You Have Been Watching... David Croft


You Have Been Watching... David Croft

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-GLOCKENSPIEL PLAYS

-Hello, campers! Hi-de-Hi!

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-Don't tell him, Pike!

-Pike!

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I met him, and he frightened me to death.

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I'm free!

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-He ruled with a rod of iron.

-Did he!

-A rod of iron, and a smile on his face.

-Like a smiling viper.

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Good moaning!

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Shut up!

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And he would laugh on every run-through, right up to the day of transmission, he would still laugh.

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I remember someone saying to me, "Do you know what?

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I walked down my road and I could hear laughter in the street."

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David Croft, the man who wrote some of our best-loved TV comedies, has died at the age of 89.

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David Croft was a unique talent in the world of British comedy,

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not only co-writing, but producing and directing many of the greatest comedy series of the 20th century.

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-This is my wife, Edith. I have told her everything.

-Will she talk?

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Incessantly.

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David Croft is a brand, you know. A Croft programme is a real quality brand,

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and you just guarantee if David Croft was producing, it was always going to be brilliant.

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David Croft sitcoms were a key part of my growing up.

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Looking back, it must have been so nice for my parents to have us

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all in the same room, probably crying with laughter, no doubt.

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David knew the business inside and out. Loved actors, actors loved him.

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He was like a conductor. He conducted the whole thing.

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Without him, nothing really would have happened.

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For the first time, we'll hear the audio tapes he made whilst working on the scripts.

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Ted joins Gladys. Ted into microphone. "Hello, campers! Welcome to Maplins. Hi-de-Hi!

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David Croft was born in 1922, into a showbusiness family.

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He inherited a love of entertainment from his parents, who performed together in the theatre.

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He literally was a sort of dressing room baby.

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Made his first appearance at the age of three,

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and from the moment he walked off, he said he was totally hooked.

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His mother was an amazing character, and very talented.

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She was the only woman ever that had a theatrical production company in the West End

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without a male partner or male equivalent.

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It was "Anne Croft presents..."

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His father, Reginald Sharland, was an actor and writer, who moved to Hollywood to pursue his career.

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David Croft followed the family tradition, and entered the world of entertainment.

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His path soon crossed with a man who would become a lifelong colleague and friend.

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When I first met David Croft, I was a ragged-arse actor.

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Ann, his wife, phoned me up, who was my agent, she said, "Oh, Jimmy,

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David's doing a new situation comedy called Beggar My Neighbour.

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And always so honest and trustworthy!

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Never nick no more than what you could carry under your coat!

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I did this scene where I came... "Hello, Sid! It's me, your brother George!"

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Here, what are you all ponced up for?

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Got a job as a waiter or something?

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Growing tired of small acting roles, Perry decided to try his hand at writing.

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And I thought, "I know what I'll do. I'll write a pilot."

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One day, he came in and he said to me,

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"I've got a script, I think it's got something."

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So I read it, and I thought, "Well, yes it has."

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Ann said to me, "Show it to David." He said, "Jimmy, it's great. Let's do it."

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# Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler

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# If you think we're on the run? #

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None of us thought it was going to become a national treasure.

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It was just another comedy series.

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-Right, Pike, take off your tunic and wrap it round the pipes.

-Why me?

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Because you're wet already. Go on.

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The magic ingredient was their casting.

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He's doomed! Doomed!

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I mean, the casting was absolutely brilliant in all of his shows.

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You know perfectly well you can be here all day while I'm busy at the bank.

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I'm sorry, Captain Mainwaring, but nothing is going to make me get up out of this chair, and that is that.

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RADIO PLAYS "God Save The King"

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David Croft used to cast people really well,

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in that you can't imagine anybody but the people that played

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all of those parts from all of those series playing it.

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RADIO PLAYS END OF "God Save The King"

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The thing about Dad's Army is that I think it's probably the most

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perfect example of writing and casting coming together.

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Come along, Godfrey! Godfrey, pick 'em up, pick 'em up!

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I'm afraid they won't go any higher!

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Although it's quite a big gallery of characters,

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every single one of those characterisations is pitch perfect.

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Sell your own grandmother, wouldn't you?

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Well, there's no market for her.

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If you were to think, "Oh, I'm going to start casting those characters,"

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you wouldn't want to swap them with anybody.

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-Eight against one!

-No, it's only seven. I'm not feeling very well.

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We're talking about seven tough old pros.

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All of them had been there and not quite made it.

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And suddenly, they're stars. They've made it.

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Every time they stop in the street, "There he is!"

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And we were all working actors. Old John Laurie, he was a marvellous actor,

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and Ian Lavender's another wonderful actor.

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He was quite a young chap when we first started, Ian Lavender.

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To say they took me under their wings, collectively or even individually, not quite so.

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It was a bit of sink or swim.

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I remember David saying, "We thought we'd throw you in the deep end

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and see what happened," and he said, "You floated, it's all right!

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-Shut the door, Pike.

-Yes, sir.

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From the other side!

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-You should have said!

-Get out!

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And Croft had his own unique way of selecting the cast.

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He said, "I just want somebody who can shout and push other actors about a bit."

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What's going on here? I've never heard such a row!

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His wife, my agent, said, "Well, I've got somebody who,

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in fact, is not an actor.

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I'm not sure that he ever will be a great actor,

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but I think he's maybe what you want."

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Hey! Hey! If you think I'm hanging on here, you're mistaken.

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The first series we wrote more or less together,

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and then he'd got me to write some, and he wrote some, and a bit of a mess, actually.

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So we finally got to a situation, I said, "Dave, there's only one way to do this. Face-to-face."

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So we both wrote by hand with a lovely felt-tip pen, and then

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we'd have the rough script, and then we'd sit there, and then we'd act it.

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They showed it to an audience, as they always did, to test it,

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and it didn't go down very well, and some of the reports,

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because you used to write a report, and they came in.

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But as David ran his own little empire, in a way,

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when all the really bad reports came in saying comedy couldn't be made out of this,

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he managed to keep them in files that didn't get too high up the stand.

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He'd say, "There's only one thing to do with this."

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"Don't want that one."

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He said, "I knew that, given half a chance, it would succeed."

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All local defence volunteers to report to the church hall

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at six o'clock today!

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There you are.

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After the first series, Croft and Perry had to defend Dad's Army against those who said

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a comedy should not be made about Britain's Home Guard.

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Did the scriptwriters make such a serious national crisis too funny to be even vaguely true?

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Well, we've had one or two ideas which we thought were too way out.

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You see, when we started this thing, I think we just regarded it as a comedy show,

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but as you get into it, as soon as we started writing it properly,

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we realised it was much more than this, because there's a wonderful spirit in those days.

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These men really would have, they would have died,

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and as soon as you get into that sort of dimension,

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then you can't go too far into the realms of comedy,

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you've got to keep it with its feet on the ground.

