Dad’s Army Radio Shows
Dad’s Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977.
The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, as well as a radio series, a feature film and a stage show. The regular cast included Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Arnold Ridley and John Laurie, alongside Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn, Frank Williams, James Beck and Colin Bean.
The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers who were otherwise ineligible for military service, usually owing to age. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still repeated worldwide. It featured several veterans of British film, television and stage.
The relative youngsters in the regular cast included Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn, Frank Williams, James Beck and Colin Bean. Clive Dunn was made up to play the elderly Jones. James Beck died suddenly during production of the programme’s sixth series, despite being one of its youngest cast members.
In 2004, Dad’s Army was voted into fourth place in a BBC poll to find Britain’s Best Sitcom. In a 2000 list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes compiled by the British Film Institute and voted for by industry professionals, it was placed thirteenth. The series has had a profound influence on popular culture in the United Kingdom, with its catchphrases and characters well known.
Dad’s Army is also credited with highlighting a previously forgotten aspect of defence during the Second World War. Radio Times magazine listed Captain Mainwaring’s “You stupid boy!” among the 25 greatest put-downs on television.
Originally intended to be called The Fighting Tigers, Dad’s Army was based partly on co-writer and creator Jimmy Perry’s real-life experiences in the Local Defence Volunteers, later known as the Home Guard. Perry was 17 years old when he joined the 10th Hertfordshire Battalion. His mother did not like him being out at night and feared he might catch cold, and Perry bore more than a passing resemblance to the character Frank Pike.
An elderly lance corporal in the outfit often referred to fighting under Kitchener against the “Fuzzy Wuzzies” and proved to be a perfect model for Jones. Another influence was the Lancastrian comedian Robb Wilton, who portrayed a work-shy husband joining the Home Guard in numerous comic sketches during the Second World War.
Perry wrote the first script and gave it to David Croft while working as a minor actor in the Croft-produced sitcom Hugh and I. He originally intended the role of the spiv, Walker, for himself. Croft was impressed and sent the script to Michael Mills, Head of Comedy at the BBC. After initial concerns that the programme was making fun of the efforts of the Home Guard were addressed, the series was commissioned.
Other influences included the film Whisky Galore! and the work of comedians such as Will Hay, whose film Oh, Mr Porter! featured a pompous man, an old man and a young man, giving Perry the basis for Mainwaring, Godfrey and Pike.
Format and playback information
This product is supplied as an MP3 CD. The recordings are original recordings and are not HD quality. Please confirm that your CD/DVD/MP3 player or computer supports the format stated in the product title and description before ordering.
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- Running times and episode or track counts are shown where supplied in the original product information.
