0:00:22 > 0:00:24# Meet the gang cos the boys are here
0:00:24 > 0:00:28# The boys to entertain you
0:00:28 > 0:00:30# With music and laughter to help you on your way
0:00:30 > 0:00:33# To raising the rafters with a hey, hey, hey
0:00:33 > 0:00:36# With songs, and sketches, and jokes old and new
0:00:36 > 0:00:39# With us about you won't feel blue
0:00:39 > 0:00:42# So, meet the gang cos the boys are here
0:00:42 > 0:00:44# The boys to entertain you. #
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Don't forget to be early for dinner
0:00:49 > 0:00:54as Fred Larkin, our cordon BLEW cook, is in an Italian mood.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59And he's conjured up for you spaghetti bolognaise and chips.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03I think what Jimmy and David do,
0:01:03 > 0:01:09is bring extraordinarily opposing views of comedy and blend it together perfectly.
0:01:09 > 0:01:16Each contributes his gift, but it's seamless you can't see who does what.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Oh dear! How sad! Never mind!
0:01:22 > 0:01:26You've got two people, an extrovert and an introvert.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29When their pens cross, there's a spark.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33- OPERATOR: Number, please? - Walmington-on-Sea...
0:01:33 > 0:01:37- I've forgotten the number. - You stupid boy!
0:01:37 > 0:01:41It's Walmington-on-Sea... Just a moment.
0:01:41 > 0:01:47In 1968, actor Jimmy Perry approached BBC comedy producer David Croft
0:01:47 > 0:01:51with an idea for a sitcom about the Home Guard.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54# Mr Brown goes off to town on the 8.21... #
0:01:54 > 0:02:01I took it to Michael Mills who was a wonderful head of department.
0:02:01 > 0:02:08When you took anything to him, he immediately saw the potential the sky was the limit.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11He liked it and thought it would go,
0:02:11 > 0:02:16and said, "Jimmy's not written much for TV, why don't you collaborate?"
0:02:16 > 0:02:21# ..But he comes home each evening and he's ready with his gun... #
0:02:21 > 0:02:25So began one of TV's most successful writing partnerships,
0:02:25 > 0:02:30made unique by Croft also producing and directing the shows.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33AIR RAID WARNING
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Thank you, Mr Wilson. There please.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42That's a reasonable field of fire. It covers most of the High Street.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47Yes, we can happily say that Jerry parachutists will be dead as mutton,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50from Stead and Simpson's to Timothy Whites.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55We'd be clear to the Pavilion if that woman would move.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00We wrote this show together, David and I, and it became a huge success.
0:03:00 > 0:03:05I always thought it was a good idea, but it totally overwhelmed me.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09And I think the secret was that everything was right.
0:03:09 > 0:03:15One of those rare things the cast, the time and the subject were right.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20NEWSREEL: When Hitler is up against the British, it's a different story.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24They fight all the way, giving as good as they get.
0:03:24 > 0:03:32With the pilot, the BBC hierarchy were very worried. They thought we were mocking England's finest hour.
0:03:32 > 0:03:38'We all have a part to play. Every effort is made to confuse the enemy.'
0:03:38 > 0:03:42'Fortunately Michael Mills and people in the business said,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44'"It's a great idea, go ahead."
0:03:46 > 0:03:54Jim wrote the signature tunes. He has a super, naive way of doing something right for the period.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59I was more complicated and correct and not so good, so he did it.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03And we arranged for Bud Flanagan to record it.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09And we came down to the Riverside Studios, I opened the door,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12and I heard for the very first time,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16# Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler?
0:04:16 > 0:04:20# If you think we're on the run... #
0:04:20 > 0:04:28I had a shiver up my spine to think that as a kid, I'd go to The Palladium to see Flanagan and Allen,
0:04:28 > 0:04:34'and I had written a song that my great hero, Bud Flanagan, was now singing.'
0:04:34 > 0:04:41And when he'd finished, he said, "Well, goodbye." He shook hands and he walked down the long corridor.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45That was the last I saw of him. Weeks later he died.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50# If you think old England's done. #
0:04:50 > 0:04:56I'd been an air-raid warden at the age of 17 at the start of the war.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57Look...
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- What is it, warden? - You gonna be long?
0:05:02 > 0:05:07I don't know. I've got something to say to the men. I don't...
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Nothing like Hodges, no.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16- Hodges, help Pike carry me. - I will not. I'm keeping out of it.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22- I'm ordering you to carry me. - Shoot him, Mr Mainwaring, go on!
0:05:22 > 0:05:25I was in the Home Guard at 15.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29- Uncle Arthur?- What is it, Frank? - Have you seen Mr Snugley?
0:05:31 > 0:05:32Mr who?
0:05:34 > 0:05:36- Mr Snugley, my teddy.- No, I haven't.
0:05:38 > 0:05:44Jimmy came over and said, "You do know you're playing me, don't you?"
0:05:44 > 0:05:48- Mum said she'd put him in. - I haven't got him.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52He was a young runner and had much in common with Pike.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55- Pike, take off your tunic.- Why me?
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Because you're wet already.
0:05:57 > 0:06:05Hang on! We're underground. If that keeps pouring in, we'll all drown. Supposing we can't stop it!