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This sympathetic and understated approach could be seen throughout Croft's work.

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He was quite a shy man, and he wasn't one for being openly effusive,

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that's left to Jimmy Perry, basically. I think that's probably why they were such a good team.

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He was a very private man, but he was a very caring and loving man.

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He cared deeply about what he did.

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I never saw him once lose his temper. He was always very calm.

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He was an observer.

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He would sit at dinner parties.

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When he did come out with a line, it was often very witty, very funny and very pertinent,

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but mostly he watched people.

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I look at it this way, sir.

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Now, although Sergeant Wilson has got three stripes on his honourable arm,

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you've got three pips on your common shoulder.

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To me, their series were always about class.

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Class and snobbery, yes, the conflict, yes, that's where

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it springs from, they found that, I mean, we see it all the way through.

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It reminds me of the time when I was at school, and we used to have midnight feasts in the dorm.

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Really?

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School I went to, we didn't have any midnight feasts.

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You had to manage with a few aniseed balls in the corner of the playground.

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Status within their series was a really key thing.

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In Dad's Army it was that you had a bank manager and his assistant who were in charge,

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and there was an issue there, because the assistant came from a higher class.

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You needn't think you can roll in here 20 minutes late after lunch. Where have you been?

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Well, I went up to the golf club and had a bite to eat up there.

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-The golf club?

-Yes.

-Who took you?

-Well, I'm a member.

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I've been trying for years to get in there.

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I believe they're awfully particular.

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I don't think, when they wrote it, Jimmy Perry and David Croft passed any judgements on anybody.

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They just laid out what I think was a very accurate landscape

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of how the class system works.

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Now, don't start any of that public school cheating with me.

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One of the things that he did really well

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is the ability to use understatement where a little goes a very long way.

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CAPTAIN MAINWARING COUGHS

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He was a marvellous director and producer. He was really first-class.

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He'd say, "When you do that, just give a pause there and you'll get a bigger laugh.

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He was right.

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-Here we go!

-No, no, no, no! Oh, no, that's only cardboard!

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There is a war on, you know!

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He would just smile and nod his head, and you knew he was pleased,

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and if he was pleased, you'd know you'd achieved something.

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You'd always try and say, "David, I've got an idea, I've got a suggestion here,"

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and he'd say, "Yeah, yeah." I said, "Can I just try something?"

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And he'd say, "Yeah, of course, Melvyn. Show me, show me."

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And I would do it, and he'd say, "That's very funny! I like it.

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Save it for panto."

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You'd try something in rehearsals, and flick a look to David,

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just to see what his reaction was, and he'd just go...

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Or...

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And that was it.

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I was just going to give the order...

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I was just going to...

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-What's the matter, Corporal?

-I think I'm going, sir.

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-I hear angels' voices.

-Those are no angels' voices, it's the choir!

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The most interesting thing about David and Jimmy's writing

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was the juxtaposition of comedy with tragedy.

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Elizabeth?

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You've taken a long time to answer, dear. Where have you been?

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Oh, I see.

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-She's been down in the air raid shelter.

-Ah.

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I might have a little surprise for you tonight.

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No, no, I've bought...

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Jimmy and David had the knack of, how shall I put it?

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Using broad strokes, poster paints, and then becoming very delicate.

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Pastels, as it were.

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I... I don't want you to go.

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The whole pattern of my life has changed, I just live from one meeting to the next.

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I know, and I'm just the same, but it's the only thing to do.

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-People are talking.

-People always talk. Who cares about that?

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-But there's your wife.

-Nobody'll talk to her.

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It managed to, you know, be quite silly, very funny,

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very nuanced in some of the characterisations, but also rather...

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..well, the word I want to use is beautiful, which is that they could sometimes achieve

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levels of poignancy and drama within an episode.

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-Don't get that train.

-George, I must.

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I implore you, don't get that train. Look, we'll meet once a week.

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George, you're making this very difficult for me, but I've made up my mind. It's the only way.

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-Victoria, Victoria train!

-Here's my train.

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Look, Fiona. I've never begged anything from anyone in my life, but I'm begging you not to go.

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You get this terribly touching,

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poignant window into the unhappiness of Mainwaring's marriage, really,

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and he knows that nothing can happen, and it's all beautifully executed.

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-Where can I get in touch with you?

-You won't be able to.

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-You'll write, won't you?

-I don't know. After a little while, perhaps.

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Stand clear, sir.

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And pull those blinds down!

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Promise you'll write.

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Very well. I promise.

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WHISTLE

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-Make it soon.

-Goodbye, George.

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TRAIN PULLS AWAY

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All good comedy is truthful, no matter how silly it is, or apparently silly,

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it's trying to get at some universal truth, and that's why, when it's good, it has so much power.

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We'll stick together, you can rely on that.

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If anybody tries to take our homes or our freedom away from us, they'll find out what we can do.

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We'll fight.

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You could sense it was the writers nodding their acknowledgement

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towards the fact that the whole thing had been triggered by the experiences

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of real men in the war, and I thought that was really effective.

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To Britain's Home Guard.

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ALL: To Britain's Home Guard!

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It's quality stuff. It's timeless stuff.

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You stupid boy.

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Don't panic! Don't panic!

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The fact that Dad's Army is, that millions still watch it,

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says something.

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-I am an officer.

-Yes, quite, Sir, yes.

-You're supposed to be an NCO.

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-Yes, of course, yes.

-Right. Very well. Remember...

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Every Saturday, it's on. I'll be in later in the week.

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My grandchildren, they love it.

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Even when I'm not in it!

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And it was real life again that inspired Croft's first hit series with writing partner Jeremy Lloyd.

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MUSIC: "Porcelain" by Moby

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I had the idea for Are You Being Served?

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because I'd slaved away for three years at Simpson's in Piccadilly,

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which was a big gentleman's outfitters.

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The people, actually, that we created in Are You Being Served?

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were all types of people that I'd worked with.

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Oh, that does suit you!

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Oh, that does suit you!

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Oh, that does suit you!

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We had a chat, and we had lunch, and I'd already written four or five pages,

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which he read and said, "Well, let's do it."

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And Lucas, while you're down there, straighten those seams.

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-I hate to see crooked seams.

-Yes, Mr Peacock.

-Hm?

-Captain Peacock.

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Aaaah!

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David actually had a marvellous idea, which I hadn't had,

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which was that the ladies' and gentlemen's departments should be put together,

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so there'd be a lot of conflict, and that was the actual nub of the show,

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and it worked marvellously, and the pecking order worked marvellously.

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I have been deeply distressed to learn of a slump in our sales

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over the past four weeks, which I'm sure you've all observed.

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Yes, I have observed it. Haven't you, Mr Grainger?

