I've just read the script. I have a bomb in my trousers."
0:25:25 > 0:25:31He wouldn't have it. Anyway, they decided to put it down my trousers.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33One of the cleverest rewrites ever.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38David and Jimmy just crossed out Mainwaring and put Jones.
0:25:38 > 0:25:43He was hoist with his own petard and had to go along with it.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47I was very happy to have a bomb put down my trousers.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49ALL: Aaaaaaargh!
0:25:53 > 0:25:57- Save yourself, sir! - I'll cut it out.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02It should have gone off by now.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04So it should.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07I've been saved! I've been saved!
0:26:08 > 0:26:12'He was very strange about what he would and would not do.'
0:26:12 > 0:26:17Apparently, he had an agreement with David Croft,
0:26:17 > 0:26:22when he started to arrange what he was going to do in the show.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27They wouldn't do any scenes where he had to remove his trousers.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32Now that the crisis is past, would you mind asking Frazer to take his hand out of my trousers?
0:26:32 > 0:26:34'That's as near to pornography'
0:26:34 > 0:26:35as it got!
0:26:37 > 0:26:42The Deadly Attachment was a favourite episode with us.
0:26:42 > 0:26:48I suppose when you get a really strong situation and a crisis like that,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51it's very easy to play it through.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53< He's surly. Watch him.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I played the U-boat commander.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01Myself and my crew had been captured.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05They found out immediately, early on in the programme,
0:27:05 > 0:27:12that Dad's Army have to look after us until the official Army arrive the next day.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16I'm warning you...Captain.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18Just do as you're told.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28HE COUGHS
0:27:28 > 0:27:30'It wasn't easy'
0:27:30 > 0:27:35to bring the platoon face to face with the Germans.
0:27:35 > 0:27:41In reality, they never were, virtually, so we couldn't use that much. When we did, we revelled in it!
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I am making notes, Captain!
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Your name will go on the list.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52And when we win the war, you will be brought to account.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54You're not going to win this war.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59- Oh, yes, we are.- Oh, no, you're not. - Oh, yes, we are!
0:27:59 > 0:28:02# Whistle while you work Hitler is a twerp
0:28:02 > 0:28:05# He's half barmy So's his army... #
0:28:05 > 0:28:10Your name will also go on the list. What is it?
0:28:10 > 0:28:12- Don't tell him, Pike!- Pike...
0:28:15 > 0:28:17'We knew we'd got the funny moment there.'
0:28:17 > 0:28:22This was one line, one episode, that went out once.
0:28:22 > 0:28:28The next day, in the street, people shouted, "Don't tell him, Pike!" Extraordinary.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34# ..Couldn't be nicer Couldn't be sweeter
0:28:34 > 0:28:37# Couldn't be better Couldn't be smarter... #
0:28:41 > 0:28:44This is Walmington-on-Sea. All right, it isn't - there's no such place.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47- I- know that. I work in television.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52This is Thetford, where the team came for two weeks every year to do location filming.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57I can't show you Stead and Simpson or Timothy White's,
0:28:57 > 0:29:02but Walmington-on-Sea wouldn't have those places now either.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15There's still an undertaker's and a butcher's. Is there a bank still?
0:29:15 > 0:29:23Pikey would be 70! He'd be ordering a kebab, nipping into Sue Ryder. ..He's not real! Stupid boy!
0:29:23 > 0:29:29A tip. If you want your comedy show to be watched and enjoyed 30 years after it was written,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33set it in the past. Then it's already dated and it can't date.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41Mr Mainwaring, it went jidder-judder and tore me trousers off.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Are you all right?
0:29:43 > 0:29:47- I've lost what I hold most dear. - Oh, no.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50My pocket book and discharge papers.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55'I remember Thetford well cos we went there year after year.'
0:29:55 > 0:30:01People were pleased to see you. The typical English town, really.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03We liked it.
0:30:03 > 0:30:09Arthur Lowe used to come up by coach. He could lord it a bit on the coach.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14"Very nice. A bit of countryside. Dry..." All this sort of thing.
0:30:14 > 0:30:21And working out if they'd got the message at the tobacconist's for his special fags.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26Never mind what we were going to do filming. That was another world.