0:06:05 > 0:06:10There's no such word as can't! Get in there, boy, wrap it round.
0:06:12 > 0:06:18- Go on, son! Keep it up!- If there's encouraging to be done, I'll do it.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23The glory of Croft and Perry's work, is that it's always ensemble.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26There's a glorious collection of characters.
0:06:26 > 0:06:33They scarcely need a line to establish themselves. Laurie only has to say...
0:06:33 > 0:06:37He's doomed, doomed!
0:06:37 > 0:06:43..and we know what will come. One raise of an eyebrow from Walker, and we know...
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Any time you need something, tip me the wink.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49A hand from Godfrey he wants a pee.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54- Do you think I might... > - If you want to be excused, it's impossible.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59I was 10 when I saw Dad's Army and I liked Clive Dunn.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06'When I was 15 or 16, I was with an old soldier.'
0:07:06 > 0:07:11He'd fought in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898.
0:07:11 > 0:07:18He said, "I was a lance corporal in the Rifle Brigade." He described the battle.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23Fuzzy-wuzzies they were the boys. At you with a knife and zip you open!
0:07:23 > 0:07:29"Tell you what," he said. "Get the cold steel, they don't like it up 'em!"
0:07:29 > 0:07:34- They don't like it up 'em, you see, sir. They don't...- Get him a chair.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40'It was an expression I didn't want to use.'
0:07:40 > 0:07:45I felt an audience might be offended by "They don't like it up 'em."
0:07:45 > 0:07:50But they loved it! They love anything rude, God bless 'em!
0:07:50 > 0:07:56Everyone at school was going, "Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring!" I watched and there he was.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Don't panic!
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Don't panic! We're in France!
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Don't panic! Don't panic! Don't panic!
0:08:04 > 0:08:10When I write a series, I think what catchphrases will get the kids.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11Permission to speak, sir.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16And that's sort of from a vague memory of things like Dad's Army
0:08:16 > 0:08:22"Don't panic!", "Permission to speak, sir", "Uncle Arthur", "Stupid boy."
0:08:23 > 0:08:26You stupid boy!
0:08:26 > 0:08:30I bet he didn't say "stupid boy" as often as we think.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36The cutaways to that dry, dry Arthur Lowe were a catchphrase in itself.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44An essential part of their technique is the casting of each character
0:08:44 > 0:08:48with an actor so ideal you can't imagine anyone else.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Ssssh!
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Damn revolving doors!
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Arthur Lowe was a wonderful man
0:09:13 > 0:09:19but there's no doubt he had a degree of the same pomposity Mainwaring had.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23- Mr Mainwaring.- Yes. - Come over here. Look.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27- Look at this it's full of chocolate.- That's a lucky stroke.
0:09:27 > 0:09:33- What are you doing?- I'm going to break the glass to get them out.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38- Break the glass?!- Yes. - Have you lost your senses?- No.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42We're not savages, you know!
0:09:42 > 0:09:46We're well-trained British army and sportsmen!
0:09:46 > 0:09:50We're not Nazis! That's what they'd do.
0:09:50 > 0:09:57Arthur was very like Mainwaring. We wrote them more and more towards their own personalities
0:09:57 > 0:10:01it wasn't them bringing themselves to the characters.
0:10:01 > 0:10:08When you have the actors you can adapt a scene to how they speak, act and react.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12I didn't give you permission to sit, did I?
0:10:12 > 0:10:16- Terribly sorry.- You are a soldier, you know!- Of course. Yes.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21- I am an officer.- Quite.- You're supposed to be an NCO.- Of course.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Very well...
0:10:27 > 0:10:29"Cool" is celebrated in US comedy.
0:10:29 > 0:10:34If you look at Happy Days, which is a great show, a good sitcom,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37the funniest character is the coolest character.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42He checks the mirror and it's fine there's nothing to add.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48If you look at Mainwaring or Fawlty or Frank Spencer or Steptoe and Son,
0:10:48 > 0:10:54these are characters who look in the mirror and there's everything to add.
0:10:54 > 0:11:00- I shouldn't have trusted that smarmy Captain Stewart! - He's got a job to do.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04You stick up for him you went to public school.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09I can't help feeling you've got a chip on your shoulder about that.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14I tell you what is on my shoulder three pips and don't you forget it!
0:11:14 > 0:11:19I never liked Arthur Lowe in it he was grumpy and Wilson was boring.
0:11:19 > 0:11:25And now they make the show for me, that whole relationship between them.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30"Line the men up, Wilson!" "Yes, sir. Gentlemen, if you'd be so kind..."
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Good evening to you all. How awfully nice...
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Never mind that!
0:11:37 > 0:11:43My favourite character was Sergeant Wilson. I loved the old English gent,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46but he had such a hint of rebellion.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Counter-agents, as you probably...
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Wilson.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Wilson. What are you doing?
0:11:55 > 0:12:02I thought as it was such a beautiful day, while you were chatting over there,
0:12:02 > 0:12:09I'd take advantage of this glorious sun and try and get a bit of a tan.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Mum said he was peaky.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17It was never known whether John Le Mesurier was sleeping with Mrs Pike.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20We never knew, you know.