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Oh, a very definite slump, I would say.

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-Have you observed it, Mr Humphries?

-Oh, I've observed it, Mr Grainger.

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-You observed it, too, didn't you?

-Oh, yes, definitely!

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In order to do situation comedy, or perhaps almost any comedy,

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you need to have a situation in which there are rules.

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Mr Grainger returned from lunch, 14:03.

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Would you sign, please?

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I'm sorry, Captain Peacock, but I must refuse to sign your book.

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These rules, then, are in danger of being broken, and from that arises most of the comedy.

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That's a brandy for Mr Grainger.

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Well done, Mr Grainger. The way you stood up to him.

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We shall always remember you for that, Mr Grainger, when you've gone.

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The doubles entendres, the double meanings were an essential part of it.

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And, sometimes, they were so outrageous that when we did

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the read-through we'd say, "We can't say that, we'll all be arrested!"

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At seven o'clock tonight, my pussy's expecting to see a friendly face!

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I personally think that Mrs Slocombe's pussy is the funniest joke ever written in any medium,

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and I can watch it any number of times and never be bored and never stop laughing.

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I never have any trouble in getting up in the morning.

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My pussy's just like an alarm clock.

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David would say, "Look, you do it as though you haven't

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the slightest idea that there is any double meaning at all,

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so it's done completely innocently, and no one will mind."

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I think, looking back now, were my parents thinking,

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"Oh, some of those innuendos, are they getting them?" There must be a bit of that.

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I certainly didn't get any of them, I don't think.

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Trousers are at a complete standstill.

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You're lucky to get your tape up once a day.

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It was how you deciphered it. If you thought it was rude, that was...

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Or, it could have been totally innocent.

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Whatever has happened to the central heating in here?

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My ballpoint'll never function in this weather.

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The key in the writing was that they can't get out of their scenario.

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It's very limiting, but it means you've got to really focus on the jokes.

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You've got to focus on getting laughs, because there's not much else you can do with it.

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Mmmm! She's a healthy girl, isn't she?

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Miss Brahms, get out the 44s.

0:20:440:20:47

The Kilimanjaro range.

0:20:490:20:51

My favourite character in that was always young Mr Grace.

0:20:510:20:57

You've all done very well!

0:20:570:21:00

I just never tired of that.

0:21:020:21:04

And again, "You're all doing very well"

0:21:040:21:06

just became a phrase that we used whenever it was prompted.

0:21:060:21:10

You've all done very well!

0:21:100:21:13

ALL: Thank you, Mr Grace!

0:21:130:21:15

There isn't hardly ever a time, somebody did some research on this, actually,

0:21:150:21:20

when an episode of Are You Being Served? isn't being shown on some station, somewhere.

0:21:200:21:25

Ho, ho, ho, little boy! Have I got a surprise for you!

0:21:250:21:29

Some company sent us in a book, which was a quiz of Are You Being Served?

0:21:370:21:40

Penny, my daughter, was saying, "Oh, Dad, what was Mrs so-and-so's maiden name before she got married?"

0:21:400:21:46

"Er, urm, can't remember at the moment,"

0:21:480:21:51

he said, and they couldn't answer half the questions that came out,

0:21:510:21:55

and said, "My goodness, people do really listen!"

0:21:550:21:59

I said, "Well, you've always said that!"

0:21:590:22:02

MASTERMIND THEME MUSIC

0:22:020:22:06

It Ain't Half Hot Mum, in two minutes, starting now.

0:22:090:22:12

Which character uses the expression, "it ain't half hot, Mum",

0:22:120:22:14

when writing home during the first episode?

0:22:140:22:16

-Gunner Parkin.

-Correct.

0:22:160:22:17

In the seventh series, Captain Ashworth's given

0:22:170:22:19

an experimental anti-malarial drug by mistake.

0:22:190:22:21

-What effect does it have on him?

-His skull grows through his hair.

0:22:210:22:24

Yeah, he loses his hair.

0:22:240:22:26

When Bombardier Beaumont kicks the Sergeant Major, what punishment

0:22:260:22:28

does he receive from the Colonel?

0:22:280:22:30

-He can't play Ginger Rogers again.

-No, he can't.

0:22:300:22:33

-You enjoying your tea, Gunner?

-Yes, thank you.

0:22:330:22:35

What the hell's going on?!

0:22:350:22:36

If anybody says to me, "What's your favourite?" Without a doubt, it's Ain't Half Hot Mum.

0:22:360:22:42

# Meet the gang, cos the boys are here

0:22:450:22:48

# The boys to entertain you! #

0:22:480:22:51

Jimmy actually ran a concert party.

0:22:510:22:54

We'd left India just a few days before India got its independence.

0:22:540:23:00

Of course, that's why I've got all these stories!

0:23:000:23:03

David spent most of the war not doing anything very theatrical,

0:23:060:23:11

although he was involved with a concert party when he was in India.

0:23:110:23:15

They always wrote from their own experiences, basically.

0:23:150:23:18

They took reality and stretched it.

0:23:180:23:22

The train will be back for us just before 18:00 hours, so, Bombardier, do not make it a long show.

0:23:220:23:27

You can rely on me, Sergeant Major!

0:23:270:23:29

The only thing I can rely on you for, Bombardier, is to ponce about.

0:23:290:23:33

It Ain't Half Hot Mum was a concert party out in the jungle,

0:23:330:23:39

right, playing to nobody, maybe two or three people,

0:23:390:23:42

two officers who think they were wonderful, wonderful artists,

0:23:420:23:46

a Sergeant Major who just wants to get these men as men, up there fighting.

0:23:460:23:50

Leave yourself alone, Bombardier, or I will make you wear boxing gloves.

0:23:500:23:54

Pay attention, lovely boys.

0:23:580:23:59

This is the hottest time of the year, but we are not going to give in.

0:23:590:24:03

We can fight it.

0:24:060:24:09

It's really very, very, very difficult to write big, ensemble comedy, you know,

0:24:110:24:17

to keep each character's plate spinning on a stick.

0:24:170:24:21

Your university education won't do you much good up there, will it?

0:24:210:24:24

-No, Sergeant Major.

-"No, Sergeant Major!"

0:24:250:24:29

The intellect that is able to cope with all those different people,

0:24:290:24:34

perhaps as many as 15 people in the cast, and still keep all the threads going

0:24:340:24:40

and keep true to all the characters is extraordinary.

0:24:400:24:42

I'm afraid there's nothing else for it. Things are getting very desperate.

0:24:420:24:46

We'll have to break into the cocktail snacks.

0:24:460:24:49

-Surely not, sir!

-Yes, I'm afraid so.

0:24:490:24:52

He was very good at creating brilliant characters, and then all you have to do

0:24:520:24:55

is stick different ones in the room, and they kind of talk to themselves, in a way, in the writer's mind.