0:30:26 > 0:30:31I used to drive up with John Le Mesurier. He was my mate.
0:30:32 > 0:30:38The Bell Hotel, there was plenty of booze in the Bell. We all met at meal times.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40An extraordinary situation. Fun.
0:30:46 > 0:30:52FRANK WILLIAMS: Jimmy and David always had extraordinary luck with the weather.
0:30:52 > 0:30:59Plan your summer holidays when Dad's Army is on location. It's lovely.
0:31:03 > 0:31:08WENDY RICHARD: It was like being allowed into a gentlemen's club.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12They were all sweethearts in their own way.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16BILL PERTWEE: We worked hard during the day's filming.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18No question.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22FRANK WILLIAMS: We'd get up and go down to breakfast.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Arthur would complain about the kippers or something.
0:31:26 > 0:31:33"Have you got a little ham this morning?" He said, "Off the bo-one, off the bo-one."
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Clive wandering about, looking for his boots.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42"Somebody put my boots somewhere." "Probably in your room." "I'll look."
0:31:44 > 0:31:49Some of them were middle-aged and over.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52The wives came to look after them.
0:31:52 > 0:31:57We'd have a break in the morning and the wives would be fussing around.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00I mean, this was a film in itself!
0:32:00 > 0:32:04Arnold Ridley was the funniest.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08His wife, she used to drive him to Thetford.
0:32:08 > 0:32:14And she used to have to go and get the food from the wagon.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18And she... He did boss her about a lot.
0:32:18 > 0:32:24"You sit there and I'll get you a cup of tea." "Yes, dear," he said, "Mmmm!"
0:32:24 > 0:32:27- Godfrey!- Can I be of assistance, sir?
0:32:27 > 0:32:32Look to the front. Don't wear your hat straight like that.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34You look like George Formby. >
0:32:34 > 0:32:37'Godfrey was a wonderful invention,'
0:32:37 > 0:32:43and perfectly cast with Arnold Ridley cos he was so gentle and sweet.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46- < GODFREY! - Did someone call?
0:32:48 > 0:32:54Godfrey was the nurse. If anyone needed medical attention, it was him!
0:32:54 > 0:32:59We got enormous comedy out of the way they had to help him into the van.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04His disabilities were an advantage from a comedy point of view.
0:33:04 > 0:33:09Did he ever do anything? He always had his Red Cross box on.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13I don't think he ever opened it. Did he? Did he?
0:33:13 > 0:33:20- Jones has got a bout of malaria. Got anything we can give him? - Yes, sir, I've got some aspirins...
0:33:20 > 0:33:23bicarbonate of soda... some ointment for wasp stings.
0:33:23 > 0:33:29This is a fighting unit, not a Girl Guides' outing!
0:33:29 > 0:33:31'I said, "Arnold, are you up to this?" '
0:33:31 > 0:33:34He was 73 or 74 at the time.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38"I don't think I can protect you from having to run occasionally."
0:33:38 > 0:33:42He said, "Yes, I think so. I think I'll manage."
0:33:42 > 0:33:47We had to rush across a field with fixed bayonets, or whatever.
0:33:47 > 0:33:52It was quite hard work. We did it quite a lot.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56He used to let Arnold Ridley off and that annoyed John Laurie.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59They were more or less the same age.
0:33:59 > 0:34:06While we're rushing about, running the flag up the pole, Godfrey will still be climbing out of the van.
0:34:06 > 0:34:12There's no doubt about it, they were genuinely out of breath from time to time.
0:34:12 > 0:34:17Again, it added to the pathos of the fact that, poor old duffers,
0:34:17 > 0:34:21they were trying to keep up, trying to do it.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25I'm sure it isn't good for the heart.
0:34:25 > 0:34:31JIMMY PERRY: 'They thought their careers were finished.'
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Don't give up!
0:34:33 > 0:34:40'They thought it was curtains for them. Suddenly, they had this terrific new lease of life.'
0:34:40 > 0:34:42He's taken leave of his senses!
0:34:42 > 0:34:46'John Laurie was in his mid 70s.'
0:34:46 > 0:34:51He'd worked at the Old Vic with Gielgud, Olivier and all the greats
0:34:51 > 0:34:54and was a fine classical actor.