0:12:20 > 0:12:28It was just that he used to go for a coffee. She'd say, "What time will you be in for cocoa tonight, Arthur?"
0:12:28 > 0:12:32No mention of anything else people just imagined.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36Will you be round later for your usual? Maybe.
0:12:36 > 0:12:43We inferred that Pike was Wilson's illegitimate son, and as far as I'm concerned, he was.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47- It's bedtime.- I can't come, I'm blowing up a tank.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49You'll have to blow it up tomorrow!
0:12:49 > 0:12:53Arthur! I'm surprised! You know when he goes to bed.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56In this conservative seaside town,
0:12:56 > 0:13:03the chief clerk at the bank a prominent member of the community lives unmarried with a woman.
0:13:03 > 0:13:09I don't think it's innocent it's dealt with with wonderful simplicity,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12'and a wonderful sense of that's how life is.'
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Mavis, what a surprise. Isn't it?
0:13:17 > 0:13:25Yes, I, I... Here we are, G & T. And don't get all Nellie Dean like last week.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Excuse me, mate. Oh, cor blimey!
0:13:27 > 0:13:32One of the cleverest strokes was Elizabeth Mainwaring's wife
0:13:32 > 0:13:36who we saw once as a bulge in the top bunk.
0:13:36 > 0:13:45Arthur was in the lower bunk at the air-raid shelter and this great big bottom was above. Wonderful!
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Are you awake, Elizabeth?
0:13:51 > 0:13:55She was as great an unseen enemy as the Nazi hordes.
0:13:55 > 0:14:01Everyone knows he had an awful home life. It was brilliant non-writing.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Elizabeth will be delighted when I take that home.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10I wonder where on earth the woman... Hello, Elizabeth?
0:14:10 > 0:14:15On the phone to this dreadful wife, you felt so sorry for this man.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17I, er...
0:14:17 > 0:14:21I might have a little surprise for you tonight.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24No, no, I've bought...
0:14:28 > 0:14:36The important thing with any sitcom is reality you believe in the characters and the situation is real.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41- We're going to lift the bomb off you. - Shouldn't you wait for Capt Rogers?
0:14:41 > 0:14:44 No, he's back at HQ there's no time to lose.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47 It's worth a try.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- Here's your coffee, Mr Mainwaring. - Thank you.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53It's the wrong one, Godfrey.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56I think the other one's wrong too, then.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Ah.
0:15:00 > 0:15:09The sense that universal things happen beyond this level of ordinary life makes outstanding comedy.
0:15:09 > 0:15:15GERMAN ACCENT: How dare you compare our glorious leader vith zat non-Aryan clown?
0:15:15 > 0:15:18I am making notes, Captain.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22And your name...vill go on ze list.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26And when we win ze war, you vill be brought to account.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28- You're not going to win this war.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32- Oh yes, we are.- Oh, no you're not. - Oh yes, we are!
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Pike comes out with this line, # Whistle while you work
0:15:36 > 0:15:39- #- Hitler is a twerp he's half barmy
0:15:39 > 0:15:42# So's his army, whistle while you work. #
0:15:42 > 0:15:45The officer says, "Vot's your name?" and Mainwaring goes,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- Don't tell him, Pike.- Pike!
0:15:52 > 0:16:00It's like Alan Ayckbourn. Croft and Perry's Dad's Army is as great as any light comedy written for theatre.
0:16:00 > 0:16:07I would go so far as to compare Dad's Army with the work of Dickens or Shakespeare.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12One thinks of the rich cast of comic characters in Dickens' novels.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16In a way it's seen as a cosy view of England in the war,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20but the setting isn't important it's a gang show.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22# Meet the gang cos the boys are here
0:16:22 > 0:16:25# The boys to entertain you
0:16:25 > 0:16:28# With music and laughter to help you on your way
0:16:28 > 0:16:31# To raising the rafters with a hey, hey, hey... #
0:16:31 > 0:16:35The next thing was the army. We both went to India.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40I was in Entertainments and Jimmy ran a Royal Artillary concert party.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Our signature tune used to be
0:16:43 > 0:16:47# Getting around and going places, getting around to show our faces
0:16:47 > 0:16:50# Getting around we're mental cases, Yes, for getting around
0:16:50 > 0:16:54# From Bangalore to Singapore, From Rangoon to Bombay
0:16:54 > 0:16:58# And if you really liked our show, We'll come again another day. #
0:16:58 > 0:17:04Basically, it was my adventures doing this ridiculous concert party.
0:17:04 > 0:17:10Jimmy ran the concert party for five years the real one and he was a mixture,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13I think, of my character he won't admit it...
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Imagine you're sweating champagne!
0:17:16 > 0:17:19..and the one George Layton did.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23One, two, three, four... # I'm... #
0:17:23 > 0:17:28And that series comes nearer to truth than anything we've done.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33'There was such a place as Deolali, the Indians are right, it's spot on.'
0:17:33 > 0:17:38Oh, my Godfathers! What hot day it is! So dusty and dry!
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Urrgh!
0:17:40 > 0:17:48Michael Bates, who'd played a part like this before, was born in India, was an Indian citizen, as it were.
