Where it all begins – the very first episode of Dad’s Army, The Man and the Hour. I’m going to admit that the first series of Dad’s Army is a long way from being my favourite. At this stage the whole thing was quite tentative. Perry and Croft were trying out new ideas, the format hadn’t settled yet and the cast was very much finding its feet as an ensemble.

The storylines of the episodes tended to revolve around conflict with the military authorities which became a bit repetitive. That would change in Series 2 and even more so from the third series, when the focus shifted to the relationships between members of the Platoon. In comparison the episodes of the first series seem a little bit formulaic and wooden.

But the first episode itself stands alone Beginning at Swallows Bank, where we meet Mainwaring, Wilson and Pike going about their day-to-day business, which gets interrupted by the radio announcement of the formation of the Local Defence Volunteers.

This launches the Walmington-on-Sea platoon under Mainwaring’s leadership, bringing together the cast of characters that we come to know and love so well.

This moment from the first episode of Dad’s Army is when the magnificent seven introduce themselves for the very first time, both the home Guard and to us.