0:34:54 > 0:35:00He'd tell you he was the greatest Lear they'd had there. Very modest!
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- This is Private Frazer.- Howdy.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Noo's the day and noo's the hoor, see the front of battle lour
0:35:07 > 0:35:12and see if proud Hitler's wanton tour thraves on slavery.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17Wha would be a traitor knave?! Wha sae base as be a slave?!
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Wha would fill a coward's grave?!
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Let him turn and flee!
0:35:25 > 0:35:28'I can remember him once saying to Jimmy Perry,'
0:35:28 > 0:35:34"You know, Jimmy, I played all the great Shakespearian roles
0:35:34 > 0:35:40"and now I've become a household name doing this rubbish of yours!"
0:35:40 > 0:35:45He said to Jimmy Perry, "I think this is a load of r-rubbish!
0:35:45 > 0:35:52"I get a cheque at the end of the week, but I don't think it'll be a success. Mark my words."
0:35:52 > 0:35:59And then when it was, he went up to Jimmy, after the second series, I think,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03"I never had any doubt it would be a success."
0:36:03 > 0:36:06'Great, great, laddie, great.'
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Captain Mainwaring...
0:36:09 > 0:36:15..did you ever hear the story of the auld empty barn?
0:36:16 > 0:36:18No.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23Would you like to hear the story of the auld empty barn?
0:36:26 > 0:36:28I dished up all that "We're doomed!"
0:36:28 > 0:36:32He was doing that in Will Hay films 40 years beforehand.
0:36:32 > 0:36:37The story of the auld empty barn.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Well...
0:36:43 > 0:36:45There was nithing in it.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49# There's something about the soldier
0:36:49 > 0:36:51# Something about the soldier
0:36:51 > 0:36:55# Something about the soldier that is fine, fine, fine... #
0:36:55 > 0:36:59DAVID CROFT: 'It did the cast a lot of good -
0:36:59 > 0:37:02'they were all getting on, quite old -'
0:37:02 > 0:37:06to wave them about in the fresh air every spring.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08'We had fun.'
0:37:14 > 0:37:20CLIVE DUNN: 'We were all let off the leash at nine, wandering about the pubs, bumping into one another.'
0:37:20 > 0:37:27The ones that pretended they didn't drink, they'd look furtive. You got to know the cast.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32We'd all go down to the bar and Arthur would be on the stool,
0:37:32 > 0:37:36immaculately dressed, slightly red in the face,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39and with what he called "an amazon",
0:37:39 > 0:37:47which was a gin with ginger ale and one - not two - one slice of cucumber in it.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52He'd be propped up against the bar and we'd all drift in -
0:37:52 > 0:37:56I don't know why we all dressed up, we did - and we'd yarn.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02BILL PERTWEE: I remember Arthur said to David Croft one day, about me,
0:38:02 > 0:38:05"Where did you get this fellow from?"
0:38:05 > 0:38:10David said, "Well, he's been in variety..." "Hmm, really?"
0:38:10 > 0:38:14Why don't you pick on someone your own size? Come on!
0:38:14 > 0:38:16Hold my glasses, Wilson.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19'I was an outsider to start with.'
0:38:19 > 0:38:25Don't you tangle with him in your crippled state. I'll do it for you, sir.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29'It was as if I was somebody looking in,'
0:38:29 > 0:38:32looking into this group of seven.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Bill Pertwee, bless his heart, who played Hodges,
0:38:36 > 0:38:40is a sort of villain of the piece.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42I became Mainwaring's private Hitler.
0:38:42 > 0:38:48I suppose it was with great pleasure that the writers wrote it if there was any water, he'd get it.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53BILL PERTWEE: 'I took the brunt of a few stunts.'
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Ruddy hooligans!
0:38:55 > 0:38:58He was terribly good natured about it.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Oh! Here we go again!
0:39:01 > 0:39:04One of the situations was alarming.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08- There's an object in the water. - Won't be long now.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11'We were doing late-night filming at Lowestoft, 2am,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14'and my boat overturned with me
0:39:14 > 0:39:17'and the water got underneath the strap of my helmet.'
0:39:20 > 0:39:24I was all right. I gurgled a bit and spat a bit of water out.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27Everybody had gone. There was only one person left.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31They'd all gone to the next shot!