0:24:550:25:00

Coo-ee!

0:25:000:25:02

I think he heard me.

0:25:050:25:07

He's got them all together there, so you can bounce off each other,

0:25:070:25:11

and as a group comedy, it works marvellously well. They were masters at it.

0:25:110:25:15

Sir? Guess what the thermometer's reading.

0:25:150:25:19

Something light? Agatha Christie?

0:25:190:25:21

David had the ability to gather a group of characters together

0:25:230:25:26

who wouldn't normally want to be in the same room with each other,

0:25:260:25:28

and from that, create this marvellous comedy.

0:25:280:25:31

Let me go out there and win them with my personality!

0:25:310:25:34

I think that a lot of David's comedy was very broad and,

0:25:360:25:41

you might say, silly, farcical, ludicrous, in some ways,

0:25:410:25:44

like out of the dressing up box.

0:25:440:25:46

Gloria, bless him, I mean, you know, as far as he's concerned, life is wonderful, life is showbusiness.

0:25:560:26:01

I'm meant to be a girl in an English garden, not Tarzan in the jungle!

0:26:010:26:06

After about four weeks, David said to me, "We're going to find it very difficult to write for you."

0:26:080:26:12

I said, "Why is that?" He said, "You're playing it very effeminately, very camp."

0:26:120:26:17

I said, "Just a minute, David.

0:26:170:26:19

Gloria is a feminine name, wears a wig, lots of make-up and dresses.

0:26:200:26:26

How else can I play it?"

0:26:260:26:28

And he went, "Yeah, I see what you mean. Mmm, carry on, then!"

0:26:280:26:33

Listen to that! They're shouting "We want Gloria!" My public are clamouring for me!

0:26:330:26:39

David used to say to the make-up artists, "Let the boys do their own camp make-ups."

0:26:390:26:44

So you got these lads, Chris and Michael, all the lads,

0:26:450:26:48

and they'd put these terrible make-ups on with the big lipstick.

0:26:480:26:51

AUDIENCE LAUGHTER DROWNS OUT SINGING

0:26:510:26:54

That's how soldiers would have done it.

0:26:570:27:00

AUDIENCE LAUGHTER DROWNS OUT SINGING

0:27:000:27:04

Shut up! This is all your fault, Gunner Sugden! Shut up!

0:27:090:27:14

He wrote the part of Sergeant Major Williams

0:27:160:27:20

as a standard cockney Sergeant Major.

0:27:200:27:24

"Left, right, left, right!" But we were wrong.

0:27:240:27:28

Windsor came in to read the part, and he's Welsh,

0:27:280:27:32

and he read it in cockney, and I said, "That's wrong. Would you read it in Welsh?"

0:27:320:27:36

And he read it in Welsh, and that's where the whole thing started.

0:27:360:27:41

He played it for reality.

0:27:410:27:43

Fix bayonets!

0:27:430:27:46

I loved working with Windsor. He was a warm, generous man.

0:27:460:27:51

So concentrated, he'd be the Sergeant Major all the time on the set.

0:27:530:27:58

Right, Johnny.

0:27:580:28:00

SERGEANT MAJOR SPEAKS URDU

0:28:000:28:03

Sergeant Major Williams Sahib, Gunner Parkin Sahib.

0:28:030:28:06

Who do you damn well think you're talking to?

0:28:060:28:09

SERGEANT MAJOR SPEAKS URDU

0:28:150:28:17

Why don't you talk to me in English, in which I am articulate?

0:28:170:28:21

Otherwise I would not be able to hold up this occupation.

0:28:210:28:24

I am Grade 2, not some damn native.

0:28:240:28:27

The faces he pulled when he was angry, or when he was happy,

0:28:290:28:34

he was just amazingly good.

0:28:340:28:37

HE SPEAKS URDU

0:28:370:28:41

One cup of heavenly, enchanted tea coming up.

0:28:410:28:44

Sergeant Major, Sir.

0:28:460:28:48

In a minute, my lovely.

0:28:490:28:52

The decision to cast a white actor, Michael Bates, in the part of the Bearer,

0:28:520:28:56

would lead to the series running into controversy.

0:28:560:28:59

Somebody said it was racist, and one of the reasons it was racist

0:28:590:29:03

was because Michael Bates was white and was playing an Indian character.

0:29:030:29:09

# Moonlight becomes you... #

0:29:090:29:13

HE SINGS IN URDU

0:29:130:29:14

Michael spoke fluent Urdu, and was educated in India until he was 16.

0:29:170:29:22

Knowing David and Jimmy the way I do,

0:29:220:29:26

I don't think they would do anything that was racist.

0:29:260:29:30

A lot of David's work is of its time, and the attitudes of its time.

0:29:300:29:34

I had too much to drink last night. Oh, I've got such terrible pullover!

0:29:340:29:39

I think the notion of It Ain't Half Hot Mum being politically incorrect

0:29:410:29:46

is definitely a retrospective notion.

0:29:460:29:49

Sergeant Major Sahib swore me to complete secrecy, so I will tell only you.

0:29:490:29:54

We did watch it as a family, and really enjoyed it.

0:29:540:29:59

I don't want this fellow to hear, because he is Nosey Parker!

0:29:590:30:02

HE SPEAKS URDU

0:30:040:30:08

Nosey Parker!

0:30:080:30:09

If I say you are Nosey Parker, you are Nosey Parker!

0:30:090:30:11

Oh, shut up!

0:30:130:30:14

And the fact that you had three regular Indian characters on television

0:30:150:30:22

who were involved, they weren't the butt of the joke all the time,

0:30:220:30:27

they weren't there to be lampooned, they weren't on the periphery of the programme,

0:30:270:30:32

they were very much a part of it, was incredibly, kind of, exciting

0:30:320:30:37

and reassuring for us as British Asian viewers.

0:30:370:30:42

And what could be nicer than a glass of pure water from the heavens above?

0:30:420:30:47

HE SPEAKS URDU

0:30:470:30:49

..glass of beer.

0:30:490:30:51

Sit up straight when you are punkah-ing!

0:30:510:30:54

Equally, it was making fun of the British Army.

0:30:540:30:57

One of the most respected elements of our society, of this country.

0:31:000:31:05

They may even have slipped something into the chai.

0:31:050:31:07

So no one must drink the tea until...

0:31:090:31:11

-Are you all right, Ashworth?

-Yes, I think so, sir.

0:31:140:31:17

Well, that's all right, then. You can drink the tea, chaps.

0:31:170:31:19

-Oh, my Godfathers!

-Good God! Is he...?

0:31:210:31:26

I went to sit down and there wasn't a chair there!

0:31:260:31:28

Croft and Perry went to great lengths to make the locations look as realistic as possible.

0:31:360:31:41

Everyone thought we filmed in India, but in actual fact it was in Norfolk,

0:31:450:31:49

and the desert scenes were shot in a huge sandpit, which they tricked out

0:31:490:31:54

with palms and things, and the jungle itself was woods or forest nearby,

0:31:540:31:59

in which they imported, so they told me at the time, £500,000 worth of foreign or exotic plants,

0:31:590:32:06

and planted them among the trees, and it gave the impression of India.

0:32:060:32:10

The greatest thing we've got going for us is that sweat.

0:32:100:32:13

Everybody used to say, "Where did that...?"

0:32:130:32:15

It was bottles of glycerin mixed with water,

0:32:150:32:18

and before every shot it would be under the arms, over the face.

0:32:180:32:21

Stop scratching yourself, Sugden!

0:32:210:32:24

I can't help it, Sergeant Major. I've got prickly heat. I'm covered in little bumps.

0:32:240:32:29

As far as I is concerned, Sugden, you is one big little bump, now shut up!

0:32:290:32:33

Normally, first day at rehearsals, you do the line, everybody would laugh.

0:32:330:32:37

Crew, everybody would laugh, thinking, "That's very funny!"

0:32:370:32:40

Second time, nobody laughs because they've seen it, except David.

0:32:400:32:43

David would laugh, and he would laugh on every run through, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

0:32:430:32:48

Thursday, Friday, right up to the day of transmission, he would still laugh.

0:32:480:32:53

Though he'd seen it 20 times, he would still find it amusing, and that's very encouraging.

0:32:530:32:57

So, each time we rehearsed it, you know, this is good, this is what he wants.

0:32:570:33:01

It say: "They are caught like rats in trap."

0:33:010:33:07

That's it. I knew it. We should never have come here alone!

0:33:070:33:10

They should have sent some soldiers with us!

0:33:100:33:12

The better the sitcom, the fewer the actual jokes.

0:33:120:33:17

It's all about the interaction of the people.

0:33:170:33:20

The strongest material has to emanate from character.

0:33:200:33:24

And it was the characters that Croft and Perry had themselves encountered

0:33:240:33:28

who formed the basis for the next series.

0:33:280:33:30

The characters in Hi-de-Hi! were archetypal.

0:33:300:33:34

The Punch and Judy man that hated kids, and I'm sure that happened.

0:33:340:33:39

And now, your kiddies' entertainer, Uncle Willy!

0:33:390:33:42

Get out the way. Get out the way!

0:33:430:33:45

The dancers, who were just wonderful, you know, that thought themselves a cut above everybody else,

0:33:480:33:54

and used to bring their own wallpaper and pin it up.

0:33:540:33:58

A little higher, Barry. The stalk's not quite lined up with the flower.

0:33:580:34:03

It's happened before, dear, it'll happen again.

0:34:030:34:06

So all these characters were based on real people.

0:34:080:34:12

Everyone that David and Jimmy cast, whatever it was, they were a failure.

0:34:120:34:17

Hello, campers. Hi-de-Hi!

0:34:190:34:21

ALL: Ho-de-Ho!

0:34:210:34:23

The heroism comes in the fact that they all keep going.

0:34:230:34:26

Jeffrey can't hear you. Hi-de-Hi!

0:34:260:34:28

ALL: Ho-de-ho!

0:34:280:34:30

Give me strength!

0:34:300:34:33

Most of them were never going to make anything in a million years, but you know what?

0:34:330:34:37

They all had hope given to them.

0:34:370:34:40

When that entertainments director comes down, could you get me an interview?

0:34:400:34:43

You know, about being a Yellowcoat. You did promise.

0:34:430:34:46

-Well, I said I'd try. He's a very busy man.

-Oh, please, do your best!

0:34:460:34:50

-Of course I will, Peggy.

-Oh, bless you! You're a lovely man!

0:34:500:34:54

Well, thank you.

0:34:540:34:56

They portrayed that life can be difficult,

0:34:560:34:59

and it's sometimes like wading through treacle,

0:34:590:35:01

and you sat back and go, "Good, it's not just me."

0:35:010:35:04

What happened?

0:35:040:35:05

What happened? It were a bloody disaster!

0:35:050:35:08

-What are you talking about? It can't have been!

-You see these two feet?

0:35:090:35:13

I died on them tonight.

0:35:130:35:15

-That's the success of their shows.

-That's right, it was always putting people together.

0:35:150:35:19

It went for the underdog.

0:35:190:35:20

I'm terribly sorry about all this, Peggy. Are you all right?

0:35:200:35:25

I think I'm getting the hang of it! Can we do it again?

0:35:250:35:28

All I remember is just waiting, every week,

0:35:280:35:33

for Ruth to go ding-ding-ding!

0:35:330:35:37

GLOCKENSPIEL PLAYS

0:35:370:35:38

Hello, campers! Hi-de-Hi!

0:35:380:35:43

CAMPERS: Ho-de-Ho!

0:35:430:35:46

Oh!

0:35:460:35:47

What a hot day it's been, and what a lot of fun we've all had in the Olympic-size swimming pool.

0:35:480:35:55

I couldn't get enough of her flirting with Simon Cadell.

0:35:550:35:59

Thinking about it, David Croft probably had a very strange effect

0:35:590:36:04

on my learnings of romance, as a boarding school girl,

0:36:040:36:08

so I would have learned about unrequited love from Simon Cadell and Ruth Madoc.

0:36:080:36:14

Morning, Jeffrey.

0:36:150:36:17

MUSIC: "Someone Like You" by Adele

0:36:170:36:19

Beautiful.

0:36:210:36:23

If you give out a little more, you'd be surprised what you get back in return.

0:36:270:36:31

That quivering, unfulfilled romance between Ruth Madoc's character

0:36:330:36:40

and Simon Cadell's manager.

0:36:400:36:43

There's so much of you that doesn't show on the surface.

0:36:430:36:48

A lovely, exquisitely-teased out, comic, tragic romance.

0:36:480:36:54

If only he'd take notice of her in the right way,

0:36:540:36:59

and he never did, God love him.

0:36:590:37:01

Croft and Perry found their own unique way of developing the storylines.

0:37:070:37:11

We worked out this sort of technique,

0:37:110:37:14

so we used to write it very rough, and then we'd act it.

0:37:140:37:19

They enjoyed it, because they'd get all their acting, their bits of wanting to act

0:37:200:37:25

out of their system, didn't it, really?

0:37:250:37:27

We'd put it on one of those little mini recorders, and just listen to it.

0:37:270:37:32

Ted into microphone. "Hello, campers! Welcome to Maplins.

0:37:320:37:36

"Hi-de-Hi!" Gladys. "Go on, Yellowcoats. Get amongst 'em!"

0:37:360:37:40

Yellowcoats move in amongst the campers getting off the coach.

0:37:400:37:43

Ted continues into the microphone. "I'm Ted Bovis...

0:37:430:37:46

..your camp host. If you want to know anything, don't ask me.

0:37:460:37:49

Make your way to reception and sign in,

0:37:490:37:51

and the Yellowcoats will help you to your chalet.

0:37:510:37:54

Hello, Mrs Evans! Back again? Lovely to see you, darling!

0:37:540:37:57

-They did every voice.

-Yeah.

-If it was Peggy, "Oh, no, not Miss Cathcart!"

0:37:570:38:03

If it were Ted, "Spike, what are you doing, lad? Come here!"

0:38:030:38:06

But he used to tell us sometimes, in rehearsals, how they did it,

0:38:060:38:09

and I'd say, "None of us sound like that! You're terrible actors!"

0:38:090:38:14

Cut to Gladys. "Oh, no, not him!" She hurries away.

0:38:140:38:18

Spike sees her reaction. Spike. "What's the matter? Where are you going, Gladys?" He follows.

0:38:180:38:24

Cut to Ted for more of his announcements.

0:38:240:38:28

You back again? I thought we drowned you last year! Never mind, we'll soon fix that!

0:38:280:38:32

They knew what they wanted to hear on that screen.

0:38:320:38:35

They have the time of their lives writing Hi-de-Hi!

0:38:350:38:37

They used to fall off their chairs laughing!

0:38:370:38:39

I received a letter from Joe Maplin this morning.

0:38:390:38:43

I don't know about you, but I really do enjoy reading these letters,

0:38:430:38:46

because Joe writes as he thinks, and they really are sincere.

0:38:460:38:51

Get this into your thick heads.

0:38:520:38:53

That's the letter, it's not me.

0:38:550:38:58

I suppose, David Croft comedy, they are unique.

0:38:590:39:03

They're, sort of, I think it's theatre on television, really.

0:39:030:39:07

They're just productions, really camp, theatrical,

0:39:070:39:10

ensemble productions that you just don't get now.

0:39:100:39:13

-Tie Gladys to the stake.

-Just doing that.

0:39:130:39:15

Well there's no need to put so tight, it's only pretend.

0:39:170:39:21

It's got to be tight. Virgins have to struggle for their honour.

0:39:210:39:24

I'm surprised you can remember that far back.

0:39:240:39:26

People absolutely loved, they absolutely loved the physical aspect of their comedy.

0:39:280:39:33

Visual jokes were a very strong vein,

0:39:330:39:36

and you can see them in Hi-de-Hi! with the pantomime horse.

0:39:360:39:40

Will you sign for this, please?

0:39:400:39:42

When I was given the reins of the real horse to hold, because I was in the front of the pantomime horse,

0:39:510:39:55

this horse took a shine to me, and it started doing what horses do, blowing its nose at my nose.

0:39:550:40:02

-What am I going to do with it?

-It'll have to live in the stable!

0:40:070:40:11

Oh, blimey! We'll take the shortcut along the beach.

0:40:110:40:14

That's what put Hi-de-Hi! on the map, that scene.

0:40:230:40:26

It's what he was so brilliant at, is that he had the combination of the massive laughs,

0:40:310:40:38

and this delicacy.

0:40:380:40:40

His great thing about a character, he didn't want them to be one-dimensional.

0:40:400:40:45

I'm sorry to bother you, Mr Fairbrother.

0:40:470:40:50

I just wanted to thank you for getting me that interview with the Entertainments Director.

0:40:500:40:54

I did ever so well. Oh, he was nice, he talked to me just like a father.

0:40:550:41:00

He said I was to carry on trying, and working hard at me job,

0:41:010:41:05

and he keep a special eye on me, and later in the season he'd let me know.

0:41:050:41:09

I think he wanted to convey that, certainly the characters in Hi-de-Hi!,

0:41:110:41:15

you know, they're all trying to make a better life for themselves in whichever way they knew.

0:41:150:41:19

He managed to write characters with such, not only broad brush strokes

0:41:190:41:24

that we understood why they were funny, but such detail,

0:41:240:41:28

so he just had the right combination, I don't know how he did it.

0:41:280:41:31

I just want you to know, I'm not going to give up.

0:41:330:41:36

I'll keep on trying, and I'll be wearing that yellow coat one day, you'll see.

0:41:360:41:41

Hi-de-Hi.

0:41:410:41:42

ALL: Ho-de-Ho.

0:41:430:41:45

APPLAUSE

0:41:450:41:47

David always wanted a reality about his work, insofar as he wanted you to be sincere,

0:41:470:41:52

and he said it doesn't really matter, even if you think, "Oh, God, this is laying this on a bit thick."

0:41:520:41:57

He said, "No, if you're in that situation, and you know that character well enough,

0:41:570:42:02

that's what I want. I want you to never be afraid to bring a tear to somebody's eye."

0:42:020:42:08

Croft and Perry weren't afraid to bring successful series to a close.

0:42:120:42:17

But it wasn't always easy for the writers.

0:42:170:42:20

The worst one, for the last episode, was Hi-de-Hi!

0:42:200:42:24

Well, that's it, folks. It's the last night of the season.

0:42:240:42:28

AUDIENCE GROAN

0:42:280:42:30

We all hope you've had a wonderful holiday.

0:42:300:42:32

AUDIENCE: Yes!

0:42:320:42:34

Because we've had a wonderful time entertaining you.

0:42:340:42:36

There was a huge sadness, and I will never forget singing

0:42:360:42:42

Goodnight Campers for the last time in the Hawaiian ballroom.

0:42:420:42:47

Let's all join in with a good old farewell song...

0:42:470:42:50

that is being sung at this very moment...

0:42:510:42:53

in Maplins holiday camps all over the country.

0:42:550:42:58

It was so poignant, and there were real tears from us,

0:42:580:43:05

from Su Pollard and myself. I daren't look at Pollard!

0:43:050:43:11

# Goodnight, campers

0:43:110:43:14

# See you in the morning. #

0:43:140:43:18

-Everybody was in floods of tears.

-It was, true.

0:43:180:43:21

Because it was a very, very emotional ending to that last one.

0:43:210:43:23

-Yes, it was.

-That was the manner of the man. He knew his job.

0:43:230:43:26

It was a long time, and we were a great family, really,

0:43:260:43:30

and we just went, "Oh, well, this is it, then."

0:43:300:43:33

You know, it was really very poignant.

0:43:330:43:35

Oh, Ted! It's been just wonderful. I did it! I got me yellow coat!

0:43:350:43:42

I'll remember this week for the rest of me life!

0:43:430:43:46

# Goodnight! #

0:43:500:43:55

Hi-de-Hi!

0:44:120:44:15

And the whole audience were in tears. They just sat there. I said, "Thank you, everyone."

0:44:180:44:24

And a woman said, "Have we got to go, now?" Great moments.

0:44:250:44:30

David and Jimmy are very hot on using people from their various other sitcoms,

0:44:330:44:37

if they felt they married up.

0:44:370:44:39

And the next series would bring together some familiar faces.

0:44:390:44:42

You Rang, M'Lord? was certainly our favourite of the three shows we did together, I think.

0:44:440:44:48

You Rang, M'Lord?, David and I thought it was the best.

0:44:480:44:52

Where are you going to find the £73 7/6 you owe her?

0:44:520:44:55

I've got the 7/6.

0:44:550:44:56

It was certainly David's favourite show of all.

0:44:590:45:02

He said he thought it was part of the best of his work.

0:45:020:45:04

-What was it David said about it? The jewel in his crown?

-The jewel in his crown.

0:45:040:45:08

This was given to me by my father on my 21st birthday, for being a good girl.

0:45:080:45:14

And that was given to me by the Turkish ambassador, for not being a good girl.

0:45:150:45:21

It was very similar to Upstairs, Downstairs, with laughs.

0:45:230:45:25

They were very, very interested in putting social comment underneath the comedy.

0:45:250:45:32

I don't suppose you've been in a room like this very often.

0:45:320:45:35

No, your Lordship. Not since I done the grate this morning.

0:45:350:45:40

It has a lot of comment about exactly the changing of the world,

0:45:400:45:43

and how things developed majorly in the '20s and '30s.

0:45:430:45:49

Beautiful, you're wonderful, with your shiny, scrubbed face,

0:45:500:45:54

and those glasses with the thumbprints on them!

0:45:540:45:56

Give over!

0:45:560:45:57

Teddy was great fun to play. People still come up to me and say, "carbolic soap",

0:45:590:46:04

and "smudgy glasses", and things.

0:46:040:46:08

Oh, I loved it, because it was outrageous, really.

0:46:080:46:10

-Why do you go in for servants?

-I don't know. It just comes over me.

0:46:100:46:16

I find myself creeping up the attic stairs, my heart pounding,

0:46:170:46:22

then I push open the door, and there's the smell of carbolic soap.

0:46:220:46:26

Oh, the production values on You Rang, M'Lord? were marvellous, I mean, like a feature film, almost.

0:46:280:46:34

Every piece of furniture, the cutlery, the glasses, everything, even down to the cigars we smoked.

0:46:340:46:40

I like the period altogether, the cloche hats, the beautiful '20s coats.

0:46:400:46:44

It was just, you were transported into another world.

0:46:450:46:49

Surrounded by beautiful props and wearing lovely costumes.

0:46:490:46:53

And all real, by the way. There was nothing fake.

0:46:530:46:56

They had them watched, 24 hours a day.

0:47:000:47:03

David used to say it cost a fortune to hire the props.

0:47:030:47:07

Chocks away!

0:47:070:47:08

-Is that right?

-Hold on to your hat!

0:47:080:47:11

The clever thing about all David's programmes is that they're set in the past, so that they never date.

0:47:120:47:18

They're already in the past.

0:47:180:47:20

And it was a historical event that inspired another hit series for David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd.

0:47:200:47:26

Here comes that idiot Englishman who thinks he can speak our language.

0:47:260:47:29

Crabtree. Good moaning. Rene. Good moaning. Crabtree. Do you want the good nose or the bad nose?

0:47:290:47:36

Oh, do let us have the good nose!

0:47:380:47:40

I have hushed up the shutting of the two tits.

0:47:400:47:45

What does Crabtree say, Yvette?

0:47:490:47:50

He has hushed up the shooting of the two tarts.

0:47:500:47:53

You could hear them in the room, going, "Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!"

0:47:530:47:59

The laughter that was coming out... "You can't say that." "I think we can!"

0:47:590:48:04

Stand by for inspection by General von Klinkerhoffen. Hans.

0:48:050:48:09

General von Klinkerhoffen! Colonel. General von Klinkerhoffen! Michelle.

0:48:090:48:12

There is a gun in your back. If you give us away, you will be the first to die.

0:48:120:48:17

You will do exactly as I say. Rene. Now listen very carefully...

0:48:170:48:21

..I will say this only once.

0:48:210:48:24

It was quite bold of David and Jeremy

0:48:240:48:28

to put a series together called 'Allo 'Allo!,

0:48:280:48:32

set in France, occupied by the Germans.

0:48:320:48:37

It was quite heavily criticised at the time for taking the Mickey out of all these brave people.

0:48:370:48:42

David said, "But we don't send up anyone in particular," he said. "We send up everyone."

0:48:420:48:49

"The Germans are kinky, the French are randy and the English are stupid."

0:48:490:48:53

Hello!

0:48:530:48:55

The phone rang, and it was my agent, and she said, "I've just been on the telephone

0:48:570:49:02

for nearly three-quarters of an hour with David Croft,

0:49:020:49:06

and he's got this idea for a new series, a new comedy series."

0:49:060:49:11

"He's eager to have you in it, Gorden, and he's sending the script."

0:49:110:49:16

I started to read it, and I was laughing about a third of the way down.

0:49:160:49:21

I thought, "This is funny. It's not one of my lines, it's just a description of what's going on."

0:49:210:49:27

And, eventually, I got through it, and I thought,

0:49:280:49:31

"I've got to ring agent up and say yes please, with knobs on."

0:49:310:49:36

Otto Flick, the Gestapo officer, is having dinner in the back room.

0:49:360:49:40

Upstairs are two German officers in their underwear,

0:49:400:49:43

because I have borrowed their uniforms to help two British airmen to escape.

0:49:430:49:48

The pianist over there is in fact a forger for the Maquis,

0:49:480:49:52

and the German officer at that table fancies me.

0:49:520:49:55

And it is only Tuesday!

0:49:570:50:00

You shouldn't be laughing at it, because it breaks all the rules of political correctness,

0:50:000:50:05

but at the end of the day, it's full of joy and delight.

0:50:050:50:08

Is the secret camera operating correctly?

0:50:080:50:10

I will demonstrate, Colonel!

0:50:100:50:12

OWL HOOTS

0:50:140:50:16

No, I wasn't the only one in the piece that wondered if we would get away with lines like these.

0:50:180:50:25

I have three fallen Madonnas, with six pink boobies.

0:50:250:50:28

We were very lucky getting Gorden Kaye,

0:50:300:50:33

who was from Huddersfield, who does the most marvellous French accent.

0:50:330:50:38

I expect you would like a light.

0:50:380:50:41

Thank you, you're very kind.

0:50:410:50:42

I have no matches.

0:50:440:50:46

Then why do you ask me if I would like a light?

0:50:500:50:52

I'm very sorry.

0:50:530:50:55

If you have no matches, if you have no matches, take mine.

0:50:570:51:02

-I have a spare box.

-Are you one of them?

0:51:020:51:06

Really, it was very lonely on the Russian Front.

0:51:090:51:13

Jeremy and David wrote so that you laughed out loud.

0:51:160:51:21

Even if you didn't want to laugh, you laughed.

0:51:210:51:25

The scripts were beautiful, and we all knew where the laughs were.

0:51:250:51:28

Er, do you have a light?

0:51:420:51:45

What do you want a light for? I just lit it.

0:51:470:51:49

I don't want a light, I just wondered if he had a light.

0:51:510:51:55

I have no matches.

0:51:570:51:59

I've just given you some matches!

0:52:000:52:03

These are your matches, they're not my matches!

0:52:070:52:10

-Is he one of us?

-No, he's one of them!

0:52:140:52:17

Please, don't tell everybody!

0:52:170:52:19

David had a wonderful brain for construction of shows,

0:52:200:52:25

what was funny, how to put it all together.

0:52:250:52:29

Scripts, when they came for new series, I would read them and I'd think,

0:52:290:52:33

"Oh, I can't wait for so-and-so to say that line,"

0:52:330:52:36

because I knew exactly how they would do it,

0:52:360:52:39

and therefore David and Jeremy themselves obviously knew how they would do it.

0:52:390:52:43

-Listen very carefully. I shall say this only once.

-I beg your pardon?

0:52:430:52:47

It's so clever if you've got a character that people can engage in so much,

0:52:490:52:54

and be interested in enough to just have quite simple catchphrases

0:52:540:53:00

and find them so funny and want to see them every week.

0:53:000:53:04

It is I, LeClerc.

0:53:040:53:06

It's only when somebody says it and it gets a laugh,

0:53:060:53:09

and then they say it again the next week and it gets a laugh, it then becomes a catchphrase.

0:53:090:53:15

I think people liked the knowledge that somebody's going to do it, and then enjoy it when they do.

0:53:150:53:19

You stupid woman!

0:53:190:53:21

The catchphrases, probably, that stick are the ones which

0:53:220:53:27

coincide perfectly with the character, in some way.

0:53:270:53:31

Oh, Rene!

0:53:310:53:34

It was David's idea, which I also thought was brilliant,

0:53:340:53:37

to have the English arriving not speaking French,

0:53:370:53:41

the French not understanding them, but everybody speaking English.

0:53:410:53:44

Go and find us a table where we will be alone. I have a little English, I will explain.

0:53:440:53:49

OK, chaps. Follow the boss.

0:53:510:53:54

Oh, good God! She speaks English!

0:53:540:53:56

The French seem to be able to understand the Germans

0:53:560:54:00

and vice versa, but nobody understood the English.

0:54:000:54:03

Are you expecting us, by any chance?

0:54:030:54:05

-What does he say?

-I don't know, I don't speak English.

0:54:060:54:09

David Croft himself used to say, "It's a can of worms, don't go there, you know."

0:54:090:54:15

These are the rules, you know, don't go too deep into that, but it's working so far!

0:54:170:54:23

I say, is anyone down there?

0:54:230:54:25

Oh, my God! Not another stupid English man!

0:54:250:54:30

I'll never forget David walking into the studio rehearsals one day,

0:54:300:54:34

and saying to me, I think, halfway through the first series,

0:54:340:54:36

saying to me, "I've had the most brilliant idea! I've had a brilliant idea last night!"

0:54:360:54:42

He said, "I'm bringing in an English policeman who can't speak French."

0:54:430:54:50

I just, basically, wanted to see the policeman, who was hilarious.

0:54:500:54:56

Good moaning.

0:54:560:54:58

At school, I mean, we never not said "Good moaning".

0:54:580:55:03

That's what we'd say, good moaning. It was just a catchphrase for us all.

0:55:030:55:06

I was pissing by the door...

0:55:080:55:11

AUDIENCE LAUGH

0:55:110:55:13

..when I heard two shats.

0:55:170:55:18

It had kind of gone to my head a bit.

0:55:190:55:21

David came up to me and said, "Yes, yes, we'll do that again,

0:55:210:55:25

and this time, don't come in knowing you're going to be funny."

0:55:250:55:29

Which is actually devastating!

0:55:300:55:32

Good moaning.

0:55:350:55:36

And I think it's probably the best note I've ever been given in my whole career.

0:55:380:55:42

I've never forgotten it, I never will forget it.

0:55:420:55:44

-You bear a most remarkably close resemblance to Rene.

-I know.

0:55:440:55:48

-You even have the same pretty rings.

-Ah, yes, yes. He left them to me.

0:55:500:55:55

Now I come to look, your eyelashes are a little longer, and your hands are more artistic.

0:55:550:56:02

The Colonel told me you arrived from Nancy this morning.

0:56:030:56:07

-Yes, yes, quite right.

-Is that where you and Rene were born?

0:56:070:56:10

Yes, we were both Nancy boys.

0:56:100:56:12

It's a wonderful thing to know that I worked with one of the great,

0:56:200:56:25

one of the greats of our profession.

0:56:250:56:28

He gave something to British comedy that is like a treasure chest.

0:56:280:56:34

MUSIC: "Run" by Snow Patrol

0:56:340:56:37

They don't come like David any more. Those sort of writers are gone.

0:56:470:56:52

So sad, in a way.

0:56:530:56:55

He was a great mentor, and you couldn't want for anybody better, could you?

0:56:550:56:59

I'm so grateful to him for the laughs, and all that he's done for the genre that I love so much.

0:56:590:57:04

What have we got here?

0:57:040:57:05

Is it a mushroom?

0:57:070:57:09

His work was injected with a sense of fun, I think, as well.

0:57:090:57:14

A kind of optimism.

0:57:140:57:16

They can put 20 bombs down my trousers, and they will not make me crack!

0:57:160:57:20

He wasn't just liked by everyone that worked with him,

0:57:220:57:26

he was loved by everyone that worked with him.

0:57:260:57:27

This man, Croft, had a knack for making people smile.

0:57:270:57:32

Plenty of room under the arms for movement.

0:57:320:57:34

I get quite carried away when I put one of...aaaah!

0:57:340:57:37

You don't argue with somebody who's got

0:57:390:57:41

a list of successes like he has, over the years.

0:57:410:57:45

He had a very good ear and a very good eye. I was very, very lucky to meet him.

0:57:470:57:53

I screamed and screamed, but nobody came.

0:57:530:57:56

We thought you were singing.

0:57:560:57:59

I'd like to say this as a tribute to David, because he was so easy.

0:57:590:58:05

We never had a row. He knew it all. Can you say that about somebody?

0:58:050:58:10

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:58:440:58:47

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0:58:470:58:50

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