0:17:48 > 0:17:54His father was district commissioner at Jaintia. He spoke fluent Urdu,
0:17:54 > 0:17:59and I said, "David, we have found our leading part."
0:17:59 > 0:18:03SINGS IN URDU
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Now, sahib, this eye is man's eyes, this eye is woman's eyes,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and, sahib, their eyes meet.
0:18:13 > 0:18:20And he had a servant of whom they were very fond and still corresponding,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24and he based the character of Ranghi Ram on that servant.
0:18:24 > 0:18:31- I will whiten the stones.- No, no. - Yes! It is very infra dig for man like you to do work like this.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36Think of your beautiful hands and let me do the infra digging.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Where is that damn boy!
0:18:39 > 0:18:45There was an amount of disquiet about Michael Bates being cast.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48When I first heard, I was very upset.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Oh, everything has gone wrong this morning.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57It is what we British say, "Being one of those days."
0:18:58 > 0:19:04Here's the first good part written for an Asian, and it goes to an English actor.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08I will make him a uniform of such enchantment,
0:19:08 > 0:19:14- he'll be bowled over with ecstasy. - I want him to be pleased as well.
0:19:14 > 0:19:22I have this chip on my shoulder, but there's no way it could have been played by anybody but Michael Bates.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24He was just wonderful in the part.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29I have a wizard wheeze! Gloria will do the stripping and the teasing.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31I shall do no such thing!
0:19:31 > 0:19:34It is the only way, like this.
0:19:34 > 0:19:42I'm not saying we couldn't play it. I'm not saying we wouldn't get the laughs but we wouldn't get as many.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46I hope Sergeant Major sahib is in good mood.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48GET OUT!
0:19:48 > 0:19:53- Is Sergeant Major sahib in good mood? - I had not time to find out.
0:19:54 > 0:20:01The British soldier was quite arrogant because we were top dog those days.
0:20:01 > 0:20:07I think that attitude was there and some Indians were very anti-British.
0:20:07 > 0:20:08Look!
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Ah! Bapaty bap!
0:20:11 > 0:20:15British piggies go home!
0:20:17 > 0:20:23You must portray things as they were then, which was 1946.
0:20:23 > 0:20:29It's no good pretending it didn't happen it did. We ruled India for 200 years.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Never heard such impertinence, sir.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Here we are defending their country from the Japanese,
0:20:36 > 0:20:42how do they repay us? March by every night shouting, "Quit India." Base ingratitude!
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Quit India?! I should bloody cocoa!
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'Windsor Davies was so sensational.'
0:20:49 > 0:20:54You can see the value of going for lines that make you laugh,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57because that IS what the man would say.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59With respect, sir...
0:20:59 > 0:21:05you should have consulted me before promoting Beaumont to bombardier.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09- What are your objections? - He is a poof, sir!
0:21:11 > 0:21:20They'd say, "It's not natural! A man poncing about on stage in make-up is not normal. You are not normal!"
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- You is a load of poofs!- What? ALL:- Poofs!
0:21:23 > 0:21:27- Louder!- A load of poofs! - "We are a bunch of poofs!"
0:21:27 > 0:21:32We are a load of poofs! A load of poofs! A load of poofs!
0:21:34 > 0:21:35It really happened.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Excuse me, but when do you take salt tablets?
0:21:39 > 0:21:44I've had more salt tablets than you have had hot dinners! I'll show you.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46I'll show you, now.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50'The Sergeant Major was a key piece of casting.'
0:21:50 > 0:21:56We saw quite a few people about that part before we placed him.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00'Windsor really wanted that part.'
0:22:00 > 0:22:07And he did the definitive, and I've seen all the sergeant majors and I think he did the definitive version.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Stop scratching yourself!
0:22:09 > 0:22:15I can't help it, I've got prickly heat, I'm covered in little bumps.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18As far as I am concerned you is one big little bump!
0:22:18 > 0:22:26This great bully of a man had been set up so beautifully by Windsor. He was just so stunning in that part.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30You is even beginning to look like soldiers.
0:22:33 > 0:22:40He was funny on his own. He didn't need words to make him funny.
0:22:50 > 0:22:56Windsor's character had no artistic feeling at all about the concert party.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58You can rely on me, Sergeant Major.
0:22:58 > 0:23:04The only thing I can rely on you for, Bombardier, is to ponce about.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08He hated these fellas dressing up as women.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12# A pretty girl La-la-la-la-la-la-la
0:23:12 > 0:23:17# Is like a melody La-la-la-la-la-la-la... #
0:23:17 > 0:23:25Because of the complete lack of female soldiers, all those shows had men playing the girls parts.
0:23:25 > 0:23:33# A pretty girl is just like a pretty tune. #
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Really rather good! First class! First class.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52Jimmy said I was like the colonel at Deolali or wherever it was.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Very like him, so they didn't ask for anything particular,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00except to be devoted to the concert party.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05I can't think putting me in the show will help a lot, sir.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Ashwood, you have great style.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13You do one of the best James Cagney I've seen. I'd like you to do it.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17I can't. I'd feel a fool. - Do it! That is an order!
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Very well, sir.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23POSH VOICE: You dirty rat.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26You dirty rat, you.
0:24:26 > 0:24:32Jimmy described my character as the silly arse I'd always played.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37"We don't want anything different, just do what you've been doing."
0:24:37 > 0:24:44There's nothing else for it. Things are desperate. We'll have to break into the cocktail snacks.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Surely not! I'm afraid so.
0:24:47 > 0:24:53There's maraschino cherries, a tin of football wafers and a bottle of gherkins.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56What if someone drops in for drinks?
0:24:56 > 0:25:02There were many like Ashwood. Less, and the war might have ended sooner.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Parkins, tell the Colonel we're out of petrol
0:25:06 > 0:25:09and we're on the road by... Look out!
0:25:11 > 0:25:12Got it!
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Are you mad?! What did you do that for?
0:25:15 > 0:25:21There was a scorpion on it it was just going to bite you.
0:25:25 > 0:25:32David knew just what he wanted. He didn't mess about, rather like Gerald Thomas doing the Carry On's.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37We'd do six episodes in ten days.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40First it was done in Norfolk.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45We began to realise that vegetation there is mostly conifer,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49which is not good for jungles, so we moved and went to Farnham,
0:25:49 > 0:25:54where most of the vegetation is much better.
0:25:56 > 0:26:04We'd manufacture the jungle by hanging up some string and dangling bits of jungle from the string.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Don't drop it!
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Help! Help!
0:26:14 > 0:26:15Ooh!
0:26:15 > 0:26:21We were determined... When things are done in the tropics, no-one's grubby.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25People with immaculate tunics and not a drop of sweat.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27There's the jeep, sir.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Where are they?
0:26:31 > 0:26:38The sweat was important because when you're in the jungle, you're wringing wet.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Oh, it's a dashed nuisance!
0:26:41 > 0:26:48I'm writing to my wife, but the sweat drips off my face smudging the ink. I'll have to start again.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Put "PS: I miss you", she'll think it's tears.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57Before going on, some pretty make-up girl sprayed you with glycerine,
0:26:57 > 0:27:02from head to foot practically, and it worked it looked marvellous.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09HEWLETT: It was like a club.
0:27:09 > 0:27:15We met every September and all got together for the 12 weeks.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18It was just lovely.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20We enjoyed working with each other.
0:27:20 > 0:27:27We came to a crisis with It Ain't Half Hot Mum when Michael Bates got cancer.
0:27:29 > 0:27:34And we thought it was possible he would die before the next series,
0:27:34 > 0:27:41and I couldn't bear to do the show with him not there in that same position outside the hut.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45And so we moved it, we moved it to Burma.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Michael Bates was surviving, so we wrote him into it.
0:27:49 > 0:27:55I just heard Gloria sahib say that we might be going back to Deolali.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Heavenly joy, I will see my wife again.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02And whoever of my children are around.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07The amazing thing was that towards the end he'd be in great pain,
0:28:07 > 0:28:14and they'd say, "Action!" and the pain would go completely from his face.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19To see the wisps of smoke rising from the cow dung fires.
0:28:19 > 0:28:25Such lovely perfume. It brings tears to my eyes to think of it.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28And at the end it'd come back again.
0:28:28 > 0:28:36And he soldiered on in great pain through that series. I think he died two weeks after we finished.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38It was very sad.
0:28:39 > 0:28:40Berra!
0:28:41 > 0:28:43Sahib?
0:28:43 > 0:28:48- Burn this flag.- Oh please, Sergeant Major, do not ask me such a thing.
0:28:48 > 0:28:54- BURN THIS FLAG! - Sahib, I have no matches.
0:28:56 > 0:29:03- Whose side are you on? - Depends on who I'm talking to at the time, Sergeant Major, sahib.
0:29:03 > 0:29:09It wasn't the best thing that David and I did, but it was the funniest.
0:29:09 > 0:29:15I don't think It Ain't Half Hot Mum was as funny as Dad's Army,
0:29:15 > 0:29:19but it was superb in many ways and it would be terrible
0:29:19 > 0:29:25if somebody is brilliant enough to create a masterpiece and few do
0:29:25 > 0:29:29for that masterpiece then to be used against them.
0:29:29 > 0:29:34Joseph Heller, I think brilliantly, put it wonderfully when he said,
0:29:34 > 0:29:42"People often say to me I haven't since Catch 22 written as good a novel." And I say, "Well, who has?"
0:29:42 > 0:29:46# If you're feeling lonely And getting in a stew... #
0:29:46 > 0:29:51We'd go to the beach and get to this fence and I'd go, "What's in there?"
0:29:51 > 0:29:56"The holiday camp." "Can't we go there?" Dad said, "No!"
0:29:56 > 0:29:58# If you got the blues, I got some news
0:29:58 > 0:30:01# Join in the fun in your blue suede shoes
0:30:01 > 0:30:03# Enjoy the holiday rock The holiday rock
0:30:03 > 0:30:06# The holi-holi-hi-di-hi holiday rock
0:30:06 > 0:30:08# Hi-di-hi-di-hi ho-di-ho-di-ho
0:30:08 > 0:30:11# Go, go, go to the holiday rock. #
0:30:15 > 0:30:20I came back from the war and went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art,
0:30:20 > 0:30:25and in the summer holidays I'd work at Butlins as a Redcoat.
0:30:28 > 0:30:36- Jimmy was Spike.- He was. - In holidays from RADA he used to be a Redcoat.- He did.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40I got £10 a week and cakes.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44We were both associated with Butlins.
0:30:44 > 0:30:51Jimmy was like Hitler the command he had over those campers was astonishing.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55I produced the shows in theatres in several camps
0:30:55 > 0:31:01so we both knew the world of holiday camps well.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04# Tra-la-la-la-la Tra-la-la-la-li
0:31:04 > 0:31:09# All good fun, And jolly good company. Hurray! #
0:31:09 > 0:31:16In the last 15 years, the British character has become sour, spiteful, and coarse,
0:31:16 > 0:31:21and people looking at these shows see a gentler, nicer, decent...
0:31:21 > 0:31:26a better kind of Englishness and they look back with genuine nostalgia.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Now we come to our well-loved event,
0:31:29 > 0:31:33a Who Can Stuff The Most Spaghetti Down The Trousers Competition.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38Things like Spaghetti Eating and Knobbly Knees Competitions,
0:31:38 > 0:31:43we invented much worse ones after that Whose Bum Is It Anyway?
0:31:43 > 0:31:46We had some outrageous competitions.
0:31:47 > 0:31:52Right, you have three minutes to eat as much cake as you can.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54No cheating.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57Ready, steady...
0:31:57 > 0:31:59CLICK
0:32:01 > 0:32:03I'm sorry there seems to be...
0:32:04 > 0:32:05BANG!
0:32:05 > 0:32:10It's the presence of a Cambridge professor quite out of his element...
0:32:10 > 0:32:13- What is it, Ted? - It's Olly the Octopus.
0:32:13 > 0:32:19..and a man who knows all the tricks of the trade, Ted Bovis Paul Shane.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23"Get your tentacles off that girl, you naughty octopus!"
0:32:23 > 0:32:28Whereupon, Olly turns and squirts him with black ink.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33He thinks the man in charge is there because he's a gent.
0:32:33 > 0:32:39- Who says, "Get your tentacles off that girl, you naughty octopus!"? - You'll do a belter!
0:32:41 > 0:32:48Jeffrey and Ted's background are chalk and cheese but played with affection for both classes.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53- Pies, pies, who wants acustardpie?- Say it louder!
0:32:53 > 0:32:57- Pies, pies, who wants a custard pie?- I'll have one.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01- I think you ought to have one. Shall I give him a pie?- Yes!
0:33:05 > 0:33:09The fish out of water was the thing to latch it onto.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12The two absolute talismans of the part
0:33:12 > 0:33:18were that he was a capable man in a position he shouldn't have been in,
0:33:18 > 0:33:23and also that he had absolutely no public ability at all.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27- What do I say?- After Hi-di-Hi, wait for them to say Ho-di-Ho.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31He went on and just SAID, "Hi-di-Hi."
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Hello, campers, Hi-di-Hi.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Ho-di-Ho.
0:33:37 > 0:33:43No-one says "Ho-di-Ho" to that they maybe want a drink or a sleeping pill.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Jeffrey can't hear you Hi-di-Hi.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Ho-di-Ho.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50That was essential.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53The complete inadequacy of his character,
0:33:53 > 0:33:58and also his embarrassment about what was going on around him.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00Stop it, you naughty octopus.
0:34:09 > 0:34:15Simon Cadell was very inventive, which was always completely realistic.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18KNOCK-KNOCK Come in.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23- Good morning, Jeffrey. - Morning, Gladys.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28- Don't forget, the meeting's five minutes earlier.- I hadn't forgotten.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34He's not wearing trousers but he does the zip up.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46That was entirely Simon he was inventive in that way,
0:34:46 > 0:34:50but it's not something you look for an actor for.
0:34:50 > 0:34:58David's rather strict on that sort of thing. You can suggest something and he'll laugh like a drongo.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01He used to go, "Ha, ha, HEEE! Ha, ha, HEEE!"
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Ha, ha, ha, ha, HEEE!
0:35:06 > 0:35:07No!
0:35:08 > 0:35:12He'd love it, he'd laugh, then he'd cut it.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15Not many actors have contributed.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19It's not their fault David and I felt our lines were better.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24"First of all, you done a swell job last season.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30"But this year you've got to top it.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33"And then some... And THEN some!"
0:35:33 > 0:35:37It's in his own words of course. It's not...me.
0:35:37 > 0:35:45You could never tell who'd done what, but you suspected that Jimmy was the broad sweep, and David the polisher.
0:35:45 > 0:35:52You can spot a line. A David gag, or a Jimmy gag. You know the way they think.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55Jimmy does all the creation of a scene.
0:35:55 > 0:36:01I think Jimmy does all that and David goes BANG at the end.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05We've cracked it this is the ultimate pool wheeze.
0:36:05 > 0:36:11I'll put it in the programme Mr Fairbrother WHEEZE in the pool!
0:36:12 > 0:36:17- That's right.- Wheeze!- Wees in the pool.- Wees in the pool.- That's right.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21- That was definitely Croft. - Definitely, yeah. We knew that.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23HE MOUTHS
0:36:25 > 0:36:28A "wee" joke would probably come from David.
0:36:28 > 0:36:35- Jimmy would be, "Oh, no, dear boy, can't do that."- "Public will go mad, can't do that!"
0:36:35 > 0:36:41Jimmy loves Lucie Mabel Attwell. Sorry, darling, to give it all away.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46He'd say, "Su, I'm so tired today, I'm going to hide in my flowerpot."
0:36:46 > 0:36:51I imagine that I'm climbing into a flowerpot,
0:36:51 > 0:36:58and there's nice soft moss in the bottom with a faint soporific smell,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02and I curl up in the moss and snuggle down,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05and listen to the rain.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09But I don't mind because I'm all cosy and warm.
0:37:09 > 0:37:16And then I imagine I'm getting... smaller and smaller and smaller.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21And then I drop off.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23I'll try that tonight.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Gladys had this marvellous look to Jeffrey.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30We just said, "Yes, that's it!"
0:37:30 > 0:37:34and gave her situations to use it.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39She's a thoroughly genuine, warm-hearted, good person...
0:37:40 > 0:37:42..and we all love her.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54Gladys Pugh, the vamp of the valleys, is marvellous.
0:37:54 > 0:38:00Her smouldering desire for Jeffrey and her protectiveness is very well done.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05This isn't very cosy, Jeffrey.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Gladys, I gave you Father Bear's bed.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14If you think Mother Bear's bed is more comfortable, we can change.
0:38:14 > 0:38:19Why don't we put them all together? Then we can snuggle up.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24'Gladys was never gonna get Jeffrey Fairbrother.'
0:38:24 > 0:38:28She was one of those lovely women that are treated badly.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32Ah, Glad, I am sorry, love.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35If you ask me, he's making a big mistake.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39- He'll never find better than you. - Thanks, Ted.
0:38:39 > 0:38:46Maybe it's for the best. He's an educated university professor and you're just a girl from the valleys.
0:38:49 > 0:38:54I think writers have to think more if they're writing for a woman.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59They don't associate a woman with banter and insults and things,
0:38:59 > 0:39:03so they have to write a different kind of comedy for them.
0:39:03 > 0:39:10- GLADYS SINGS OPERATIC PIECE #- Verniculi, vernicular...- #
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Ohhh!
0:39:14 > 0:39:17- #- ..Verniculi, vernicular...- #
0:39:17 > 0:39:22Peggy Ollerenshaw is marvellous constantly auditioning.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26# Mac-a-ro-ni, bolognaise and stuff
0:39:26 > 0:39:29# Ice cream, you scream, cannot get enough
0:39:29 > 0:39:33# It's in your ears and up your nose and in between your little toes
0:39:33 > 0:39:36# Stuff it in the saucepan till it grows and grows and grows. #
0:39:36 > 0:39:41She had a real enthusiasm for life which she communicated to everybody.
0:39:41 > 0:39:48Excuse me, Mr Fairbrother, if one of the girls goes to the BANANAS, there will be a vacancy for a Yellowcoat.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52She thinks she's going to be a Yellowcoat.
0:39:52 > 0:39:59I don't want to be pushy, but I've done lots for you round the camp... I think I ought to be considered.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04This longing to be a Yellowcoat. They played on the sympathy side of Peggy
0:40:04 > 0:40:09and they got so much mileage out of that facet.
0:40:09 > 0:40:15All I've got is my personality and lots of go, but I'll get there, you'll see!
0:40:18 > 0:40:23People like to see comedy where people try their best and just fail.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28I just want you to know, I'm not giving up.
0:40:28 > 0:40:35I'll keep on trying and I'll be wearing that Yellowcoat one day. You'll see. Hi-di-Hi.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37(Ho-di-Ho).
0:40:38 > 0:40:44Nearly all the most lovable characters in British sitcom are losers.
0:40:44 > 0:40:50Jimmy and David are masters at showing our own frailties on screen.
0:40:50 > 0:40:57- What happened? It were a bloody disaster!- What d'you mean? It can't have been!
0:40:57 > 0:41:02- You see these two feet? I died on them tonight.- What went wrong?
0:41:02 > 0:41:09When I got there, it were a lovely room, white tablecloths, silver, the lot.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12They had evening dress and polite voices.
0:41:12 > 0:41:19They ate them lamb chops with white frills. I thought, "If I can make it here, I can anywhere."
0:41:19 > 0:41:26To me, there's nothing more sad than a comic getting old who's never really made it.
0:41:26 > 0:41:33I thought, "Hit 'em with a big one," so I told the one about the tarts and the sailor. Nothing!
0:41:33 > 0:41:36So I did the vicar in the chemist's.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40- The one where he thinks they're balloons?- That's the one.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45Followed by the poof and the bishop picking up the hymn book.
0:41:45 > 0:41:52- I'm a failed comic, he's not even started.- And there's no chance for Spike whatsoever.
0:41:52 > 0:41:58I'm Pinocchio and I'm made of wood, but I WOODN'T let that bother you.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05Certainly, a Croft-Perry script must have a degree of physical fun,
0:42:05 > 0:42:10and they're brilliant at situations which put the teams into sight gags.
0:42:10 > 0:42:15I can only see straight ahead. You need a rear-view mirror.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19BACK-END OF HORSE: You get plenty of rear view where I am.
0:42:19 > 0:42:26Su and I were in a pantomime horse. I took the reins of a real horse as nobody else was about.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32It fell in love with me.
0:42:32 > 0:42:37'It came nose to nose and started blowing up my false nostrils.'
0:42:37 > 0:42:44SPIKE: What am I gonna do with it? PEGGY: Take it to the stables.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03And Leslie Dwyer doing so exquisitely a very, very old gag.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07Some whisky in one hand, banana in the other.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14'He looks at the bottle of whisky, looks at the banana...'
0:43:20 > 0:43:23There are certain, good formulas,
0:43:23 > 0:43:29and if they're treated with freshness and amuse us, they can be repeated for ever.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33When you stop enjoying writing, it's time to finish.
0:43:33 > 0:43:41Nobody wants you to, the cast doesn't want you to, the BBC get good figures, but it's time to go.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44# Goodnight. #
0:43:44 > 0:43:47'It's very sad.'
0:43:48 > 0:43:53Actors are very emotional people, they get attached to a programme.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57When it ceases, when it stops, it's sad.
0:43:57 > 0:44:02- You said you weren't gonna get sentimental.- Well...
0:44:02 > 0:44:07I was just thinking about the good times we've had round this pool.
0:44:07 > 0:44:12The last episode was like... I didn't want it to come.
0:44:12 > 0:44:17And I don't think anybody else did, didn't want it to arrive, you know.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20Very, very sad.
0:44:20 > 0:44:26Even now, when I think about it, it prangs a bit, cos I loved it. You tell him.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31The British holiday won't be the same, will it? The wind of change.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34You're right there, Spike.
0:44:34 > 0:44:38- It's the wind of change. - < BEEP-BEEP
0:44:40 > 0:44:42Come on.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49On our last day of filming, there was a great hurricane.
0:44:49 > 0:44:57Trees went all over the chalets and fell in the pool and it was the end of an era we were finishing.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01I don't think it ever opened again after that.
0:45:06 > 0:45:11HI-DI-HI!
0:45:12 > 0:45:18It's striking if you look across the range of Croft and Perry's work,
0:45:18 > 0:45:22that you can locate it in a precise concept of Englishness.
0:45:22 > 0:45:27I was reminded of their work reading Character Of England by Ernest Barker
0:45:27 > 0:45:34in which he isolated six qualities of Englishness, all of which applied to their work.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38Social cohesion and a hierarchy leading to snobbishness.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42Did you enjoy the picture, Sponge? I couldn't see very well.
0:45:42 > 0:45:50- We should have got the ninepennies. - I wouldn't sit in those cheap seats. You don't know who's sat in them.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53Eccentricity individualism at large.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57- Defy the sun! - ALL: Come on, sun! Do your worst!
0:45:57 > 0:45:59I say, what's going on?
0:45:59 > 0:46:06- I was just telling the men to fight the sun, sir.- Good show! Carry on.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10A mistrust of professionalism.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14MIKE GETS LOUDER One, two, three, four, five.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17Little technical hitch... Um...
0:46:17 > 0:46:22Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Entertainments Manager, saying...
0:46:22 > 0:46:24SILENCE
0:46:24 > 0:46:30TUNELESS FANFARE
0:46:30 > 0:46:35A sense of voluntary service, of wanting to do good, wanting to help out.
0:46:35 > 0:46:42- You're too young to die let me go, sir.- Thank you, Jones, but I must go.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50The gentlemanly code. The code of good form.
0:46:50 > 0:46:58Let me tell you, Sergeant Major, my wife is 6,000 miles away but I don't behave like a randy animal!
0:46:59 > 0:47:04I don't go round the countryside giving ladies kick-starts!
0:47:04 > 0:47:07And lastly, an eternal boyishness.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11HE MOUTHS
0:47:11 > 0:47:13 Watch what you're doing!
0:47:17 > 0:47:24The main thing is they're a good laugh, and shouldn't be dissected,
0:47:24 > 0:47:29whether they're politically correct or whether they're incorrect.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32"Were they a laugh?" is the thing,
0:47:32 > 0:47:37and where they are concerned, they provided many, many good laughs.
0:47:37 > 0:47:44I think somebody once said of themselves, they were not over-educated.
0:47:44 > 0:47:49I think it applies to Jimmy and me we're not over-educated and...
0:47:49 > 0:47:51we're sort of...
0:47:51 > 0:47:57sophisticated as far as theatre and theatricals are concerned.
0:47:57 > 0:48:02But we don't analyse much. If it's funny and we can get it in, we do.
0:48:02 > 0:48:10I said to my father, "I only want to do two things. I want to be a famous film star or a great comedian."
0:48:10 > 0:48:17And he looked at me and said those immortal words, "You stupid boy!"
0:48:20 > 0:48:25NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS
0:48:51 > 0:48:55Subtitles by Angela Clarke BBC 1995