0:39:31 > 0:39:37I said, "Where is everybody?" "Gone." Never mind about me!
0:39:37 > 0:39:43Then we couldn't chuck him in the water because we were filming in rivers with rats in them.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Health and Safety don't like comedy.
0:39:47 > 0:39:53Then, you could chuck somebody in a river - usually Bill.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57As long as I got the cheque at the end of the week.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00# The very thought of you... #
0:40:00 > 0:40:05That summer, the show reached its highest viewing figures yet.
0:40:05 > 0:40:11Firmly established as a hit comedy, the platoon seemed unstoppable.
0:40:11 > 0:40:17DAVID CROFT: The first person to die was Jimmy Beck. That was a shock.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20He became ill on location, I think,
0:40:20 > 0:40:26and he was hovering for about a fortnight, at death's door, as it were.
0:40:26 > 0:40:32Jimmy dying so young, at 39, presented a lot of difficulties
0:40:32 > 0:40:35because no way would we have recast that part.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41And I'm afraid he was a very, very heavy drinker. It just got him in the end.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46The next episode, Jimmy was not going to be in it,
0:40:46 > 0:40:51in that last episode of the series.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53It was very sad, very poignant.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58The camera goes along the line and comes to a gap.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03'And there's a note where he would have been standing.'
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Captain Mainwaring - personal.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Personal? Give it to me!
0:41:14 > 0:41:15Unusual perfume.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Petrol.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24"Dear Cap,
0:41:24 > 0:41:26"Thanks for letting me off."
0:41:28 > 0:41:33"Had to go up to the smoke for a few days to do a deal."
0:41:33 > 0:41:37CLIVE DUNN: 'The shock. From a selfish point of view, I thought,'
0:41:37 > 0:41:42"What will happen to the programme? Are we still going to be able to do it?"
0:41:42 > 0:41:49So it was awful for his wife and for all his friends.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52It was a bad time, a bad time. Hmm.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56Yeah, something went... most certainly.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01Despite the success of the four or five series we did without Jim,
0:42:01 > 0:42:05something wasn't there, no doubt about that.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09# ..The very thought of you, my love. #
0:42:09 > 0:42:14There was an effort to replace Jimmy. It was an impossible task.
0:42:14 > 0:42:20You couldn't take over from somebody like him.
0:42:20 > 0:42:27The next series, a lovely Welsh actor called Talfryn Thomas - had teeth like that - Mr Cheeseman.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31He was on the local newspaper, the Walmington Bugle.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34He was war correspondent.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38He had an armband with "WC" on the side.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42- What's that?- Oh, that's so everyone knows what I do.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50- What DO you do? - Well, WC - War Correspondent.
0:42:50 > 0:42:55John Laurie came to me once and said, "James, can I have a word, please?"
0:42:55 > 0:43:00He said, "Is yon Welsh fella going to be in the next series?"
0:43:02 > 0:43:07I said, "I don't know." He said, "Well, make sure he isn't. He's getting far too many laughs."
0:43:07 > 0:43:10Totally ruthless.
0:43:10 > 0:43:16Talfryn was not in the next series, and he was SO funny, very, very funny.
0:43:16 > 0:43:2130 years on, the show remains as fresh as ever.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Inevitably, many of that wonderful cast are no longer with us.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40I think it's rather sad that Arthur and John
0:43:40 > 0:43:45and some of the other actors never lived to see the extent of the fame
0:43:45 > 0:43:48that Dad's Army reached.
0:43:48 > 0:43:53I never mind watching it when I turn it on. My children like it.
0:43:53 > 0:43:58My two oldest children are seven and five-and-a-half. They find it funny.
0:43:58 > 0:44:05I think one of the things they like about it is it's grown-ups being silly and trying to be serious
0:44:05 > 0:44:08and coming undone as a result.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11They enjoy that side of it.
0:44:11 > 0:44:18I met a little boy the other day in a shop and his daddy said, "Mrs Fox, can you meet my son?"
0:44:18 > 0:44:21So he came up and we shook hands.
0:44:21 > 0:44:26We had a little talk and I said to him, "Why do you like Dad's Army?"
0:44:26 > 0:44:30He said, "Because it's funny and not rude."
0:44:30 > 0:44:33Now, out of the mouths of babes...
0:44:33 > 0:44:36It was absolutely wonderful.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38What do you think of this?
0:44:40 > 0:44:44- It's awful...- What?
0:44:45 > 0:44:48No, no, no, it's awfully good.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52Oh, dear. Ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, dear, oh, dear.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58LAUGHTER GETS LOUDER >
0:44:58 > 0:45:02Watch it, Wilson. You might snap your girdle.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05'A few years ago,'
0:45:05 > 0:45:10at a charity event at St James's Palace, I met the Queen Mother.
0:45:10 > 0:45:15She likes people to stand in a semicircle, not a straight line.
0:45:15 > 0:45:22I said, "I do believe, Ma'am, I was in a programme which is a favourite of yours - Dad's Army."
0:45:22 > 0:45:27She went, "Oh, yes!" She addressed the whole ensemble and said,
0:45:27 > 0:45:34"You know, after a bad day and you come home, put your feet up and pop on a video,
0:45:34 > 0:45:36"and there you are, laughing again."
0:45:49 > 0:45:54There is a nostalgic thing about Dad's Army which people value,
0:45:54 > 0:46:00and it is looking back on something which one sort of, in a way, longs for -
0:46:00 > 0:46:07not the horrors of war, but the feeling of community and belonging to one another.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09I think that's important.
0:46:14 > 0:46:21DAVID CROFT: The British public behaved very well at that time. We took advantage of that.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25That's one of the appeals of the programme.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29WENDY RICHARD: It showed the spirit - which is lacking today -
0:46:29 > 0:46:35that people had, pulling together and keeping our country safe.
0:46:35 > 0:46:40That is an aspect of it, but I don't relate to that at all.
0:46:40 > 0:46:46I had, like a lot of people, a foul war and wouldn't want to go back to that, no.
0:46:52 > 0:46:57It's 60 years since the real Dad's Army, the Home Guard, was formed,
0:46:57 > 0:47:0230 years since Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier recorded episode one.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06It's two different lifetimes away, but we're still watching them.
0:47:06 > 0:47:13Mainwaring struggling to maintain his dignity, Wilson rarely losing his, Godfrey having to be excused
0:47:13 > 0:47:16and all the other brave soldiers marching across yet another field
0:47:16 > 0:47:19to make us laugh again and again.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29I think there are some wonderful comedy shows around now.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33I don't think all old comedy is good, but what Dad's Army has got is
0:47:33 > 0:47:37it's celebratory and it's positive and it's innocent.
0:47:37 > 0:47:42It's got some fantastically wonderful performances.
0:47:42 > 0:47:48It's full of wit, pathos, character, slapstick, farce, overplaying, underplaying.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52It's stuffed full. It's like a draught excluder. What? You know what I mean.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01# Keep young and beautiful
0:48:01 > 0:48:04# It's your duty to be beautiful
0:48:04 > 0:48:09# Keep young and beautiful If you want to be loved... #
0:48:09 > 0:48:13CAPTAIN MAINWARING: We'll stick together, you can rely on that.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18If anybody tries to take our homes or our freedom, they'll find out what we can do. We'll fight.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23There are thousands of us all over England...
0:48:23 > 0:48:25FRAZER: And Scotland!
0:48:25 > 0:48:27MAINWARING: And Scotland.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30Men who'll stand together when their country needs them.
0:48:30 > 0:48:35It would be a nice idea if we were to pay our tribute to them.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38For once, I agree.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41To Britain's Home Guard.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44ALL: To Britain's Home Guard.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03# ..The lack of one is wounding to our pride
0:49:03 > 0:49:07# Last night we saw the cutest Little German parachutist
0:49:07 > 0:49:11# Who looked like it and giggled a bit and laughed until he cried
0:49:11 > 0:49:16# We'll have to hide that armoured car when marching to Berlin
0:49:16 > 0:49:19# We'd almost be ashamed of it in Rome
0:49:19 > 0:49:23# So if you've caught the blighters with a Bren gun
0:49:23 > 0:49:26# The Home Guard might as well The Home Guard might as well
0:49:26 > 0:49:29# The Home Guard might as well go home! #
0:49:29 > 0:49:32Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd